George Washington

By Ms. Hay

Adapted from Mrs. Girard’s slides

Room 102

Early LifeWashington came from a family of farmers and landowners. He had little education but showed an aptitude for mathematics. He used this talent to become a surveyor. At 15, Washington took a job as assistant surveyor on a team sent to map the Shenandoah Valley in western Virginia. In his early 20s, Washington joined the Virginia militia, a citizen army that fought on the side of the British in the rivalry between the French and the British over the Ohio territory.

Before PresidencyIn April 1775, Washington was chosen to lead the Continental Army. But his troops were poorly trained, poorly supplied, and ill prepared for war. As a result, they lost many of the early battles against the British. For much of the war, Washington's troops were in retreat. But he held his army together, and eventually the tide turned. In 1781, with the aid of the French, Washington defeated the British army at Yorktown, Virginia, in the final battle of the war. Washington was hailed as a national hero.

During PresidencyIn 1787, Washington was chosen to preside over the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. In 1789, he was unanimously elected president by the newly created Electoral College. As president, Washington faced many challenges. Washington wanted to arrange treaties with Native Americans living along the western frontier (Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee). The country needed a monetary system and a national bank. Last but not least, it was important to establish friendly relations with Great Britain so that the new country had a market for its goods and raw materials.

(1789–1799/1804) was a vital period in the history of France and Europe as a whole. During this time, democracy replaced the absolute monarchy in France, and the country's Roman Catholic Church was forced to undergo a radical restructuring. While France would oscillate among republic, empire, and monarchy for 75 years after the First Republic fell to a coup d'état, the Revolution is widely seen as a major turning point in the history of Western democracy — from the age of absolutism and aristocracy, to the age of the citizenry as the dominant political force.

Historical Event

After PresidencyUpon retiring from the presidency, Washington returned to his estate, Mount Vernon. In 1799, he suddenly became very ill and died. In Congress, Henry Lee, one of Washington's former officers, remembered his leader with these words: "To the memory of the Man, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."

Bibliography• "Welcome to The American Presidency." The American

Presidency. 2006. Scholastic Library Publishing. 23 Dec 2006 <http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=atb050b07&templatename=/article/article.html>.

• "French Revolution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia. 22 Dec 2006. Wikimedia Foundation. 23 Dec 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution>.

• Summers, Robert S. "Internet Public Library: POTUS." POTUS Presidents of the United States. 12 Oct 2005. The Internet Public Library. 23 Dec 2006 <http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/gwashington.html>.

Graphics Citations• "Early Life." 23 Dec 2006

<http://www.thelensflare.com/large/fallfoliage_7619.jpg>.

• "Before Presidency." 23 Dec 2006 <http://www.archives.gov/research/american-revolution/pictures/images/revolutionary-war-031.jpg>.

• "During Presidency." 23 Dec 2006 <http://www.constitutioncenter.org/constitution/02_art_02/asset_upload_file569_1918_1918.jpg>.

• "Historical Event." 23 Dec 2006 <http://cache.jalopnik.com/cars/french_revolution.jpg>.

• "After Presidency." 23 Dec 2006 <http://www.hoeslyvista.com/Pictures/Mount%20Vernon%20Front.jpg>.