George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in
Westmoreland County, Virginia. Washington served as a general and
commander-in-chief of the colonial armies during the American Revolution, and
later became the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to
1797. He died on December 14, 1799, in Mount Vernon, Virginia.
Augustine Washington, George’s father, was an
ambitious man who acquired land and slaves, built mills, and grew tobacco. For
a time, he had an interest in opening iron mines. He married his first wife,
Jane Butler and they had three children. Jane died in 1729 and Augustine
married Mary Ball in 1731. George was the eldest of Augustine and Mary’s six
children, all of which survived into adulthood. The family lived on Pope's
Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia. They were moderately prosperous members
of Virginia's "middling class."
Augustine moved the family up the Potomac River to
another Washington family home, Little Hunting Creek Plantation, (later renamed
Mount Vernon) in 1735 and then moved again in 1738 to Ferry Farm on the
Rappahannock River, opposite Fredericksburg, Virginia, where George Washington
spent much of his youth.
George Washington’s father died when he was 11 and he
became the ward of his half-brother, Lawrence, who gave him a good upbringing.
Lawrence had inherited the family's Little Hunting Creek Plantation and married
Anne Fairfax, the daughter of Colonel William Fairfax, patriarch of the
well-to-do Fairfax family. Under her tutorage, George was schooled in the finer
aspects of colonial culture.
In July, 1752, George Washington's brother, Lawrence,
died of tuberculosis making him the heir apparent of the Washington lands.
Lawrence’s only child, Sarah, died two months later and Washington became the
head of one of Virginia's most prominent estates, Mount Vernon. He was 20 years
old. Throughout his life, he would hold farming as one of the most honorable
professions and he was most proud of Mount Vernon. He would gradually increase
his landholdings there to about 8,000 acres.
In January 1759, Washington married Martha Dandridge
Custis, a widow, who was only a few months older than he. Washington became one
of the more wealthy landowners in Virginia. The marriage also brought Martha's
two young children, John (Jacky) and Martha (Patsy), ages 6 and 4,
respectively. They didn’t have children together.
After a long and successful military life Washington
hoped to retire to his beloved Mount Vernon but he was once again called upon
to serve this country. During the presidential election of 1789, he received a
vote from every elector to the Electoral College, the only president in
American history to be elected by unanimous approval. He took the oath of
office at Federal Hall in New York City, the capital of the United States at
the time.
As the first president, Washington was astutely aware
that his presidency would set a precedent for all that would follow. He
carefully attended to the responsibilities and duties of his office, remaining
vigilante to not emulate any European royal court. To that end, he preferred
the title "Mr. President," instead of more imposing names that were
suggested.
George Washington proved to be an able administrator.
He surrounded himself with some of the most capable people in the country,
appointing Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury and Thomas Jefferson
as Secretary of State. He delegated authority wisely and consulted regularly
with his cabinet listening to their advice before making a decision. Washington
established broad-ranging presidential authority, but always with the highest
integrity, exercising power with restraint and honesty. In doing so, he set a
standard rarely met by his successors, but one that established an ideal by
which all are judged.
Desiring to return to Mount Vernon and his farming,
and feeling the decline of his physical powers with age, Washington refused to
yield to the pressures to serve a third term, even though he would probably not
have faced any opposition. By doing this, he was again mindful of the precedent
of being the "first president," and chose to establish a peaceful
transition of government.
In the last months of his presidency, Washington felt
he needed to give his country one last measure of himself. With the help of
Alexander Hamilton, he composed his Farewell Address to the American people,
which urged his fellow citizens to cherish the Union and avoid partisanship and
permanent foreign alliances. In March 1797, he turned over the government to
John Adams and returned to Mount Vernon, determined to live his last years as a
simple gentleman farmer.
Upon returning to Mount Vernon in the spring of 1797,
Washington felt a reflective sense of relief and accomplishment. He had left
the government in capable hands, at peace, its debts well-managed, and set on a
course of prosperity. He devoted much of his time to tending the farm's
operations and management. Although he was perceived to be wealthy, his land
holdings were only marginally profitable.
During his long absence, the plantation had not been
productive, and there was much work to be done. On a cold December day in 1799,
Washington spent much of it inspecting the farm on horseback in a driving snowstorm.
When he returned home, he hastily ate his supper in his wet clothes and then
went to bed. The next morning, on December 13, he awoke with a severe sore
throat and became increasingly hoarse. He retired early, but awoke around 3
a.m. and told Martha that he felt sick. The illness progressed until he died
late in the evening of December 14, 1799. The news of his death spread
throughout the country, plunging the nation into a deep mourning.
Washington
could have been a king. Instead, he chose to be a citizen. He set many
precedents for the national government and the presidency: The two-term limit
in office, only broken once by Franklin Roosevelt, and then later ensconced in
the Constitution's 22nd Amendment. He crystallized the power of the presidency as
a part of the government’s three branches, able to exercise authority when
necessary, but also accept the balance of power inherent in the system.
George Washington’s Biography
A/ BEFORE READING: Answer the
following questions.
1/ What sort of document is it?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
2/ Where was it published?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
3/ What is its subject?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
B/ WHILE READING: Underline
the proper nouns and circle the numbers. Then complete the following chart.
George
Washington was the _____________________________
of the United States.
Served as President:
__________________________
Number of terms as President: __________________________
Age at inauguration:
____________
Born: _______________________ in
_______________________________
Died: _______________________ in
_______________________________
Married:
__________________________________________
Children:
___________________________________________
2nd President of the USA: _________________________
C/ TRUE OR FALSE: Say if the following statements are
true (right) or false (wrong) and justify ALL your answers by quoting the text.
George
Washington had 8 brothers and sisters. T F
__________________________________________________________________________
He married
at the age of 27. T F
__________________________________________________________________________
He’s the
only president to have been elected unanimously. T F
__________________________________________________________________________
Thomas
Jefferson helped him write his Farewell address. T F
__________________________________________________________________________
He caught a
cold and died. T F
__________________________________________________________________________
Franklin
Roosevelt served more than 2 terms as a President. T F
__________________________________________________________________________
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario