George Washington - Biography

His courage was beyond question. His honor, beyond challenge. Last month, marked 200 years since George Washington died at Mount Vernon. When news of his death spread throughout the colonies, every town held memorial services to mourn the passing of our first national hero. A few years later, a foreign traveler noted that every American home included at least one likeness of Washington, who was worshiped as a saint. Our biography tells the life story of Washington before his election as president. In the years when he earned his reputation as the country's bravest warrior and most trusted man. Throughout the world, more people live in freedom today than ever before. Partly because of a Virginia boy who grew up to be father of a nation. When he walked into a room, there was a hush. He's a man of almost uncontrollable passion and intensity. George Washington first in war. You can't imagine without that one person. The war ending the way it did. First, in peace. He was the most famous man in America in the most powerful man in America. First, in the hearts of his countrymen. Could have been elected a king, nobody would doubted that for a moment. But George Washington didn't want to be king. What he craved was widespread admiration and a permanent place in history. Washington is the indispensable man in the creation of the United States of America. Our image of George Washington, part human, part deity, a majestic warrior watching over the nation he created. But like other men, Washington was filled with desires and ambitions. He wanted to be famous. Needed to be admired. I think he was absolutely driven, ambitious almost to a fault. I think he was determined to be extremely well rounded and ready to leap on to the public stage when the opportunity came about. The man called father of his country was born in February 1732 near Pope's creek in Northern Virginia. His father, Augustine, was a successful planter, always ambitious for more land and social status. Their prosperous, there certainly not poor, but they were never at the top of Virginia society. Augustine Washington, his father was trying to get there. The washingtons had a family coat of arms dating back to medieval England, but they were on the second rung of the Virginia social ladder. Washington spent much of his childhood near Fredericksburg on the rappahannock river. Many stories about his early life are pure fiction, including the one about young George chopping down a cherry tree, then admitting it to his father. But there's no question George Washington was an uncommon child. From boyhood, he was obsessed with his reputation, always wanting to be considered honorable and virtuous. He learned to ride a horse to dance to show courtesy and good manners. As a boy, he hand copied the rules of civility and decent behavior, a Jesuit guide to gentlemanly conduct. An example, if you cough, sneeze, psi or yawn, do it not loud. These rules they're very precise in their how to walk, how to talk, and how to eat. And he's doing it because he knows that he is not at the top of his world. He has a ways to go before he reaches that position. Reaching the top became far more difficult when Washington lost his father, Augustine Washington was in his late 40s when he died in 1743. When Washington's father died when he was only 11, he became an adult almost overnight. I don't think he and his mother also had the best of relationships. She turned to her still young son, George, and wanted him, in fact, I think to be partly the man of the family. And I think he grew up very, very fast. For male guidance, Washington looked to his older half brother. Lawrence Washington had already married into the powerful fairfax family, more important he was a military man. Washington aspired to be like his older brother, Lawrence. He looked up to him because Lawrence was everything he hoped to be, Lawrence was a member of the House of burgesses. He was a soldier who was enrolled in an American regiment that was part of the British Army. Lawrence encouraged his younger brother to study surveying and George immersed himself in geometry and math. As a teenager, he started conducting surveys for wealthy Virginia landowners. The profession earned him both money and respect. Surveyors were the social equal of physicians and lawyers. At one point in his youth, Washington grew enchanted with Sally fairfax, another member of Virginia's wealthiest family, but she was already married. Washington was obviously smitten with Sally fairfax. Sally was very cosmopolitan. She was pretty, she was flirtatious, and I think she probably encouraged Washington's infatuation. But I think both of them knew that nothing would ever come of it. If Washington was upset when his passion was unreturned, he was devastated a few years later when he lost his role model. Lawrence Washington was stricken with tuberculosis, a death sentence in the 1740s. When he died, George was without his big brother and best friend. He eventually inherited Lawrence's estate on the Potomac. Mount Vernon. And he inherited a love of the military and uniforms. George Washington was a born soldier with a physical presence that was nearly regal. He stood 6 foot three and was strong, silent. Charismatic. When he walked into a room, there was a hush. Everyone who saw him in everyone who wrote, in some way, different words, different expressions. They all talked about the charisma that exuded. Washington also had a deep need for adventure. It was partly satisfied by his profession. Surveying took him far into the wilderness of western Virginia. But for any young man, the ultimate adventure was war. In the 1750s, the French and British both claimed vast territories in the Ohio valley near present day Pittsburgh. Virginia's governor Robert Dinwiddie wrote a stern letter demanding the French abandoned the area. But delivering the ultimatum would require a journey of 500 miles through the wilderness of Virginia and Pennsylvania, all the way north to the shores of Lake Erie. This would be a perilous expedition through uncharted territory. 21 year old George Washington overflowing with ambition volunteered to lead a handful of men. The trip brought him face to face with unimaginable dangers. Washington and his guide very nearly drowned while crossing the Allegheny river. But he completed the mission and delivered the ultimatum, which the French ignored. When he returned after three months, Washington wrote a journal documenting his perilous trip. In the spring of 1754, his report was front page news and George Washington had his first taste of glory. He writes a report for the governor that is published in both continents. He becomes very famous, extraordinary famous for a young man in his early 20s. Early in his life. He is known on both sides of the Atlantic as colonel Washington from then on. Whenever he wrote, Washington reaffirmed his duty to mother England and in his words, the best of kings. Like most virginians, he considered himself a loyal British subject. He also considered himself first and foremost a soldier. At age 22, he went north again to confront the French. This time, as a lieutenant colonel in the Virginia regiment. Washington and his men surprised a band of French soldiers. He issued orders to open fire. It was the start of the French and Indian War and Washington's first military encounter. He wrote to his younger brother. I heard the bullets whistle and believe me, there was something charming in the sound. Clearly there was something stimulating to him about combat. He had tremendous personal bravery. The prospect of being hit by a bullet was just not something that faced him. If you wanted to fault Washington, you might say he was too courageous. There were times when perhaps he should not have exposed himself as much as he did. Washington returned twice more to fight the French in the Ohio valley. During one mission, he served under British general Edward Braddock. 900 English soldiers were killed, including Braddock. Washington retrieved his body, then led a retreat. It was one of the most embarrassing defeats in British history, one that left a permanent imprint on Washington. After the battle he wrote, I had four bullets through my coat and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt. Many of his fellow soldiers weren't so lucky. Over half of all the officers that went out never came back, I think probably that shaped his character as a future military leader, he learned and never forgot the cost of a battle if you let yourself be surprised. From his earliest days in uniform, Washington inspired the respect and loyalty of other soldiers. It was partly his courage, partly his style. He develops himself as a horseman as a fencer as a dancer. He's a superb athlete, and he knows the presence that he that he has. He also dressed the part in a red and blue uniform with all the trimmings, including silver buttons and a medallion on his hat. And he always designed his own uniforms. Every war he fought in. This wasn't vanity, but he just knew it's important for your sense of command. And it's also important for the figure that you make in the world. But Washington was still a member of the Virginia regiment, not an officer in the regular British Army. Technically, he was outranked by even the lowliest British officer. A commission in the regular army was one thing Washington craved. He wanted it, he sought it, but he never got it. That probably always galled him a little bit, that he, as an English man, he saw himself as an English man, was looked down upon by English leaders. In 1758, unable to get the commission he desperately wanted, George Washington resigned from the military. He was certain his career as a soldier was over. It was time to start a new life as a Virginia planter. In 1758, George Washington was 26. He had already been in battle narrowly escaped death and established a reputation as the bravest of men. He planned to devote the rest of his days to farming his Mount Vernon estate and leading the life of a southern gentleman. For George Washington, in the America, the Virginia he lived in, there was a sense that a person born to his station in life had responsibility for other people. He was expected to be more hospitable to be generous to loan people money. The people who knew George Washington thought that he had that ability of good judgment and of living up to his responsibilities. There would soon be more responsibilities and a tremendous amount of wealth. Washington began courting, Martha custis, the richest widow in Virginia. She was bright and easygoing, a welcome change from his overbearing mother. Martha's first husband, Daniel parke custis, came from a prominent family. He had left Martha with money and two young children. After a brief courtship, George and Martha Washington were married in January of 1759. During his engagement, Washington wrote to his first romantic interest, Sally fairfax. He called her his object of love and wrote, I wish I was happy also. The letter raises questions about whether Washington married for love or money. If Martha had been poor, I don't think he would have been attracted to her in the same way. I don't think Washington is in the traditional sense, passionately in love with Martha. And whether they ever have the Hollywood kind romantic marriage, I think is debatable. That it's a good marriage, the evidence to me is overwhelming. It's certainly a marriage that gives him a great deal. One thing the marriage never gave him was descendants, the man later called the father of his country, was apparently unable to father children of his own. He certainly was sterile since Martha was 27 years old and had babies by her first marriage and they never had sign of a pregnancy. After his marriage, George Washington settled into life as a farmer. He raised hogs, grew tobacco, corn, and wheat. He also devised innovative methods of crop rotation. Washington had no formal training as an architect, but personally expanded the main house, turning a home into a mansion. The plantation at Mount Vernon was his domain, and he ran it like a commanding general. I think Washington would have been a very difficult man to work for. Because you knew at 5 30 in the morning, a horse might turn the corner and there was George Washington looking over your shoulder. And I don't think he would have been the easiest person to work with then. Given his sense of duty and his position in society, it was almost inevitable that Washington would run for public office. In 1758, he won election to the Virginia House of burgesses, serving alongside firebrands such as Patrick Henry. Washington observed passionate debates about freedom and the rights of man. He talked rarely, but listened intently. He's there for 16 years and he doesn't take the lead. He's never the speaker, but he is there, and he's participating in politics on the ground, and he's seeing how it works. Through the 1760s, many Americans were growing resentful of their British masters. The colonies were heavily taxed, treated like unruly children by mother, England. Washington himself wrote, Great Britain hath no right to put their hands into my pocket. Revolutionary attitudes were evident in political cartoons, which grew increasingly violent. From horse America throwing off his British master to a British loyalist tarred and feathered. When colonial leaders defiantly proposed a boycott of British goods, Washington agreed to sign the document. His resentment of England had been growing ever since he was refused a full commission in the British Army. He's a second class citizen and when you're striving to be the top and you kind of come to the recognition. There's no way the way the game is set up that you can be at top. Then the idea of the possibility of separation falls on more fertile soil. By 1774, full scale revolution was in the air. Delegates from the 13 colonies met in Philadelphia for the first Continental Congress. Washington was elected to represent Virginia. While willing to go to war, he was also sickened by the thought. He predicted more blood will be spilt on this occasion than in the annals of North America. Washington knew war with the most powerful nation on earth would be horrific, and that much of the cost would be borne by wealthy Americans such as himself. The idea that Washington was a person and who was interested in protecting his privileges. This is an absurd and ridiculous idea. He had a big house, he had good horses. He had good wine, but his major goal was his character was reputation in the community. In 1775, the first shots were fired near Boston. With war now inevitable, George Washington attended the second Continental Congress. He was the only delegate to arrive in full military uniform, perhaps advertising his desire to serve as commander in chief of the Continental Army. The delegates agreed, voting to put their faith and future in the hands of 43 year old George Washington. Washington is motivated by interest. He's also motivated by something even more important than interest and that is honor. His move towards becoming commander in chief of the army, part of this is his desire for fame and glory. I mean, part of it is to defend his rights, but part of it is this is the way to live in history. And I'm convinced that Washington's desire for historical fame is really very close to the core of core of his being. In July of 1775, Washington assumed command of the rebels. They were amateur soldiers and weekend warriors about to face the most powerful military machine in the world. In the summer of 1775, George Washington took over as commander in chief of the revolutionary army. As he inspected the troops in Massachusetts, his first job was to erase any doubts about his own confidence. Sectional jealousies were very strong. The new englanders sort of looked a scant at this Virginia commander in chief. So as he wrote in, there was this attitude of show me. As always, Washington was extremely aware of public relations and his own image. He served without pay, asking only that his expenses be reimbursed. And he kept a ledger to account for every penny he spent. Typically one of his first purchases was a ribbon to distinguish myself. Washington was appalled at the condition of his troops. The new englanders lacked training, supplies, and discipline. He would later ask the rhetorical question are these the men with which I am to defend America? His goal was to mold the rebels into a professional army and a polite one. In one of his first orders, he demanded that his troops stop the foolish and wicked practice of profane swearing. It was one order the commander himself found difficult to follow. The. Reason is because he had to. He knew it was there, and it could be volcanic. It's rushed away. There would soon be plenty of opportunities for his temper to rise. In July operation of independence was read throughout the colonies. There could be no turning back. In New York City, a mob ripped down a statue of king George the third. Of July, the new republic was facing its demise. Washington retreats. He loses again and again. He was defeated and the cause was lost, and he knew it. And his determination was, with whatever he had left, be it only a Corporal's God. He would die fighting. There was no hope. Washington and his men finally crossed the Delaware river and took refuge in Pennsylvania. One week before Christmas of 1776, he wrote to his brother. No man ever had a greater choice of difficulties and less means to extricate himself from them. His difficulties were about to get far worse. Many volunteers were nearing the end of their enlistments and ready to return to their towns and farms, but in the final days of 1776 and the first days of the new year George Washington altered the course of the war. If Washington had done nothing before then and did nothing after, just those ten days that one campaign would have assured him a place in the Pantheon of military leaders who did something decisive that changed history. First came his audacious attack on Trenton on Christmas night, Washington led his troops which he described as pitiful across the icy Delaware river into New Jersey. After the crossing, two divisions marched 9 miles south to Trenton where they surprised 1400 hessians, German mercenaries, hired to fight alongside the British. They attacked Trenton a world hefty demanded screaming mob of kids unshaven many of them barefooted, and they capture a thousand hessians, they have guns, they have cannon they have all the equipment all the food of the hessians and suddenly this bedraggled defeated army is turned into a fighting force. Washington considers Trenton just to start. A few days later, he again crossed the Delaware and moved east, then north toward the village of Princeton. There on the third day of 1777, Washington's rebels came face to face with two British regiments. The revolution was about to crumble. They had to win at Princeton. It was wavering between the British lines and the American lines. And it was in the balance. He rode out between the lines and turned calmly to his troops and said, come with me. So if you want to capture just one crystallizing moment in the American Revolution, maybe it was that moment when he rode out between the lines and said, come on. Washington reportedly turned to his men and said, it's a fine Fox chase, my boys. He's remarkable courage inspired his troops to fight with all the ferocity. They could muster. In every attack, he was there in front of his white horse and unmistakable target. And an easy talk. His officers are pleading with them, get out of here and he's sitting on the horse waving his sword. He's going to fight the British by himself. The Christmas campaign boosted the morale of the entire nation. Americans actually began composing acrostics, poems incorporating Washington's name. After the battle of Princeton, a young woman wrote, serene, majestic, see he gains the field, his heart is tender, while his arms are steel. Throughout the colonies, there was similar praise for general George Washington, and there was actual reason for hope, but Washington knew the American Revolution was a long way from over. In late 1777, George Washington still needed to transform his ragtag army into a professional fighting force. He decided to set up camp in valley forge Pennsylvania, along with 11,000 soldiers. The weather was bitter, the food sparse, and nearly a quarter of his troops died from exposure or disease. Washington wrote to his fellow virginian Patrick Henry. We have experienced little less than a famine in camp, and have had much cause to dread a general mutiny. When they went into winter encampment, he could have gone home, Washington, though, always for 8 years stayed with his army. He never took a vacation, he never went home for the winter. He stayed where his troops were. The commander in chief did have one privilege denied his troops. His wife came north to spend part of the winter with the general. With great frequency, Martha was there at valley forge. The fact that he did that meant that they were very, very close, and that he respected her. He respected her opinions and that she helped to get him strength when he needed it most. During his encampment at valley forge, Washington and his officers whipped the soldiers into shape. At least those who had not deserted. They were trained in military tactics instilled with discipline. The commander also inspired his men by having them read the revolutionary pamphlets of Thomas paine. As paine wrote, the heart of the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. Finally, Washington felt his troops could fight the British unequal terms, and was desperate for a chance to prove it. He got his wish in June of 1778 at Monmouth, New Jersey. On a steaming afternoon, Washington's newly trained army fought a large force of British redcoats. The Apollo officially a draw, the battle of Monmouth was a moral victory for the Continental Army. For the first time, American soldiers and British soldiers fought to a stand still professionally face to face with equal results. And from that point on, Washington always felt confident and his soldiers felt confident that they could stand up to the British in the open in the field of battle and win. The revolution would go on, with both sides fighting to control the Hudson River in the north. But it was increasingly apparent that Washington's army would be victorious, especially when France joined the war on the American side. The turnaround was partly due to Washington's courage and boldness, but also to his patience. Out of 8 major engagements, he wins three and he loses four and he draws one. And so they say, well, how can you say he's a great general? But war is not the World Series. It's not best out of 7. You can lose every battle you fight and still win. The important thing is to have the superior strategic understanding. His strategy in 1781 was to engage the British in one final battle. From his camp north of New York City, Washington marched 300 miles south to Yorktown, Virginia, a crucial port controlled by the British and general Charles cornwallis. Washington's troops dominated on the ground and French ships controlled the sea. Trapped on all sides, the British had no choice. In October of 1781, cornwallis surrendered. Word spread throughout the colonies, the American Revolution was all but over. The new republic had its first cause for jubilation, and its first national hero, George Washington. He got a ladder in 1782 from one of his officers who said there ought to be a monarchy and you ought to be the king. Now Washington responded instantly to this letter and in very stern terms. And told him he couldn't imagine why he would make such a suggestion and never repeat these words to anybody. Many Americans were deeply skeptical that a republic could actually work at the time the world had no examples. Some of Washington's highest ranking commanders felt the nation should be run by the military. And there was a faction of officers who thought we should just take over the country. Washington found out about it. And in one of those marvelous moments in history, walked unannounced into the meeting, where all the officers had been assembled by the coup makers. And told them flat out that anyone who was thinking of doing anything like that was not a friend of his or a friend of the country's. And so the coup was killed like that. As the war ended, Washington was 51 years old. He traveled to Annapolis, Maryland to resign his commission and bid farewell to his troops. At that point, I'm sure no intent effort. Of return. By giving up his authority, Washington was setting a precedent that would shape the new nation. It was almost unthinkable for anyone to relinquish power, especially a man who could have any office he desired. When king George the third was told, after the Revolutionary War was over in the peace treaty was being signed that Washington would resign his command of the military and went back to private citizen. King George the third said then by God, sir, he is the greatest man in the world. He does that. George Washington did exactly that on Christmas Eve of 1783, he returned to Mount Vernon, where he expected to spend the rest of his life. But his countrymen would soon call on him again, not for his military courage, but for his personal honor. After the revolution, George Washington settled into his old routine of raising crops and tending to his sprawling estate. During his so called retirement, Washington designed more additions to Mount Vernon. He also devised new ways to grow crops and even to breed animals. He was an exceptionally inventive and created man. I can't tell you how excited for instance he was when the king of Spain decided to give him one jackass. And Washington with that one jackass was able to introduce a breed of mules to America. He was introducing a stronger, more durable animal to American farming. And that excited him just as much, I think, as leading the Revolutionary War forces. His passion for agriculture was evident in a letter he wrote. He called farming, most delectable, especially seeing plants rise from the earth and flourish. But his dream of a peaceful semi retirement didn't work out exactly as planned. Visitors came to Mount Vernon nearly every day. Some were invited, others stopped by unannounced. Everyone wanted a firsthand look at the most famous man in America. He was an exhibit people were coming to paint his picture, there was no photography. There was no film, but everybody wanted this man's image. So the painters came and they painted and the people came and they gawked. While people gawked at Washington, the United States were anything but united. The former colonies feuded with one another over tariffs and borders. They were held together by the flimsiest of glue. The Articles of Confederation enacted during the revolution. There was a feeble central government that was, in Washington's words, a shadow. Political leaders called for a national meeting of America's greatest minds to write a new and stronger constitution, but a constitutional convention would be incomplete without George Washington. They knew they needed to have him, and they needed to have him to make the point that this was not a power grab. And this was the man who had had more power than anyone else in the United States, as commander in chief, and he'd had it for 8 and a half years, and he had given it back. So clearly he was. Essential. When he arrived in Philadelphia, he was put in charge of the convention. Through the summer of 1787, delegates argued and debated in the sweltering Philadelphia heat. The windows were kept tightly shut to make sure no one could eavesdrop on their secret deliberations. Thomas Jefferson on duty in France called the convention a gathering of demagogues. And the greatest demigod of all was the president of the convention. George Washington. As usual, he was courteous to everyone, intimate with no one. Throughout his life his obsession with honor and virtue made Washington dignified, but distant. One afternoon, a delegate named gouverneur Morris, beta colleague that he could put his hand on Washington's shoulder. That evening at a reception after they'd had a bit of wine, Morris approached Washington, put his hand on his shoulder and said, general, I'm happy to see you looking so well. Well, Washington's reaction was to quickly remove that hand from his shoulder, take a step back and stare in silence at governor Morris, and no one attempted to do that again. Among the questions facing the delegates who were terrified of giving too much power to one man was whether America should be governed by a triumvirate. But they also knew that some men are capable of relinquishing power. They knew it because Washington had done precisely that after the revolution. Finally, everyone agreed to invest the executive power in a single office. The president of the United States. No one in America had any doubt about who would be the first man to fill the office. There was zero question. And just look at the votes in the Electoral College. And they're meeting in all the state capitals on the same day. They can't possibly communicate with each other, and yet every single one of these electors cast a vote for George Washington. It was just unthinkable that any of them would do anything else. Washington received the news in April of 1789 in a letter addressed to your excellency. You have been elected to the office of president of the United States of America. Two weeks later, the president elect set off from Mount Vernon to the capital of the United States, New York City. It was one of history's remarkable journeys. At every town and village, Washington was greeted by cheering crowds, expressing their appreciation for his past heroics during the revolution and their hopes for the new country it created. The celebrations continued at the inauguration. After Washington was sworn in, he responded with the modesty that was his trademark. No event could have filled me with greater anxieties. And he called on every citizen to cherish the new republic, which he called the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people. Those people took comfort in knowing the experiment was being led by an extraordinary man. He had held the army together. He had held the colonies together. He had held the Continental Congress in effect together. He could have been elected a king. He would have won that election. Nobody would doubt it that for a moment. During his two terms as president, Washington would face foreign threats and domestic problems, but the union held. One of his actions was a proclamation that one Thursday in November be set aside as an official day of Thanksgiving. Washington suggested that Americans thank God for their new nation. Most citizens were equally thankful to George Washington. If there had not been a George Washington, there would not be a United States of America today. There might be a country here, probably there would be a lot of countries here. It would not be the United States that we know it could not have been. When Washington died in 1799, it set off a national outpouring of grief. The second president John Adams called him the most beloved person in this country ever produced. George Washington, who so deeply loved farming, had planted the seed of a republic, not merely a country on a map, but a radical idea that people could govern themselves. He tended it, nurtured it, and stood guard to make certain the fragile new nation took root. And the democracy he called the experiment soon began to flourish. It was largely due to one man's courage as a soldier. His abilities as a statesman, and his reputation for honor. George Washington was, the person who truly united, the United States. If you believe that certain things are foreordained, you would have to believe that the existence of this person, George Washington, at that time, that it was foreordained that he was supposed to be there and was supposed to do that. If you believe in fate, you have to think that fate had a hand in the creation of George Washington. Washington is the indispensable man in the creation of the United States of America. He's truly a remarkable man. When he died, Jefferson quoted from the Bible where he said truly this day a great man has fallen in Israel. And Washington was truly a great man. I would say the greatest man America's ever had. Washington lived in an age when slavery was an accepted practice. Not only in America, but in most parts of the world. While he is occasionally criticized for owning slaves himself, Washington's writings also indicate he felt slavery was inconsistent with American ideals. In his final will, Washington directed that his slaves be freed immediately. He also left instructions that his elderly slaves be provided with food and clothing, and that young ones be taught to read and write, of all the founding fathers who owned other human beings. George Washington was the only one to demand that his slaves be emancipated.