George Washington

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, into a fourth generation family in Virginia. He spent his childhood and youth in modest conditions, received home education, and was engaged in self-education. He was the third of five children in the family when he lost his father Augustine, a tobacco plantation owner and land surveyor, at the age of 11. The coat of arms of the Washington family has been known since the 12th century, when one of George Washington's ancestors moved to the Washington Old Hall estate, located in County Durham, North East England.

The emblem is a silver shield with two red belts and three red five-pointed stars at the head. In 1938, the US Congress convened a commission to design the official flag for the District of Columbia. The commission announced a public competition, the winner of which was the graphic designer Charles Dunn, who proposed his own version back in 1921. The image of the flag of his authorship was based on the family coat of arms of George Washington. On October 15, 1938, the resolution on the adoption of the flag came into force.

By nature, Washington had red hair. He, contrary to popular belief, did not wear wigs, but powdered his hair. Washington has had dental problems throughout his life. He lost his first permanent (not milk) tooth at the age of twenty-two, and by the time of the presidency he had only one. John Adams said that he lost them because he ate brazil nuts, but modern historians suggest that this was due to mercury oxide, which was given to Washington as a cure for smallpox and malaria. Washington had several dentures, four of which were made by dentist John Greenwood.

In 1748, Washington participated in Lord Fairfax's surveying expedition in the Shenandoah Valley. From 1749 he was Surveyor of Culpepper County. George was brought up by his half-brother Lawrence, after whose death he inherited the estate of Mount Vernon near Alexandria, on the Potomac River in 1752, in the same year he became a major in the local militia. In his neighbor Lord Fairfax, who belonged to the wealthiest landowners in Virginia, Washington found a mentor. Fairfax introduced him to the lifestyle of the untitled nobility and supported him on his path to a career as an officer and surveyor.

In 1753, Washington was instructed to warn the French that they should not advance into the Ohio River valley. The trip lasted for eleven weeks, Washington had to overcome 800 kilometers and endure many dangerous episodes. In 1753-1754 he commanded one of the Virginia militia districts. Washington's participation in the campaign against Fort Duquesne dates back to 1755, where he was taken prisoner.During a second expedition to the same fort, Washington showed courage, for which he received the rank of colonel and was appointed commander of the Virginia Provincial Regiment. Washington continued to participate in hostilities against the French and Indians, taking up defensive positions, but on December 31, 1758, he returned to Virginia and resigned.

On January 6, 1759, Washington married the wealthy widow Martha Dandridge Custis (who took his last name) and received a rich dowry: 17,000 acres of land, 300 slaves, and a mansion in Williamsburg. The marriage was happy, although the couple had no children. Washington raised his wife's two children from his first marriage. Thanks to hard work and strict order, he managed to increase the income of his estate and become one of the richest landowners in Virginia. On his farms along the Potomac River, he grew tobacco, wheat, and by 1772 he was already exporting fish and flour to the West Indies.

Washington's worldview and political philosophy was influenced by English opposition or agrarian literature in the early 18th century. Washington admired Cato the Younger, whom he considered the model of all Roman virtues. He tried to conform to these patterns in public and private life, adhering to the classical style of speech and dignified gestures and facial expressions.

Self-control, strict control of emotions and disciplined behavior became his outstanding qualities, under which the original spontaneity showed less and less. Conservative and judicious in temperament, moderately religious, without a deep interest in theological issues, but at the same time constantly ready to accept new ideas and thoughts, he combined virtue with the progressive consciousness of the Enlightenment.

Washington was elected to the Virginia Legislature from 1758-1774. When contradictions began with the mother country, Washington began to fight for the rights of the colonies. In 1769, he submitted a draft resolution to the House, according to which only the legislative assemblies of the colonies had the right to impose taxes. However, this problem lost its urgency when customs duties were abolished.

Together with Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry, Washington organized a union in Virginia to boycott English goods. However, he disapproved of violent acts, among which was the "Boston Tea Party" on December 16, 1773. The measures taken by the British government thereafter, known as the "Intolerable Laws", forced the colonies to put aside their differences. In Williamsburg, without the knowledge of the governor, the civil chamber of Virginia met, which proclaimed the convocation of the First Continental Congress (September 5-October 26, 1774).

Washington was elected one of the seven delegates, but took a minor part in its work. The Congress accepted a number of protests but refused to openly break with Britain. In a letter to an old friend, Captain R. Mackenzie, then serving in the British forces in Boston, Washington noted: “As for independence or anything like that ... I am quite satisfied that no reasonable person in North America wants anything like that ". However, the situation soon escalated, and armed clashes between the militias and the British army began.

In June 1775, Washington was unanimously elected commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. He took command on July 3, 1775, and led the siege of Boston. The army, created on the basis of the militias of various states, constantly experienced difficulties in recruiting, training and supplying. Its advantage was the tactics of loose formation, which was successfully used against the classic linear formation of the British. Washington managed to improve the combat capability of the troops and the level of discipline among the soldiers.

In 1775-1776 the campaign was held with varying success. Fearing Washington's troops, on March 17, 1776, the Boston garrison was evacuated to Halifax. On July 2, 1776, English troops (32,000 soldiers, including 9,000 Hessian mercenaries) under the command of General William Howe landed on Staten Island. Washington, charged by Congress to hold New York at all costs, prepared to defend itself. This was followed by the Battle of Long Island (August 27, 1776), the Battle of Harlem Heights (September 16, 1776) and the surrender of the city to the British. With the remnants of his troops, George Washington retreated south. On December 12, Congress, which fled from Philadelphia to Baltimore, granted Washington dictatorial powers.

Washington took revenge at Trenton (December 26) and Princeton (January 3, 1777), in March of the same year the siege of Boston ended in victory. The success of the commander-in-chief boosted the morale of the American army. On October 17, 1777, the Americans won a victory at Saratoga, which strengthened the international position of the United States. The campaign of 1777 ended in the collapse of the plans of British strategists, almost all the central states were liberated, and the British held only Philadelphia, New York and Newport.

After the Continental Army, they managed to win a series of victories, ending with the surrender of the British army on November 19, 1781 at Yorktown, after which hostilities in the United States practically ceased. After the battle at Yorktown, among the officers, who feared that Congress would not pay salaries, there was a desire to make Washington a dictator or king (the "Newburg Conspiracy"). By a personal appeal to the officer corps in March 1783, Washington restored discipline and consolidated the principle of the subordination of the military leadership to the civilian one.

In November 1783, after the signing of the Paris Peace Treaty, Washington resigned. After leaving the post of head of the army, Washington sent a circular letter to state governments, advising to strengthen the central government in order to avoid the collapse of the country.

Having settled after the war in his estate "Mount Vernon", Washington, however, observed the political situation in the country. When Massachusetts farmers rebelled against the Boston government in 1786, he urged his supporters to action. As a supporter of the strengthening of central power, dissatisfied with the Articles of Confederation, he was unanimously elected chairman of the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention, which drafted the Constitution of the United States of America in 1787.

Washington's support for the constitution contributed greatly to its ratification by all thirteen states. Washington's popularity led to his unanimous election by the electoral college to the presidency, which he took on April 30, 1789, by taking the oath in New York. In 1792, he was unanimously re-elected for a new term, although Washington himself did not participate in his election campaign. Until now, he remains the only US president for whom all members of the Electoral College voted. Congress set the president's annual salary at $25,000.

One of Washington's main goals as head of state was to preserve the democratic transition, to instill respect for the Constitution among the people, and from the very beginning to establish a state apparatus based on the principles won by the revolution. George Washington, as the first president, tried to create precedents, to make the concept of office more clear.

Throughout his reign, he constantly demonstrated respect for the Constitution, trying to promote the development of the self-consciousness of the American people. Washington contributed to the improvement of the functioning of the three branches of government, laid the foundations of the political structure of the United States. Washington surrounded itself with intellectuals, including in its first government Henry Knox (military), Edmund Randolph (Justice), the leaders of the opposing political factions - Republican Thomas Jefferson (who became the first US Secretary of State) and Federalist Alexander Hamilton (finance).

The first President of the United States initiated the practice of presenting messages to the US Congress. The most important achievement was the adoption of the Bill of Rights, passed through Congress by Madison. This disarmed critics of the constitution, who believed that it did not provide broad rights and freedoms. The president was overcome by serious doubts whether it was worth putting forward his candidacy for a second term. Numerous persuasions from friends, the instability of the Union and the threat of its collapse forced the weakening Washington to yield. In 1792, Washington was unanimously re-elected for a second term, which confirmed his immense popularity.

In his second inaugural address on March 4, 1793, Washington pledged to help the constitutional form of government take root "in the virgin soil of America." The second term in office was focused on stabilizing the situation. Washington's soberly calculated, cautious course prevented the US from becoming involved in European conflicts and stimulated economic recovery. The programs developed by Hamilton to stabilize the financial and industrial development of the country, which diverged from the intentions of the Republicans, were adopted and began to be implemented.

In relations with the indigenous population, Washington relied more on military force, he managed to force the Indians to cede many territories. In 1791, Congress banned distilled alcohol, which led to protests in the frontier regions. In western Pennsylvania, the protests escalated into a riot, dubbed the Whiskey Rebellion. The federal army was too small to crush the resistance, and Washington summoned the state militia and, at the head of an army of 13,000, went to put down the rebellion.

The uprising ended before military force could be used. The leaders were captured, sentenced to death, but pardoned by Washington. These events proved the ability of the federal government to use the military to save the state. During his presidency, Washington repeatedly took the initiative in Congress to establish the National Academy of Sciences, but his proposals were ignored.

The decision to place the District of Columbia between the states of Maryland and Virginia and to build the capital on the Potomac River was supposed to symbolize the equality of the South and the North. Washington personally benefited from this, as he was one of the largest landowners in Virginia. The President often visited the city under construction. The place for the presidential mansion, known as the "White House", he personally chose. "Georgetown" became the first city in the United States, which was built according to a clear plan.

In the realm of foreign policy, Washington from the outset established the primacy of the executive over the legislature. The president advocated non-intervention of the United States in the confrontation between European powers, issuing a proclamation of neutrality in 1793. However, at the same time he recognized the French revolutionary government and confirmed the treaty of friendship of 1778, avoiding, however, any conflicts. The Jay Treaty, signed in November 1794 by the president's representative, removed the threat of war with Great Britain, but split the country into two camps.

More favorable was the Pinckney Treaty of 1795, which established the boundaries between the United States and the Spanish possessions and granted the Americans the right to freedom of navigation along the Mississippi. Thus, Washington managed to strengthen the position of the United States on the American continent and save the country from harmful interference in European affairs. Washington's foreign policy course has also brought considerable benefits to the development of trade.

George Washington was asked to run for a third term, but he refused, explaining that the president should not hold office more than twice in a row. In his farewell address, he confirmed that he would leave the presidency. Thus, Washington established a tradition that was observed without any legal basis until the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 20th century.

On September 20, 1796, Washington's farewell address to the nation was published, which he had been preparing since the spring of this year. His main aspiration was a warning against the destructive influence of the party spirit. To ward off this danger, the president recommended respecting the principles of religion and morality as "the great pillars of human happiness." Washington also bequeathed to "maintain peace and harmony with all countries", to develop trade relations, but to have "as few political ties as possible."The latter provision became the basis of the policy of the Monroe Doctrine and the policy of isolationism, which allowed the United States to stay away from European conflicts, increasing its influence in America itself. In the United States, a tradition has been established: the farewell address is read annually, on February 22, before the opening of the session of the US Congress, before the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The last years of Washington's life were spent in Mount Vernon, with family and visitors. Even after stepping down as head of state, Washington often visited the capital under construction, which the workers called "Georgia." Washington devoted a lot of time to agriculture, built a distillery on his estate. On July 13, 1798, during a period of sharp deterioration in relations with France, President John Adams, given Washington's popularity and reputation, symbolically appointed him commander-in-chief of the American army with the rank of lieutenant general.

On December 13, 1799, Washington, while inspecting his possessions, spent several hours on horseback and was caught in a rain and snow. He went to supper without changing his wet clothes. The next morning, Washington developed a severe runny nose, fever, and a throat infection that turned into acute laryngitis and pneumonia. The next day he got worse. The medical means of that time did not help, and on the night of December 14-15, at the age of 67, Washington died. Modern physicians believe that he died in large part due to the treatment, which included treatment with mercuric chloride and bloodletting. After her husband's death, Martha Washington burned their correspondence. Only three letters have survived.

The author of the congressional mourning resolution, General G. Lee, described Washington as "first in days of war, first in days of peace, and first in the hearts of fellow citizens." In honor of Washington, the capital of the country, the state, the lake and the island, the mountain and the canyon, many settlements, colleges and universities, streets and squares are named. In 1888, a majestic monument (over 150 m high) to the first American president was opened in the US capital. During the Bicentennial Year of the United States (1976), Congress posthumously awarded George Washington the title of General of the United States Army.