What kind of childhood did george washington have

He also presided over the expansion of the federal union from eleven states North Carolina and Rhode Island ratified [approved] the Constitution after Washington was sworn in as president to sixteen Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee were admitted between and Washington's role as presidential leader was of great importance in winning support for the new government's domestic and foreign policies.

Despite his unanimous election, Washington expected that the measures of his administration would meet opposition—and they did.

By the end of his first term the American political party system was developing. When he mentioned the possibility of retirement in , both Hamilton and Jefferson agreed that he was "the only man in the United States who possessed the confidence of the whole" country and urged him to continue with a second term. Washington's second term was dominated by foreign-policy considerations.

Early in the French Revolution, which had overthrown the French monarchy in , became the central issue in American politics. Determined to keep America out of the war and free from European influence, Washington issued a neutrality proclamation a statement that the United States would not take sides or become involved in the conflict , although the word "neutrality" was not used.

Despite the proclamation, Genet supplied French pirates in American ports and organized expeditions against Florida and Louisiana which were not then part of the United States. For his undiplomatic conduct, the Washington administration requested and obtained his recall to France.

In the midst of the Genet affair, Great Britain began a blockade of France and began seizing neutral ships trading with the French West Indies. Besides violating American neutral rights the territorial rights of a neutral country , the British still held posts in the American Northwest.

The Americans claimed that they plotted with the Indians against the United States. In Washington sent John Jay — to negotiate a settlement of the differences between the British and the Americans. Although Jay's Treaty was vastly unpopular—the British agreed to leave the Northwest posts but made no concessions on other key issues—Washington finally accepted it.

The treaty also paved the way for a new treaty with Spain, which had feared an alliance of American and British interests against Spain in the Western Hemisphere. Nearly all observers agree that Washington's eight years as president demonstrated that executive power was completely consistent with the spirit of republican government.

The term "republican" here refers to the principles of a republic, a form of government in which citizens have supreme power through elected representatives and in which there is no monarchy hereditary king or queen. Washington put his reputation on the line in a new office under a new Constitution.

He realized that in a republic the executive leader, like all other elected representatives, would have to measure his public acts against public opinion. As military commander during the Revolution, he had seen the importance of administrative skills as a means of building public support of the army.

As president, he used the same skills to win support for the new federal government. Despite Washington's dislike of fighting among political "sides," his administrations and policies spurred the beginnings of the first political party system. This ultimately identified Washington with the Federalist party, especially after Jefferson's retirement from the cabinet in Washington's public service did not end with his retirement from the presidency.

During the presidency of John Adams — , when America seemed on the brink of a war with France, Adams appointed him commander in chief of the American forces. Washington accepted with the understanding that he would not take field command until troops had been recruited and equipped.

Since Adams settled the differences with France by diplomatic negotiations, Washington never assumed actual command. He continued to live at Mount Vernon, where he died on December 14, At the time of Washington's death, Congress unanimously adopted a resolution to erect a marble monument in the nation's capital in honor of his great military and political accomplishments.

The Washington Monument was completed in Brookhiser, Richard. Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington. New York: Free Press, Clark, E. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishers, Emery, Noemie. Washington, A Biography. New York: Putnam, As George grew up, he was allowed to play in the corner of the garden, where he planted and grew his own little garden. When he was big enough to ride, his father gave him his own pony and he soon became an expert horseman.

In the evenings, George's mother gathered all of her children together and read to them from the Holy Bible. Soon, George was the tallest, strongest, fastest, and best rider of any of the boys his age. When he played with games or races with his friends, he could always win. George received most of his education at home. Like most boys at the time, he learned arithmetic, geography, astronomy, and handwriting and copying by copying into a copy book from the book called Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior.

George would receive the rest of his education in the colonies. As the eldest, Lawrence received the majority of their father's inheritance including Little Hunting Creek Plantation. Augustine Jr. After his father died, George moved in with Lawrence who became a surrogate father to him. Lawrence raised him until he started working as a surveyor. The following story is one of the few stories told about the boyhood of George Washington. Although we cannot be sure that the story is true, the story was supposed to have been verified by someone in the family.

Augustine raised horses and took pride in keeping his horses blood lines pure. But he was the natural choice for several reasons: he was still considered a hero from the French and Indian War; at forty-three, he was old enough to lead but young enough to withstand the rigors of the battlefield; and northerners hoped a general from Virginia would help draw the reluctant South into the conflict. Above all, the leadership and charisma of the tall, quiet, stately Virginian was unsurpassed. Washington did not attend the congressional session that took the vote for the army's command.

He was the last of its members to know that he had been chosen—by a unanimous vote. He refused a salary and told the Congress, "I beg it may be remembered that I, this day, declare with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the command I am honored with.

In accepting command of colonial forces, George Washington had crossed a deadly serious line. He was a traitor, and if the rebellion failed, he would soon find a rope around his neck. Any military expert would have given the Continentals little chance.

After all, King George's army was the best-trained, best-equipped fighting force in the Western world. The matchless Royal Navy could deliver an army to any shore and strangle enemy nations by blockade. England's forces were commanded by career soldiers who were veterans of wars all over the globe. In sharp contrast, the colonial force staring them down was less of an army than a large gang. Its soldiers came and went almost at will. The officers leading them had little command, let alone fighting experience.

Furthermore, in the colonies, support for the rebellion was far from firm. Washington's first duty was to turn this unruly crowd into a real army by instituting disciplinary regulations.

To facilitate his efforts, he urged the Continental Congress to provide enough money to pay for longer enlistments for his soldiers. But when New Year's Day dawned in , much of his army had gone home because their enlistments had ended. Washington first commanded American forces arrayed around Boston. Using cannon captured by Henry Knox from Fort Ticonderoga and heroically transported miles to Boston, Washington fortified a high point overlooking the city.

Unnerved by the colonials' sudden tactical advantage, the British withdrew from Boston by sea. Washington, however, had no illusions that his enemy was finished. The question was where they would strike next. By spring, it was plain that the British plan was to seize New York. It offered several advantages including a large port, the propaganda value of holding one of the rebels' biggest cities, and a route by which troops could be delivered to the American interior via the Hudson River.

Washington moved to stop them. By August, 30, troops marched on Washington's force. On their first engagement late that month, much of the Continental army either surrendered or turned and fled in terror. On September 15, the British landed on Manhattan, and again Washington's troops ran away. Enraged, he shouted at them, "Are these the men with whom I am to defend America?

But by November, the British had captured two forts that the Continentals had hoped would secure the Hudson River. Washington was forced to withdraw into New Jersey and then Pennsylvania. The British thought this signaled the end of the conflict and dug in for the winter, not bothering to chase the Americans. Washington now realized that by trying to fight open-field, firing-line battles with the British, he was playing to their strengths.

On Christmas Day, he led his army through a ferocious blizzard, crossed the Delaware River into New Jersey, and surprised an enemy force at Trenton.

A few days later, he took a British garrison at nearby Princeton. These actions were less large-scale battles than they were guerrilla raids. Nonetheless, these minor victories gave his army confidence, brightened the spirits of the American people, and told the British that they were in for a long and bitter struggle.

The Revolution's third year was its turning point. This victory convinced the French that the Revolution was winnable for the Americans. They began to consider an alliance with the colonial rebels—partly to get back at an old enemy, England, and partly to share in prizes from raids on British ships. At the same time, the English embarked on an unfortunate military strategy that included an invasion of the southern colonies, which subjected them to guerrilla warfare.

For Washington, however, was a profoundly trying year. He lost two major battles with the British and failed to keep them from taking Philadelphia, home to the new nation's government, which was forced into hiding. In response to such a loss, an attempt was made by some in Congress and the army to oust Washington as commander. The winter of saw his army camped in freezing, wretched huts at Valley Forge.

One of the army's doctors summed up the conditions in his diary: "Poor food—hard lodging—cold weather—fatigue—nasty clothes—nasty cookery—vomit half my time—smoked out of my senses—the devil's in it—I can't endure it. By springtime, things began to improve as the army drilled hard and marched out of Valley Forge a more disciplined fighting force.

In May , the French agreed to an alliance with the Americans, sending troops, munitions, and money. By mid, 6, French troops were fighting alongside the Americans. George Washington was not a great general but a brilliant revolutionary.

Although he lost most of his battles with the British, year after year he held his ragtag, hungry army together. This was his most significant accomplishment as commander of the American forces. It is truly incredible that troops almost naked, poorly paid, and composed of old men and children and Negroes should behave so well on the march and under fire.

The British relentlessly dared Continental forces to fight a line-to-line battle in the open. But Washington stayed with his own hit-and-run tactics, forcing the frustrated British to play the game by his rules. He kept their main army bottled up in New York much of the time, wary of fighting him.

The British altered their strategy in and invaded the South. The new plan was to secure the southern colonies and then march a large army northward, forcing the rebellion out of upper America. It was a mistake. While they captured Savannah, Georgia, in and Charleston, South Carolina, in , the British found themselves fighting a guerrilla war, facing shadowy bands of expert snipers. An American soldier, fighting in and for his homeland, could work on his own while a Redcoat could not.

Colonial troops could move twice as fast as their equipment-heavy enemies, and every English soldier killed or captured meant a new one had to be sent from England—a journey of several weeks that weakened British presence elsewhere in their empire.

By , the war was deeply unpopular in England. That summer, Washington received the news for which he had been waiting. The British southern force, commanded by Lord Cornwallis, was camped near the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. Washington secretly hurried his army southward from New York. He deceived British spies with counterintelligence ruses that hid from them the mission's true objective. As usual, there was no money, and Washington had to talk many of his men out of quitting.

A large French fleet, meanwhile, had left the West Indies, setting sail for the Virginia coast. On the way there, Washington stopped for a day at his Mount Vernon home—for the first time in six years.