Roberta Edwards - Who Was George Washington?

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Table of Contents

Who Was George Washington?

1783

After seven long years of fighting, the war was finally over. American soldiers had beaten the mighty British army. The thirteen colonies were independent now.

Ships full of British soldiers sailed back to England. From here on in, nobody in America had to obey King George. There was going to be a brand-new country with thirteen united states.

And in 1789 when it came time to elect the first president, who was the number-one choice?

George Washington, of course.

George Washington had been the top general throughout the war. He was not the kind of general who just gave orders and then watched soldiers do the fighting; he was often in the thick of battle. Yet Washington was never wounded, not once! Besides being brave, he was also smart, loyal, honest, and faireverything a leader should be. Would the war have been won without him? Many people didnt think so.

It was no surprise that he won the first election for president. But when he learned the news, he was not happy. Oh, no. He wasnt happy at all. He loved being back in Virginia, at Mount Vernon, his beautiful home. He was fifty-seven years old and hoped to spend the rest of his life there with his wife, Martha, and her two youngest grand-children.

As the very first president, so much would be expected of him. And strange as it may seem to us, George Washington worried that he wasnt up to the job.

No, the job of president was not at all to his liking.

But many people said they would only support the new government if George Washington were president. And more than anything, he wanted the new government to work.

So he said yes and started off for New York, where he would take the oath of office.

At every stop along the way, there were parties and parades for him. Just what George didnt want.

Today politicians may spend years planning to run for president. Millions of dollars are spent on campaigns. Yet the man who is known as the father of our country felt like a criminal going off to his execution. All he wanted was to stay home and go fox hunting!

Chapter I

A Boy from Virginia

On the night of February 22, 1732, Augustine Washington sat at a table by candlelight. A family Bible lay open before him. Gus, as everyone called him, was a tobacco farmer in the colony of Virginia. With a pen made from the quill of a turkey, he wrote down the name of his sonGeorgewho had been born that very morning.

Georges mother, Mary, was Guss second wife. (His first wife had died, leaving him with two teenage sons.) One night not long before George was born, a bolt of lightning shot down the chimney of the Washingtons farmhouse. It killed a woman who was visiting Mary. Mary worried that the lightning was a sign of bad luck. It might mean that thered be something wrong with her baby. But George was a strong, healthy baby. People said he looked like his mother. He grew into a tall, athletic boy who loved to ride horses through the green countryside. In later years he was known as the best horseman in Virginia.

When George was about seven, the family moved to Ferry Farm. It was across the river from Fredericksburg, Virginia. By this time George had a younger sister, Betty, and three younger brothersSamuel, John, and Charles. (People said George and Betty looked a lot alike. As a grown woman, she would do funny imitations of her famous brother!)

There isnt any information about how George and his father got along. But we do know he wasnt close to his mother. Mary Washington was a cold, bossy woman. All Georges friends were scared of her. Strangely, she never took pride in her eldest son, not even after he became president. His letters to her would begin Honored Madam instead of Dear Mother. And he never introduced his wife, Martha, to her!

A FAMOUS LIE

MANY GENERATIONS OF SCHOOLCHILDREN LEARNED THE STORY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON CHOPPING DOWN A CHERRY TREE ON HIS FAMILYS FARM. WHEN HIS ANGRY FATHER ASKED WHO HAD DONE SUCH A TERRIBLE THING, GEORGE CONFESSED RIGHT AWAY. I CANNOT TELL A LIE, HE SAID. PA, IT WAS I WHO CHOPPED IT DOWN. THE STORY SHOWED HOW HONEST GEORGE WAS, EVEN AS A SMALL BOY.

THE STORY, HOWEVER, WAS ENTIRELY MADE UP.

SOON AFTER WASHINGTONS DEATH, A MAN NAMED MASON LOCKE WEEMS WROTE A BOOK ABOUT THE FIRST PRESIDENT. WEEMS WANTED WASHINGTON TO SEEM PERFECT. AND SO HE MADE UP STORIES SUCH AS THE ONE ABOUT THE CHERRY TREE. IT TOOK MORE THAN A HUNDRED YEARS BEFORE THE TRUTH CAME OUT ABOUT THE UNTRUTHFUL BOOK.

The person he loved best in the world was his kind half-brother Lawrence. Lawrence was Guss oldest son. He was fourteen years older than George. Lawrence had gone to school in England. He had learned Greek and Latin. He knew how to dress like a gentleman and act like a gentleman.

There wasnt enough money to send George off to England. Instead, he was taught at home, probably by his father and Lawrence. George was great at math. Anything with numbers came easily to him. But he was a terrible speller. It embarrassed him all his life.

When George was only eleven, his father died. From time to time, George was invited for long visits to Mount Vernon. This was the home of Lawrence and his new bride, Ann Fairfax. George loved it there. In 1746, George was asked to move in for good. And off he went. (He probably was happy, too, to get away from his mother!)

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