Transcript George Washington

George Washington
LIFE
Born:
Birthplace:
Nickname:
Occupation:
Wife:
Children:
Death:
Buried:
February 22, 1732
Westmoreland Co, VA
Father of His Country
Planter, Soldier
Martha Dandridge Custis
2 step children
December 14, 1799
Mt. Vernon, VA
Presidential Term: 1789—1797
Political Party: None, but associated
with the Federalists
Vice President: John Adams
George Washington’s father died when he was just 11
years old and he went to Mount Vernon to live with his
older half-brother Lawrence. As a boy, he had wanted to
become a sailor, but his mother had disapproved. Instead,
his skill with numbers led him to learn surveying—the
process of measuring land. At that time, surveyors helped
to map frontier lands for new settlements. At the age of
17, Washington began traveling across rivers, mountains,
and Indian trails to remote parts of Virginia. He learned to
survive in the wilderness. He began his military career in
late 1752 in the Virginia Militia. Afterward, he became a
British officer in the French and Indian War which gained
him recognition and fame. He survived 4 bullets that
ripped through his coat and he had 2 horses shot out from
under him. After the war, Washington was elected to the
Virginia House of Burgesses and he attended the 1st and
2nd Continental Congress. Like many others, he had
begun to oppose British rule over the colonies. In 1776, he
was chosen to be the Commander in Chief of the
Continental Army that fought against the British in the
American Revolution. This led to him becoming an
American hero as well as the “Father of his Country”. After
the war, Washington was convinced to become the 1st
President of the United States of America even though he
didn’t really want the job or to be involved in politics—
perfect example of “civic virtue”. He was unanimously
elected our 1st US President.
MYTHS
That he had wooden teeth. They were
actually made of ivory, gold, lead, and even
from hippopotamus tusk. About those teeth . . .
According to John Adams, Washington lost his
teeth as the result of cracking Brazil nuts
between his jaws. By the time he became
President, he had but a single tooth left and a
set of dentures fashioned from cow's teeth. In
hopes of finding something better, Washington
contacted a leading dentist in Philadelphia,
who produced a state-of-the-art set carved, not
from wood, but from hippopotamus tusk. The
new dentures were thoughtfully drilled with a
hole to fit over his one remaining tooth.
Unfortunately, they also rubbed against this
natural tooth, causing more or less constant
pain for which the President took laudanum.
More Myths
•He was well educated—he was mainly self taught.
•He chopped down his father’s cherry tree and when
asked, replied, “I cannot tell a lie, I did it.” This was a story
made up to help create legends for our newly born country.
Father, I
cannot
tell a lie.
Model of Washington at 45 years old
NOTABLES
•He had no natural children of his own.
•He married a wealthy widow, Martha
Dandridge Custis, whom had two
children—John Parke Custis, and Martha
Parke Custis.
•He declined Presidential salary of
$25,000.
•He didn’t live in the White House. It
wasn’t constructed yet.
•He left office after 2 terms, refusing to
serve a 3rd term even though the
people wanted him to.
•He retired to his home Mount Vernon.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
•1789—French Revolution was sparked by
the revolution that had just been won by
the American colonists against the
British. It began because the French
people wanted to form a democratic
government. Under pressure, King Louis
XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette said that
they would reform the government, but
secretly, they were planning to hold on to
power. That was a mistake. They lost
their heads…literally! A strong man—a
powerful French general named Napoleon
Bonaparte—took over. Soon he was
fighting most of Europe—until he was
defeated and imprisoned on the island of
Elba in the Mediterranean Sea. Finally,
France did get a democratic government.
•France declared war on Great Britain after the
French Revolution and Washington issued a
Proclamation of Neutrality until the US could grow
stronger. He didn’t want to choose sides and
make enemies for our new country.
DOMESTIC AFFAIRS
•The United States of America is a brand new nation, with
New York City serving as the first, but temporary capital. In
1790, Philadelphia became the nation’s second capital and
would be until 1800, when the partially constructed
government buildings in Washington, D.C. were at last near
enough completion to justify a move there.
•1791—Washington helped select a site on the Potomac River
to be the nation’s new capital. The site was a compromise—
the capital would be in the South in return for the Southern
support in paying off individual states’ debt. In his honor, the
city was named Washington. As president, he played a major
role in planning the design of the new federal city, which
formed the District of Columbia.
Washington picked the site of the new capital, to be known
as Washington D.C. (District of Columbia) in honor of him.
Columbia is a poetic and the first popular name for the
(present-day) United States of America. It was also the origin
of the name District of Columbia.
The man who first led the brand new nation, President George Washington, was
the man who used his surveying skills to choose the land on the Potomac where a
gleaming city could be built. He then commissioned Pierre Charles L'Enfant to
design and engineer the city's construction. But it would take approximately a
century for L'Enfant's vision for a grand capital city to become reality.
Washington, D.C.
Designed in 1791 by the French architect
Major Pierre-Charles L'Enfant, Washington
was the world's first planned capital.
Washington, D.C. is not a state, but
rather the combination of the District of
Columbia, and Washington - the capital
city of the United States of America. In
essence, they are one in the same, and
they coexist.
Established by congressional acts and
personally selected by George
Washington, the District of Columbia,
commonly referred to as "the District"
(shown in white), is the seat of the U.S.
federal government. Within its borders sits
the massive Capital Building, the White
House and literally hundreds of federal
buildings, monuments and office
complexes.
Originally a 10 mile square, with Maryland
and Virginia granting land on each side of
the river to the federal government, its
shape has changed slightly over the years,
as Virginia's lands were returned in 1846.
1791—1st US Federal Bank was established—
The Bank of the United States of America.
Nation’s first central bank
Helped unify the country’s economy
Faced major opposition
8 branches
1st United States Census (1790)—there were 4 million
people in the US.
1790—Ben Franklin dies. He’d been around so long—almost
all of the 18th century that it was hard to think of America
without him. Franklin had helped the country grow, become
independent, and write its own constitution.
As a young man in 1728, Franklin had composed
his own mock epitaph (text honoring the deceased,
most commonly inscribed on a tombstone or
plaque) which read:
“The Body of B. Franklin
Printer;
Like the Cover of an old Book,
Its Contents torn out,
And stript of its Lettering and Gilding,
Lies here, Food for Worms.
But the Work shall not be wholly lost:
For it will, as he believ'd, appear once more,
In a new & more perfect Edition,
Corrected and Amended
By the Author.
He was born on January 6, 1706.
Died 17__.”
His gravestone would simply read:
BENJAMIN
And
DEBORAH FRANKLIN 1790
1790—Supreme Court met for the first
time with JOHN JAY serving as the Chief
Justice.
1791—The Bill of Rights (1st 10
Amendments) is added to the Constitution.
My Dear Lafayette:
The Bastille key now
hangs at Mount Vernon, a
tribute to your new
Republic of France formed
this year. May the spirit
of liberty guide you. Warm
regards from Martha and
me.
George Washington
Imaginary letter to the Marquis de Lafayette
from Washington based on facts
1792—New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is
established
The New York Stock Exchange has its beginnings as 21 brokers sign an
agreement under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street. In the pact, they
agree to rules of conduct and set commissions.
White House construction is started (1792). The
cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol Building was laid with
Masonic Honors on September 18, 1793
1793—ELI WHITNEY invented the
Cotton Gin, which led to the planting of
more cotton; therefore, more slaves were
needed to harvest the cotton. Instead of
taking all day to remove seeds from a
pound of cotton, a worker with a cotton
gin could clean 50 lbs. of cotton in a
day—and clean it better than he ever
could by hand. Instead of reducing the
need for slaves, like Whitney hoped, it did
something that no one expected—it
encouraged slavery.
1794—Whiskey
Rebellion Congress
ordered a tax on whiskey in
1794 that outraged the
farmers who made whiskey
from extra corn and then
sold it for profit. Farmers
rebelled against the tax
and when the governor of
Pennsylvania refused to
punish the farmers and
collect the tax, the problem
became a national one.
Washington and Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, personally
led 13,000 soldiers against a mob gathered near Pittsburgh to enforce the
law. This ended the rebellion and made it clear that the new government
would use its power to collect taxes. This incident was an important test of
the new government. In putting down the rebellion, Washington showed the
federal government had the power to enforce its laws.
1794—JAY’S TREATY
The treaty was between the U.S. and Great Britain. It averted war, solved many issues
left over from the American Revolution, and opened 10 years of largely peaceful trade
in the midst of the French Revolutionary Wars. It was highly contested by
Jeffersonians but passed Congress and became a central issue in the formation of the
First Party System. The treaty was an attempt to solve the nation’s chief foreign policy
problem of the time—how to live in peace with a Britain that Americans wanted to fight
but were in no condition to do so. The British still held their military posts in the NW
Territory; they were monopolizing the fur trade and exciting the Indians against the
pioneers. The British were also halting and searching American ships, seizing their
cargoes and impressing American sailors into the British navy.
The treaty settled 2 real grievances: Britain agreed to pay for certain goods seized
from American ships and promised to withdraw from their Northwest posts by June
1796. The treaty also made some improvements in trade conditions; however, there
were a long list of other problems that the treaty did not deal with. It also caused many
problems within the U.S. The Jeffersonians were opposed to Britain, preferring
support for France, and arguing the treaty with France from 1778 was still in effect.
They looked at Britain as the center of aristocracy and the main threat to America's
republican values. Therefore they denounced Hamilton and Jay (and even Washington)
as monarchists who betrayed American values. They organized public protests against
the treaty and the fierce debates over the Treaty in 1794–95, according to one
historian, "transformed the Republican movement into a Republican party."
Washington’s Farewell Address
(1796)
Washington's Farewell Address denounced the rise of political parties,
partisan tensions and overseas entanglements. The address was never
given orally, but rather printed in the Philadelphia "American Daily
Advertiser" on September 17, 1796.
There was great conflict between Hamilton and
Jefferson; both were members of Washington’s cabinet,
who both had very different personalities and visions for
the country’s future. Their conflicts led to the
development of political parties.
Hoping to delay formal
party warfare, Washington
had to accommodate the
opposing views of Thomas
Jefferson and Alexander
Hamilton within his
cabinet.
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