Sometimes he would go out in front in dangerous ways to show his troops he was a soldier like they were. His aides would try to get him to be more careful and to stay back where it was safer.
George Washington was born February 22, 1732. He became one of the main leaders in America. He was the head of the army for the colonists. Later he became president. He helped to create a new nation. Many people looked up to him.
Washington grew up in Mount Vernon, Virginia. He learned to do the work of a farmer. Tobacco is what his father farmed. George loved to ride horses.
When he was 11 years old his father died. His older, half-brother, Lawrence, helped him. Washington grew up wanting to be like Lawrence. Lawrence was an officer in the local militia. Lawrence wanted George to learn how to ride horses, meet people, dance, and to study hard.
Washington learned to survey the land and became a surveyor. To survey you look closely at the land and record what is there. Drawing and making maps is a way to record what you found. George got jobs doing this work. He surveyed lands in the west. To do some of the work he had to travel long distances and camp out in the woods.
When he got a little older, he was asked to take a message to the French. It was from the state of Virginia. French trappers and traders were moving into the Ohio Region. The message was to warn the French not to build forts in that area. The French said they would not stop. They went ahead and made more forts.
Before long, Washington was sent back to the Ohio. This time he had 500 soldiers, and he was an officer in the army. His orders were to attack the French forts. The Indians in that area were helping the French army. This was the start of the French and Indian War. Britain joined into this war. During this war, George Washington worked next to British officers.
It was only a few years later when the colonists went to war against the British. The colonies needed a general. The new leaders asked George Washington to lead their armies. They wanted him to be in charge and to take command of all colonial armies.
Washington was a good leader. He did things to show his soldiers that he cared about them. He did things to show that he was working with them.
Sometimes he would go out in front in dangerous ways to show his troops he was a soldier like they were. His aides would try to get him to be more careful and to stay back where it was safer.
According to one account, Molly Pitcher was the wife of one of the soldiers. She stayed with her husband while he was in the army. She even fought alongside her husband and took his spot when he was killed. She showed courage and bravery. It is said that Washington made her a sergeant in the army and gave her a pension (a regular payment for someone who has retired) for her service in the war.
Washington led the way for the colonial army to win the war against Britain. Again and again he rallied his soldiers to fight on. At Valley Forge men were leaving the army. They were not getting paid like they should. The food was poor. They did not have enough clothes. Many were sick. And many were tired. For many soldiers, their time of enlistment was up. A soldier’s enlistment is the time that person said he would serve in the army. They had few reasons to stay in the army. Washington told them again why they were fighting. The country needed good men to stay. They were fighting for their freedom and their own cause. He even told them that he would pay them from his own pocket if they stayed. He was a good leader in the war.
After the war General Washington went back to his farms at Mount Vernon. He wanted to be back home.
At the end of the war, the colonies needed a new government. Washington was chosen to go to the Constitutional Convention. This was in the summer of 1787. He chose to wear his uniform. The others who were there chose him to be the president of the convention. He was the one who presided. This meant that he was the chairman. He conducted the general meetings. He did not really want to preside over the meetings, but the others talked him into it. He felt a duty to serve in the work of starting up this new country. Washington did not say much in the discussions and debates. He wanted to just have a quiet influence on what happened.
Washington was grateful for our new country and the Constitution. He felt that God had blessed this country to become a nation. He felt strongly that the hand of providence or heaven was felt in the creating of this country and its’ Constitution. He proclaimed the first national day of Thanksgiving on November 26, 1789. He wanted to do this to especially give thanks for the Constitution.
With the new government, the country needed a president. George Washington was elected. The problem was that he did not have enough money to go to this new job. In order to get there he borrowed money from a friend. On his way to serve as the president, the people came out to see him. Washington did not want people to make a fuss over him.
Washington served for two terms (eight years in all). When he was chosen to be president he humbly said he was not sure if he could do what the people wanted him to do. The home for the President started out in New York. It was there for a year and a half. Then it moved to Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. This was where he lived and served, in the President’s House, for the other six and one-half years. Washington D.C. had not been built. The country was just starting out. President Washington helped plan what the new capitol would be like. So as it turned out, Washington never lived in the White House.
After the second term was over he said that was enough. It was time for him to go back home. He used the example of Cincinnatus, a Roman leader, who left his farm to serve his country and picked up the plow again when the job was done.
Did you know that Washington did not sign the Declaration of Independence? He was not there to do it. The war had already started and he was at the head of the army. If he had been there, do you think he would have signed?
Washington was many things. He was a surveyor, a map maker, an officer, a general, and a president. He was soft spoken, tall and handsome, and a good dancer.
There is another thing that is interesting to know. Washington was against slavery and tried to bring a stop to it but still kept his slaves throughout his life. When he passed away he had his slaves released.
