George Washington: Before the Presidency

George Washington: Before the Presidency

When most people think of George Washington, they think of his time as the first President of the United States. What they often do not realize, though, is that he did a great deal for the country even before he took the Presidency (Ferling, 2000). He was a general for many years, and he was deeply involved with many conflicts - most notably the American Revolution. His work during that time really set the stage for his Presidency and also helped prepare the country for what it evolved into during that time (Ferling, 2000). This even helped to shape the way the country is today and the freedoms that Americans still enjoy.

Because of what it did for the country, the American Revolution was one of the most important events ever to occur in history (Ferling, 2000). While it is not the biggest battle ever to be fought, as based on human life and equipment, its impact on the nation's political life is unparalleled. No other battle in the history of the United States has had as much impact and been the catalyst for so much change as the American Revolution (Ferling, 2000). The first federal government in history was the ultimate result of the American Revolution and this government expanded toward the western ocean within a century, which is quick movement for governmental jurisdiction.

The formation of this government allowed America to grow into a very wealthy and vastly powerful nation, with many possibilities remaining for its future. America is still growing, of course, but the changes that take place in the country today are not as drastic, nor are they as rapid, as they were back in the days when George Washington was a general, leading armies to battle and to victory (Ferling, 2000). Had it not been for the Revolution, and the bravery of the men who fought in it, America would not have come as far as quickly, and history would be very different (the Revolution, 2003).

Washington and the American Revolution

Without an American Revolution of some kind, it is likely that America would still today be governed by British rule. Had the British rule not changed a great deal from the time of the American colonists, life in America would be greatly different than it is today (Ferling, 2000). Most of the freedoms that people enjoy as Americans would not be possible, and America would likely pay extremely high taxes and other penalties on most of their goods and services, since they would be shipped from Britain (Ferling, 2000; Harvey & O'Brien, 2004). During the American Revolution, George Washington was the leader of the Continental Army, which he led to a victory over Britain (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004). He launched so many campaigns that the enemy was always under attack. Because he had so many troops at his disposal, and because he was able to secure supplies and other necessities, the battles that he fought were more easily won (Ferling, 2000).

If the American Revolution had not succeeded under George Washington's guidance, the United States today would have no actual government, as the British rulers would be in control of that (Ferling, 2000). Because there would not be an actual government in America, those who live there would also not have representation for people who were deemed guilty of some specific crime (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004). The British would control everything that came into America or left America, and they would also control the prices for these items. This could make for both good and bad things to take place, but the general consensus is that there are mostly bad things that would be taking place (Ferling, 2000). The control that Britain would have over America would not be the same kind of government with the same kind of freedoms that are now enjoyed.

Some historians continue to believe that the bond that the union had between America and England would have remained intact indefinitely had it not been for some policy changes that were brought about (Ferling, 2000). Basically, the American settlers were eventually simply pushed too far. They had had enough of the excessive taxation without representation, and when they finally decided to do something about it, history called it the American Revolution (the Revolution, 2003). George Washington is remembered as the one who took over in the American Revolution and brought the United States to victory. Certainly, there were many others who aided in this, and Washington did not fight the battle single-handedly, but the leadership that he showed during that time - and as President - has been remembered and written about ever since that time (Ferling, 2000).

Others who study history believe that, regardless of any changes to policy or any battles that were fought, it was simply time for America to move out on its own. They argue that all colonies yearn to become individuals, and separate from the mother country, just as all children eventually grow up and separate from their parents (Ferling, 2000). It is in the spirit of this separation between mother and child that these particular historians believe America would have eventually separated from England, regardless of how well or poorly the American settlers were treated (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004). It was not because they were treated poorly that they separated from England, but rather because they felt the need to be their own entity (the Revolution, 2003).

Before the revolution began, America still belonged to England, but people in America had changed a great deal since their arrival on the boats, and they no longer felt as subservient to the people in England as they once did (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004). England continued to enact laws and policies that caused the American settlers difficulty, and the Americans finally decided that they had had enough (Ferling, 2000). Many of these laws were designed simply to keep America on a short leash, instead of being designed to actually benefit the colonies (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004). The American settlers, who had remained subservient to British rule for so long, eventually decided that they would break out on their own or die trying. Several things led to the American Revolution and George Washington's part in it, and they can be grouped into political, economic, and social causes (Ferling, 2000). It is often believed that the political causes for the most important causes of the American Revolution, but all three groupings of causes have their own significance in the battle that was waged for American freedom (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004).

Political Causes

One of the most difficult things for the American colonists to endure came from the political decision makers over in England. King George decided to take away all of the American colonists' rights to self-government (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004). He wanted the colonists to remain a child of England, and controlled solely by British rule. In this way, he felt that he could basically work the colonists as slaves to the British crown, and there would be nothing that they could do to oppose his rule (Richardson, 2003).

This ruling understandably angered the American colonists who believed that they had been getting along quite well on their own. They had developed some autonomy, and even though they were still controlled by British rule it was easier to pretend that they were not controlled by England, since they no longer lived in the country. The revocation of their right to self-government was a crushing blow to the budding optimism and freedom that was felt by the American colonists (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004). Washington and others did not agree with this revocation of rights, and the ideas for battle were beginning to brew at that point. Washington soon became involved in the cause (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004). Although he did not win every battle that he oversaw, and although many of his men died in combat or from the adverse conditions that they were often involved with, he was a good general who cared about his people, and this showed in the way he fought and the things he did for his troops (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004).

What made the travesty of revocation of rights so much worse is that the self-government in America had already been established for several years before King George decided to take it away. It was not as though the American people had never had it in the first place (Ferling, 2000). Having something that they were happy with and then losing it was much more difficult to deal with than if they had never had it in the first place (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004). This loss of rights was one of the main contributing factors to the problems that America was having with England. It was certainly not the only reason that the American Revolution got started, but it did play a large part in it and the determination that was seen in the American people (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004).

Not only did King George remove the self-government rights of the American colonists, but he also reduced those colonists to a status that was even lower than his loyal British subjects (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004). They did not even have the same rights has the average and common British citizen. Some of these rights that the Americans suddenly found themselves lacking were rights to appropriate taxation, trial by jury, and control over their own homes so that soldiers who needed to sleep somewhere for the night during wartime could not simply barge in and insist that they would sleep there through the night (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004). Basically, because of King George's revocation of the American rights to self-government, the American people no longer had any rights at all, and were once again controlled solely by the British (Richardson, 2003). It seems likely that King George was trying to punish the Americans for moving forward and starting to slowly sever ties with England. Giving up control of the colonists was not something he was prepared to do.

The colonists in America had no representation in the British government, and they were denied a vote in the Parliament (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004). King George also shut down the Boston ports and made sure that British officials were tried in Britain, not America, if they were assumed guilty of a crime. King George spent most of his reign alternately ignoring the colonies and treating them as though they were small children who needed punishment (Ferling, 2000). He ignored them for quite some time, until he realized that they were beginning to go their own way. In an effort to reconcile them to Britain, he began punishing them. What he failed to realize was that this only caused them to pull further away from Britain, and would never bring King George the unity that he was looking for (Richardson, 2003).

General George Washington saw this, and many others saw it, too. Washington was tapped to be a leader because of his honorable qualities, but also because of his social and economic abilities (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004). When he married Martha, he inherited much of the wealth that she had. He gained a lot of land and money, and he also gained a lot of prestige in the community (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004). He did not marry her for this reason, but it came as an added benefit. It helped him win the Presidency, but before that it helped him gain respect and other needed attributes so that he could play an important part in the American Revolution (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004).

Economic Causes

One of the largest economic causes was the unfavorable trade balance between the colonies in America and the mother country of England (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004). The American colonists were purchasing goods and services from England, and many of them were encouraged to use these raw materials that they received to make finished goods for themselves and for resale to the mother country (Richardson, 2003). While this sounded like a good deal, the exchange rates between England and America were in favor of the English (Hacker, 1940). In other words, individuals who made goods with the things they bought from England were finding that they could not resell these goods at a high enough rate to make much money from them. They made a little bit of money, but it was not much compared to what they had hoped to make.

Because of this, English capitalists had more than four million pounds invested in the tobacco in the southern region of the Americas. Because the tobacco farmers then owed England a great deal of money for the investment capital, they were constantly forced to keep expanding their agricultural areas, as well as engaging in other activities, such as the fur trade, to meet their debts and obligations to the people of England (Hacker, 1940). While Washington and others like him who had enough money were not struggling through tough times, he knew many people that were, prompting him to be aware of just how serious the situation was becoming between England and America (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004).

Unfortunately for the northern colonies, they could not grow large amounts of tobacco to sell to England. Instead, they provided lumber, furs, iron, and other items which the English needed. Many of the things that the northern colonies could provide, however, were things that were not needed by England (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004). For example, the northern colonies could not send any of their livestock to England, lest it disturb the agricultural industry in the mother country. The unfair balance of trade between England and America, though, soon took its toll on many of the American settlers, both financial and emotionally, as well as physically (Hacker, 1940).

It was not just the imbalance in the trade prices that caused economic problems between England and America (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004). There were also many taxes that were placed on such items as tea and paper. Many of these items were used by the American colonists on a daily basis, and it became difficult for them to afford these commonalities because of the extent of tax that England had placed upon their shipments. Eventually, the colonists decided to present a united front to England (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004). They boycotted all British products. The merchants in England lost a great deal of money because of these boycotts, and they turned their wrath and displeasure on King George who had ordered the extensive taxation in the first place (Richardson, 2003). When the British people started to turn on King George and he started to lose some of his power, this was when the American colonists knew that it was time for them to make their break. If they did not do it then, they may never get the chance to do it (Harvey & O'Brien, 2004).