Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Lafayette had written to Washington on February 5, 1783, congratulating the general on winning the war. Lafayette referred to Washington as "…my dear General, my father, my best friend who I love with an affection and respect…" (Hirschfeld, p. 123). Clearly, Washington learned a lot about the black man during the war -- and had earned respect therein. Lafayette added that it would be a good idea now that the war was over to "free the Negroes." Washington responded in April 5, 1783, saying he would be "happy to join you in so laudable a work…" (Hirschfeld, p. 124).
Washington and Illness: Dr. Michael L. Cheatham writes in the journal the American Surgeon that in the years after Washington left the British military -- and prior to leading the Continental army -- he suffered "recurrent episodes of malaria, dysentery, and tuberculosis" (Cheatham, 2008, p. 770). Amazingly during the six years of the Revolutionary War, despite poor conditions, Washington enjoyed reasonably good health. That is all the more remarkable considering that there was a smallpox epidemic among his troops in 1779, Cheatham explains (p. 771). In fact, General Washington ordered all his troops inoculated against smallpox that was "perhaps the first mass inoculation in America," Cheatham asserts (p. 771). While Washington served his two terms as president he endured "…bouts of influenza, pneumonia, recurrent malaria, and an abscess of the thigh that required surgical drainage," Cheatham explains on page 771. He died on...
Cheatham writes that Washington developed "fulmiant acute epiglottis," due to a horse ride in the sleet and snow and his subsequent failure to remove his wet and cold clothing for many hours after returning to his house at Mount Vernon (p.770).
Conclusion: There are many important facets of George Washington's service to his country that are not well-known. Too often a child will say that he or she knows about George Washington because of the story of chopping down a cherry tree and refusing to lie to his dad. But the real story of the nation's first president should be more along the lines of pointing out his remarkable leadership as General -- overcoming British forces that far outnumbered his -- and his classy patriotism as the president of the new nation. Today's elected officials could learn a lot from Washington about the art of fairness, eschewing cronyism, and listening to all sides.
Works Cited
Cheatham, Michael L. "The Death of George Washington: An End to the Controversy?" the
American Surgeon. Vol. 74. (2008): 770-774.
Countryman, Edward. "Getting to Know George Washington." Southwest Review Vol. 94, No. 2
(2009): 132-146.
Flexner, James Thomas. George Washington and the New Nation (1783-1793). Boston: Little
Brown and Company, 1969.
Hirschfeld, Fritz. George Washington and Slavery: A…
Works Cited
Cheatham, Michael L. "The Death of George Washington: An End to the Controversy?" the
American Surgeon. Vol. 74. (2008): 770-774.
Countryman, Edward. "Getting to Know George Washington." Southwest Review Vol. 94, No. 2
(2009): 132-146.
George Washington: The First American Hero Today, George Washington is an American icon, a symbol of patriotism, strength, and humility. His honesty has become the source of legend, to the point that it is easy to forget that he was a real human being with significant political and military accomplishments. Perhaps what is equally surprising about Washington as the durability of his image is the fact that he was just as
George Washington took the oath of office to become the first President of the United States of America on April 30, 1789. Yet his influence on the history and development of the United States and on its office of President started some 35 years earlier, when, as a young man, he led a small force of militia men into a battle later called a massacre. Had one only this beginning
He also ordered that the "Negros...are...to be taught to read and write; and to be brought up to some useful occupation..." And they are to be "comfortably clothed and fed by my heirs while they live..." Washington also wrote in his will that he "...expressly forbid the Sale, or transportation out of the said Commonwealth, of any Slave I may die possessed of." He did order the immediate freedom of
George Washington There have been many people in American history who have dedicated their lives to the people and progress of the nation, and perhaps none are more notable than our very own one dollar bill - George Washington, who not only conjures up images of freedom and democracy, but of also the birth of America; a founding-father who was the first to govern the people under their own flag. George Washington
George Washington's Marriage George Washington was above common and ordinary, marked by birth and breeding directly descended from the great kings of the Scots, Malcolm II and III, through the thane Gospatrick, with lineage including a Plantagenet connection and ties to the Anglican Church (http://www.sar.org/sarmag/GW.htm).The majority of the Washingtons' prosperity came through marriages in the male line to wealthy widows, bringing increased landholdings and greater status (http://www.sar.org/sarmag/GW.htm).John Washington was the first
George Washington: Man of Honor or Man of Shame? When most people think of George Washington they imagine a noble man of almost mythical proportions. Indeed, to many of Washington's contemporaries, as well, the former President of the United States was commonly considered to be " ... A man of unquestioned integrity (Halstead, 1997)." This is perhaps even more the case in modern times, partly due to the efforts of numerous biographers