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George Washington | |
|---|---|
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| Born | February 22, 1732 Popes Creek, Virginia, British America |
| Died | December 14, 1799 (aged 67) Mount Vernon, Virginia, United States |
| Political orientation | Liberalism Colonialism |
| Political party | Independent |
George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) was a Statesian politician who was a founding father and served as the first President of the United States of America from 1789 to 1797. He previously served as commander-in-chief of the Statesian troops in the Statesian Revolutionary War with England for independence. At time of his death, he was the richest man in the United States.[1]
Early life[edit | edit source]
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, at Popes Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the eldest of the six children of Mary Ball and Augustine Washington, a wealthy tobacco planter, slave owner and justice of the peace. The family primarily lived at Ferry Farm with their slaves, which Washington inherited upon the death of his father in 1943. The children from the first marriage of Washington Sr. inherited the bulk of his holdings and Washington's mother took over the managing of the Ferry Farm plantation alone.[2]
Washington received an inadequate schooling and left school at 15. From 1748 Washington for three years served as a government surveyor, in border areas. In 1751 he inherited the large estate of Mount Vernon and became a shareholder in the Ohio Company, which speculated in lands stolen from indigenous people.[3]
Career[edit | edit source]
Washington was commissioned as a major and was appointed the commander of one of the four districts of the Virginia militia. In 1755 he took part in the unsuccessful expedition to the French fort of Duquesne where he unwittingly triggered the French and Indian War which would later contribute to the outbreak of the Seven Years' War. In the war Washington, now a colonel, commanded the troops of Virginia until 1959 when he resigned. Participated in the British expedition against the French in Canada. After the war ended, he attended to his slave plantation on the Mount Vernon estate and in 1774 he was elected to the National Convention.[3]
Statesian Revolution[edit | edit source]
In 1775, when the inevitability of war with England became clear, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the North American army. In this position, Washington showed great administrative and organizational skills; he created an army, managed to reconcile the conflicting interests of the colonies, organized the supply of the army and, thus, greatly contributed to the final success of the war. The congress repeatedly gave Washington broad and even dictatorial powers. At the end of it (in 1783) Washington transferred his powers to Congress and retired to Mount Vernon.[3]
Presidency[edit | edit source]
With the entry into force of the Constitution of the North-American United States, Washington was unanimously elected president of the republic (1789). Carrying out a conservative policy, Washington opposed the democratic demands of the popular masses, allowing only reforms that benefitted slave owners and the bourgeoisie. Washington tried to rely equally on federalists (later Republicans) and anti-federalists (future Democrats) but was personally more inclined to the Federalist positions. In 1792, Washington was elected president for the second time, but did not agree to be elected for the third time.[3]
Legacy[edit | edit source]
In foreign policy, Britain invariably strove to preserve the peace necessary for the new republic. Several cities are named after Washington. States, including the capital (see Washington, city); until now, the time Washington remains in the eyes of the Americans as a model of a statesman, although the "true" Washington did not correspond to the idealized image created by the historical legend.[4]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Eugene Puryear (2022-07-10). "The U.S. state and the U.S. revolution" Liberation School. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
- ↑ Coe 2020, p. 3-4.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 A. V. Efimov (1979). The Great Soviet Encyclopedia: 'Washington, George'.
- ↑ Lit.: Washington Papers (official and private), - Washington's Writings, ed. Sparks, 12 vis, Boston, 1837; the biography of Washington, attached to them, was revised by Guizot and translated into Russian (Essay on the Life of Washington, St. Petersburg, 1863).
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Coe, Alexis (2020). You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington. Penguin Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-7352-2410-0