President George Washington: biography, activities and interesting facts

The first president of America, George Washington, rightfully wears the title of Fatherland Fatherland. It was thanks to his activities that North America got out of control of England, which was its metropolis, gained independence and gained the Constitution. The memory of this outstanding political and public figure is immortalized in the name of the capital of the United States, as well as the state, the streets, the canyon, the lake, the islands and the mountains.

The son of a provincial surveyor

George Washington, the first US president, was born February 22, 1732 in the family of a large landowner Augustine Washington, who lived in the North American colony of Virginia. The land surveyor, in his basic occupation, his father spent all the days on the vast plantations that surrounded their estate. The mother of the future head of state - Maria Bol Washington, led the household, devoting herself to the children, who had five in the family. Her lessons were the home and only education that George received in his early years.

Having lost his father at the age of eleven and having inherited his profession as a surveyor, future President Washington began to work early. Already in 1748, he took part in geodetic work conducted in the Shenandoah Valley, and a year later became the official land surveyor of the county of Culpepper.

The fighting youth of the future president

In his childhood years, his closest person after the mother was his half-brother Lawrence, after his death in 1752, George inherited a vast estate on the Potomac River, and thereby gained material independence. At the same time, he received the rank of Major of the local militia, who carried out military operations against British troops.

The chronicle of this period of life in Washington is full of descriptions of military operations, in most of which he was a commander. In 1755, during one of the expeditions to the fort of Duke, he was captured, but, after some time at large, managed to bring the matter to a victorious end. When the military campaign against the British troops was successfully completed, President Washington, already in the rank of colonel, continued to fight the French and the Indians who raided the estates of local colonists.

Marriage and the beginning of political activity

After resigning in 1758, a twenty-six-year-old veteran, George returns to Virginia and marries a young widow, Martha Dendridge Kastis, who already had two children from her first marriage. Evil tongues claimed that when concluding a marriage union, Washington was guided primarily by selfish motivations, but it is clear from the memoirs of contemporaries that they lived happily, despite the absence of common children.

George Washington, the first US president, began his political career with participation in the Legislative Assembly of Virginia, in which he was elected between 1758 and 1774. In his work, he pursued a line of reconciliation with the metropolis, despite the fact that the government of England prevented the expansion of private land holdings on the territory of its North American colonies.

The opponent of violence and his adherents

One of the methods of influencing London, Washington saw the policy of boycotting English goods. His allies and like-minded were such politicians who later became famous politicians, like Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. Carrying their own line, they, nevertheless, were opposed to any violent actions.

In particular, their extremely negative attitude to the so-called Boston tea party - the destruction in December 1773 in the harbor of Boston of cargo of tea, arrived from England, in response to which the British government has passed a number of laws that are unacceptable for the colonists, is known.

Again in the midst of war

Such measures caused a wave of outrage over the ocean and provoked the beginning of the war for US independence. The commander-in-chief of the continental army was unanimously chosen by George Washington, who by that time had left hopes of reconciliation with the mother country, and appeared in June 1775 at a meeting of the Congress in full military uniform.

The first months of the military campaign did not bring the army-led army successes. Moreover, a number of defeats forced the enemy to surrender several cities in the central part of the country. The reason for the setbacks, as further events showed, was the lack of authority conferred on the Commander-in-Chief by Congress.

The picture dramatically changed in December 1776, after George Washington was delegated rights, which put him, in fact, in the position of military dictator. Concentrating huge power in his hands, he managed to reverse the course of military operations, and from now on the troops entrusted to him began to win one victory after another. In a short time, strategically important cities were captured: Boston, Saratoga, Princeton and Trenton.

Victory and recognition of US independence

Encouraged by victories, the continental army continued its offensive, cramping the enemy in all directions, which greatly increased the prestige of the United States on the international arena in those days. The result of their brilliant actions was the surrender of British troops, signed on November 18, 1781. The victorious culmination was the peace treaty concluded in November 1783 in Paris, which put an end to hostilities and was a recognition of US independence.

After the victorious completion of hostilities crowned with glory, the commander-in-chief resigned and returned home to the Mount Vernon estate, which he had once received as a dowry. A new period of life began, which is described by a biography familiar to every contemporary American. George Washington from the commander of the war turned into a wise politician.

Creation of the Constitution

His first civilian act was letters addressed to the leadership of all the American states in which he, for the sake of preserving the integrity of the country, called for the all-round strengthening of the central government. In particular, Washington was the initiator of the suppression of the uprising of farmers in Massachusetts against the legitimately elected government of Boston, as by the resolution of all disagreements he considered only a constitutional way.

Considering his previous merits and current political views, the citizens of the country chose Washington as the head of the Convention, whose works in 1778 produced the US Constitution. Its fairly rapid ratification by all thirteen states that were then part of the country was largely due to the indisputable authority of Washington, personally leading the work on this document.

As president of the United States

According to the Constitution, the head of state is the president, and to this post George Washington was unanimously elected by all members of the electoral college in late April 1789. Such unanimity on his candidacy became a unique event in the entire subsequent history of the country.

Three years later, President Washington was confirmed in his post for another term, although he personally did not take part in the election campaign. According to the decision of the Congress, his annual salary was 25 thousand dollars. Being a wealthy person, Washington refused from him at first, but then he considered it possible to accept this money.

The Constitution is the supreme law of state life

George Washington - the president of the United States, who was at the source of the creation of a democratic society in the country, directed all his forces to instill in the citizens of the country respect for the Constitution. Being a guarantor by virtue of her position, he created precedents demonstrating his deep respect for this fundamental law of the state, realizing that he can only make his own citizens respectable by his own example.

Since Washington became president at a time when the American statehood was only recovering its features, he also paid great attention to the formation of the three branches of her power. As a wise ruler, his inner circle he created, guided primarily by the intellectual and business qualities of candidates for senior government posts. This allowed him to form a team whose work has brought the right result.

Separate features of the government of Washington

It is characteristic that President Washington, while in the midst of political passions, did not give a visible preference to any of the parties. He seemed to have taken the position of neutrality, excluding any accusations of bias of one or another of his decisions. Having the right to veto decisions of the Congress that were not favorable to him, President Washington used it only in the most extreme cases, trying to be guided not by his personal passions, but solely by the requirement of law.

The most important achievement of the first US President was the adoption of the famous Bill of Human Rights, held under his leadership through Congress by Senator Madison. It is also known that after the second term of the presidency he was persuaded to run for the third time (success was secured), but he flatly refused. By this, Washington laid the foundations of a tradition, later enshrined in the corresponding article of the law, according to which the president can be elected no more than twice.

The banal end of a great life

George Washington died on December 14, 1799. The reason for the death of this great man was the cold he received during a horseback ride through his possessions. The medicine of those years was powerless before the complications expressed in acute laryngitis and pneumonia.

For the role that Washington played in gaining US independence and the formation of the entire state system, in memory of grateful descendants, he remained crowned with the title of "Father of the Nation." President of the United States after Washington - John Adams - fully supported the traditions laid by his predecessor, and thereby served to create a strong democratic society.