In three important ways, Washington helped shape the beginning of the United States. First, he commanded the Continental Army that won American independence from Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. Second, Washington served as president of the convention that wrote the United States Constitution. Third, he was the first man elected President of the United States.
The people of his day loved Washington. His army officers would have made him king if he had let them. From the Revolutionary War on, his birthday was celebrated each year throughout the country.
Washington lived an exciting life in exciting times. As a boy, he explored the wilderness. When he grew older, he helped the British fight the French and Indians. Many times he was nearly killed. As a general, he suffered hardships with his troops in the cold winters at Valley Forge, Pa., and Morristown, N.J. He lost many battles, but led the American army to final victory at Yorktown, Va. After he became President, he successfully solved many problems in turning the plans of the Constitution into a working government.
Washington went to school only until he was about 14 or 15. But he learned to make the most of all his abilities and opportunities. His remarkable patience and his understanding of others helped him win people to his side in times of hardship and discouragement.
There are great differences between the United States of Washington's day and that of today. The new nation was small and weak. It stretched west only to the Mississippi River and had fewer than 4,000,000 people. Most persons made their livings by farming. Few children went to school. Few men or women could read or write. Transportation and communication were slow. It took Washington 3 days to travel about 90 miles from New York City to Philadelphia, longer than it now takes to fly around the world. There were only 11 states in the Union when Washington became President and 16 when he left office.
Many stories have been told about Washington. Most are probably not true. So far as we know, he did not chop down his father's cherry tree, then confess by saying: "Father, I cannot tell a lie." He probably never threw a stone across the broad Rappahannock River. But such stories show that people were willing to believe almost anything about his honesty and his great strength. One of Washington's officers, Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee, summed up the way Americans felt and still feel about Washington:
"First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."
Washington the Man
Washington's appearance caused admiration and respect. He was tall, strong, and broad-shouldered. As he grew older, cares lined his face and gave him a somewhat stern look. Perhaps the best description of Washington was written by a friend, George Mercer, in 1760:
"He may be described as being straight as an Indian, measuring 6 feet 2 inches in his stockings, and weighing 175 pounds ... A large and straight rather than a prominent nose; blue-gray penetrating eyes ... He has a clear though rather colorless pale sking which burns with the sun ... dark brown hair which he wears in a queue ... His mouth is large and generally firmly closed, but which from time to time discloses some defective teeth ... His movements and gestures are graceful, his walk majestic, and he is a splendid horseman."Washington set his own strict rules of conduct, but he also enjoyed having a good time. He laughed at jokes, though he seldom told any.
One of the best descriptions of Washington's character was written after his death by his good friend Thomas Jefferson:
"His mind was great and powerful ... as far as he saw, no judgement was ever sounder. It was slow in operation, being little aided by invention or imagination, but sure in conclusion ..."
"Perhaps the strongest feature in his character was prudence, never acting until every circumstance, every consideration, was maturely weighed; refraining when he saw a doubt, but, when once decided, going through with his purpose whatever obstacles opposed."
"His integrity was most pure, his justice the most inflexible I have ever known ..."
"He was indeed, in every sense of the words, a wise, a good and a great man ... On the whole, his character was, in its mass, perfect ... It may truly be said, that never did nature and fortune combine more perfectly to make a man great ..."
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