George Washington and the American Revolution

1654 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: George Washington and the Revolutionary War

George Washington was the commanding general and commander-in-chief of the colonial armies during the American Revolution. After the successful revolution to gain its freedom from Britain, George Washington would become the first President of the United States. He would serve in that capacity from 1789 to 1797.

Washington’s Early Life

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. It was not until I started doing the research for this paper that I found there is actually very little known about Washington’s childhood. Due to that fact biographers had to fill in the gaps that existed. Among the fables my favorites are Washington skipped a silver dollar across the Potomac River, and after chopping down his father's prize cherry tree, he openly confessed to his misdeed after all he shall not tell a lie (Washington, 2013). From some of the writings from that era, it is known that Washington was home schooled. Later on he studied under a schoolmaster in math, geography, Latin and the English Literature. However it was the knowledge he obtained from backwoodsman, and the plantation foreman made him a master at growing tobacco, stock raising and surveying land by the time he was a teenager (Washington, 2013).

Military Career

George Washington’s military career began on October 31, 1753. The Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Robert Dinwiddie sent Washington to Fort LeBoeuf, to tell the French to remove themselves from land claimed by Britain. The French politely refused and Washington made a hasty ride back to Williamsburg, Virginia the Capitol of the Virginia Colony. Dinwiddie sent Washington back with troops and they set up a post at Great Meadows. Washington's small force attacked a French post a...

... middle of paper ...

... favor by getting the French involved in the war. Ben Franklin used his brilliance and charm to get others to do his bidding. These men were giants of their day, and forever will be legends.

References:

Washington Dec 2013.

.

UShistory.org Web. 15 Dec 2013.

.

Becker, Carl Lotus. N.p.. Web. 15 Dec 2013.

.

Boze, J.. Web. 15 Dec 2013.

http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/marquis-de-lafayette

Garfinkle, Susan. "Autobiography: Benjamin Franklin." http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/franklin/autobiography.html.

Klos, S. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.marquisdelafayette.net/

Washington Dec 2013.

.

Show More
Related

  • The American Revolution In The United States Chapter 1 Summary

    435 Words  | 1 Pages

    In chapter eleven, The Age of Democratic Revolutions: The North Atlantic World “Turn Upside Down”, Wells discusses the American and French Revolutions. Both of these revolutions shook the world and turn the world around. After the Enlightenment, there were many revolutions across Europe; however, the American and French Revolution had more power in them to change the world. Because of the books, pamphlets, and sermons, the idea of rationalism moved from philosophes to many of other people. With these new ideas, the people started to believe in change which led to stress and upheaval. In America, the revolution was not like other revolutions. There was no reigns of terror, no mass deportations, or forced labor camps. However, the American

    Read More

  • Road to Valley Forge

    916 Words  | 2 Pages

    He took over outside of Boston, before this his experience was limited to wilderness travel and soldiering. His soldiering experiences were mainly for his home state of Virginia. The first battle that was of significance in this book was the Battle of Long Island. At this battle, Washington and the rebel army are soundly defeated by General Sir William Howe and the British army. After this battle was fought, Howe did not follow-up the victory with quick action as the Americans retreated.

    Read More

  • George Washington Commander In Chief

    1390 Words  | 3 Pages

    Washington's military experience started when he was selected by Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, to travel to the Ohio Valley to tell the French to leave. He was only twenty-two years old, inexperienced, and naive. When Washington got there, the French claimed that they owned the land and refused to give it up. Washington reported this to Governor Dinwiddie, and was ordered to go back and construct a fort so they could defend their territory if their was a war against the French. While constructing a fort, named Fort Necessity, Washington and his men shot a small group of French men, because they would not leave the area. It turned out that they had shot French spies. A few days later, the French attacked the unfinished fort which resulted in Washington losing a third of his army. He surrendered and was allowed to return back to Virginia. This foolish mistake made by Washington started the French and Indian War. This was one of the few mistakes George Washington made during his military career.

    Read More

  • The Battle of Yorktown

    1311 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...he surrender. Even if he would have arrived much sooner, a British defeat was inevitable. He left the colonies in 1782. The colonies had become the newest nation, and named itself the United States of America. The hero of the war, George Washington went on to become the first president of the United States. Many wanted him to become the king, but he refused because he didn’t want all the power just like their tyrant cousins.

    Read More

  • The American Revolution, A Fight for Colonial Independence

    1040 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Is there a single trait of resemblance between those few towns and a great and growing people spread over a vast quarter of the globe, separated by a mighty ocean?” This question posed by Edmund Burke was in the hearts of nearly every colonist before the colonies gained their independence from Britain. The colonists’ heritage was largely British, as was their outlook on a great array of subjects; however, the position and prejudices they held concerning their independence were comprised entirely from American ingenuity. This identity crisis of these “British Americans” played an enormous role in the colonists’ battle for independence, and paved the road to revolution.

    Read More

  • George Washington, Framer Of The Constitution And First President Of The United States

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    George Washington was born at his father’s plantation on Pope’s Creek, in Westmoreland County, Virginia on February 22, 1732. Washington was the eldest of his parents Augustine and Mary Ball Washington’s six children. Little is known about Washington’s childhood and eduction. His father died when he was eleven. But most of the stories that make up his legend, such as his honesty, piety, throwing a silver dollar across the Potomac River, are not documented facts. After the death of his father, Washington helped his mother run the plantation. As a young man he focused on his informal, self-education, his early military contributions, and his career as a

    Read More

  • Washington and the Revolutonary War

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    Washington first got military experience when his brother Lawrence passed away. He became a district adjutant, or a military officer who is an assistant to a senior officer, and that also meant that he would train the soldiers of the local militia. When the French and Indian War began in 1754, Washington served under General Braddock. This was where his courage shone through, and he was named commander in chief of the Virginia militia. Washington had his work cut out for him, because the militia was made up of common folk who for the most part, barely even knew how to load a musket. Luckily, Washington was not training them how to line up like how the British did. Although he did not favor this tactic, he used a new type of approach to the war which was “ungentlemanly” in the eyes of the British. This method called guerilla warfare is similar to how wars are fought today. The British wanted the war to be fought like “gentlemen”, but what’s so polite about killing another human being?

    Read More

  • American History : The Revolutionary War

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    Despite the low expectations for the American colonies, they amazed the world as they rose to the occasion by taking advantage of their military assets, even those they did not know they had. For instance, George Washington proved to be a valuable asset for the American colonies. Washington was already held in high esteem prior to the Revolution for his few, but impactful, military accomplishments prior to the Revolution and for his praise-worthy character. (Schweikart and Allen 74) Because of his lack of experience commanding, he learned to excel in familiarizing himself with new tactics and responsibilities very quickly. (Mount Vernon) He used strategy to make up for what he lacked in supplies or force. In 1776, he valiantly crossed the Delaware river for a successful surprise attack on Trenton and days later successfully took Princeton, two undertakings which contributed significantly to the American victory along with Washington defeating Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1...

    Read More

  • American Revolution and its Aftermath

    1157 Words  | 3 Pages

    The American Revolution marked the divorce of the British Empire and its one of the most valued colonies. Behind the independence that America had fought so hard for, there emerged a diverging society that was eager to embrace new doctrines. The ideals in the revolution that motivated the people to fight for freedom continued to influence American society well beyond the colonial period. For example, the ideas borrowed from John Locke about the natural rights of man was extended in an unsuccessful effort to include women and slaves. The creation of state governments and the search for a national government were the first steps that Americans took to experiment with their own system. Expansion, postwar depression as well as the new distribution of land were all evidence that pointed to the gradual maturing of the economic system. Although America was fast on its way to becoming a strong and powerful nation, the underlying issues brought about by the Revolution remained an important part in the social, political and economical developments that in some instances contradicted revolutionary principles in the period from 1775-1800.

    Read More

  • George Washington Carver

    1066 Words  | 3 Pages

    " 'It is not the style of clothes one wears, neither the kind of automobile one drives, nor the amount of money one has in the bank, that counts. These mean nothing. It is simply service that measures success.'-"-George Washington Carver. George Washington Carver paved the way for agriculturists to come. He always went for the best throughout his whole life. He didn't just keep the best for himself; he gave it away freely for the benefit of mankind. Not only did he achieve his goal as the world's greatest agriculturist, but also he achieved the equality and respect of all. George Washington Carver was born near Diamond Grove, Missouri in 1864. He was born on a farm owned by Moses and Susan Carver. He was born a sick, weak baby and was unable to work on the farm. His weak condition started when a raiding party kidnapped him with his mom. He was returned to the Carver's farm with whooping cough. His mother had disappeared and the identity of his father was unknown, so the Carver's were left to care for him and his brother James. Here on the farm is where George first fell in love with plants and Mother Nature. He had his own little garden in the nearby woods where he would talk to the plants. He soon earned the nickname, "The Plant Doctor," and was producing his own medicines right on the farm. George's formal education started when he was twelve. He had, however, tried to get into schools in the past but was denied on the basis of race.

    Read More

  • Political Analysis Of The Salem Witch Trials In America

    2717 Words  | 6 Pages

    George Washington grew a huge reputation from his leadership in the war, he was the head of General of the Continental Army that fought in states like New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. He was the commander of his army, who so confidently trusted him, put an end to the fighting of the war after defeating and making General Charles Cornwallis’ army surrender in the Siege of of

    Read More

  • George Washington Carver

    1251 Words  | 3 Pages

    George Washington Carver was born into slavery January of 1860 on the Moses Carver plantation in Diamond Grove, Missouri. He spent the first year of his life, the brutal days of border war, between Missouri and neighboring Kansas. George was a very sickly child with a whooping cough, which later lead to his speech impediment, and he was tiny and puny. George's father, James Carver, died in a wood hauling accident when he was bringing wood to his master's house one day. George was sick a great deal during his early years. In 1861, when George was one year old, raiders kidnapped him and his mother with horses from their home in Missouri. Moses Carver, Mary's master, heard that a bushwhacker named Bentley knew Mary's whereabouts along with little George's. Moses offered him 40 acres of his best timberland and Pacer, one of his best horses. Bentley accepted the offer and started in pursuit all the way into Arkansas. Bentley returned a few days later only with young George in a bundle and no sign of Mary. A few years later, in spring, little George was in the woods scraping at the earth. When someone was sick George gathered roots, herbs, and bark, which he boiled to make medicines. Carver grew to be a student of life and a scholar, despite the illness and frailty of his early childhood. Because he was not strong enough to work in the fields, he helped with household chores and gardening. Probably because of these duties and because of the hours he would spend exploring the woods around his home, he developed a keen interest in plants at an early age. Neighbors called George the Plant Doctor because he made house to house calls in Diamond Grove to prescribe for ailing plants. George had his own mini garden where he nursed sick plants b...

    Read More

  • George Washington: The Founding Father

    694 Words  | 2 Pages

    George Washington was born on February 22th, 1732 in Virginia. He grew up as a country boy and loved his family. At the age of 17 he became a surveyor and had made a good reputation for himself as a responsible man. At the age of 20 he was assigned by the governor to send be a messenger

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis of George Washington's Newburgh Conspiracy Speech

    1955 Words  | 4 Pages

    "His mind was great and powerful, without being of the very first order; his penetration strong . . . Perhaps the strongest feature in his character was prudence, never acting until every circumstance, every consideration, was maturely weighed; refraining if he saw a doubt, but, when once decided, going through with his purpose, whatever obstacles opposed." (Thomas Jefferson, as cited in "George Washington," 2006, para.19) George Washington is one of the most recognized and famous leaders in all history of the United States of America. He contributed greatly to the establishment of this prosperous country, from leading the Revolutionary armies into battle, to running the country as the first president, Washington has set precedence and example for all who have and are yet to follow. He was a noble man who demonstrated characteristics one would expect from a hero figure. He was not power-hungry, but did things and played his role for the good of the country, for patriotic purposes, to help America become the success it is today. In March of 1783, the soldiers of the American military were restless, bored and in a terrible state of doubt and distrust concerning the newly formed congress of the country. When these soldiers joined the army, they were promised a certain amount of money according to their service, but by the war's end, congress was nearly broke and not in a position to pay them all they had earned. The soldiers planned a rebellion against congress for their unjust treatment, and attempted to hold an unauthorized meeting of the officers on the matter. Washington forbade the meeting, but called for one a few days later, in which he gave his speech concerning the Newburgh Conspiracy ("The Rise and Fall," 2006, para.2). General Washington was a highly respected man among his peers, soldiers, and fellow men. His opinions, approval, and presence alone were enough to validate many plans, documents, and meetings throughout his life, so it is no wonder that even simple words or acts performed by General Washington were respected, and more often than not, taken to heart by his audience; perhaps this is why it may seem surprising that one of the most important speeches he ever gave fell on relatively deaf ears, leaving the audience hesitant, confused, seemingly unaffected by his powerful use of diction, and emotional appeal.

    Read More

  • General George Washington and The Continental Army

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    General George Washington gained command of the continental army in July 3, 1775 from the directions of General Artemus Ward who said, “The Continental Congress having now taken all the Troops of the several Colonies, which have been raised, or which may be hereafter raised, for the support and defense of the Liberties of America; into their Pay and Service: They are now the Troops of the United Provinces of North America; and it is hoped that all Distinctions of Colonies will be laid aside; so that one and the same spirit may animate the whole, and the only contest be, who shall render, on this great and trying occasion, the most essential Service to the great and common cause in which we are all engaged." In this speech General Ward summarized the task that had been bestowed upon General George Washington. Washington was given the task of instilling a new sense of spirit and pride in the continental army. Washington had quite a task in front of him. The continental ...

    Read More

More about George Washington and the American Revolution

Open Document