George Washington, ” Our Nation’s beloved Father” was the first President of the United States of America. He served as President from April 30, 1789 until March 4, 1797. One of the reasons George Washington was such a beloved leader was because of his integrity. I would like to paint a picture of his life and see if you agree with me. George Washington is a man of great honor and integrity.
Our beloved President was born on February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Washington's father died when George was 11 years old. He had very little formal schooling but taught himself to be an expert woodsman, surveyor (a person who determines the boundaries and area of tracts of land) and mapmaker. I feel inspired that George Washington was home educated, as I also am. Washington not only grew in wisdom but in stature. He grew to be over 6 feet tall -- this was very rare in Colonial times.
Washington also was a beloved family man. He married Martha Custis in 1759. She was a rich widow who had two children, Martha and John. George and Martha did not have children together. Yet George, loved Martha’s children like his own. Their home in Virginia was called Mt. Vernon. George took painstaking efforts to build a grand homestead for his family. It was one of the grandest. It took over 300 slaves to run the mini city. Washington proved to be quite a gentleman. In his will he set all his slaves free. Now that’s integrity, if you ever heard it. Integrity - that means knowing your values in life and behaving in a way that is consistent with these values.
As a young man, Washington joined the Virginia militia. He and six men traveled 500 miles north to the shores of Lake Erie to deliver a message to the French -- the French were ordered to stop settling land that was claimed by the British. This land dispute led to a battle in which Washington and 160 men lost to the French. This was the beginning of the French and Indian War (the British and the Colonists fought the French and some Indian tribes). After many heroic battles, Washington became a colonel and the leader of Virginia's militia. The British eventually won the French and Indian War.
Now that the war was over, reality set in. To pay for the expensive French and Indian War, British taxed the Colonists (the Stamp Tax), this angered them. In Boston, the Colonists revolted, dumping precious tea into Boston Harbor (this event is called the Boston Tea Party).
In 1775, Washington was chosen as the Commander in Chief of the Colonial Army. In 1776, the Colonists declared their independence from the British. General Washington led ragtag Patriot troops who were poorly trained, barely paid, badly equipped, and outnumbered by the British. Patriot women, like “Molly Pitcher," often helped on the battlefields, carrying pitchers of water to cool down the cannons so they could be re-fired, moreover nursing the wounded. As all of this was going on, Washington could have stayed in nice quarters, but instead he stuck it out with his men, living in the same poor conditions they were enduring. As I hear this, I am thinking this man, is a man of incredible fortitude.
Due to the brilliant planning of George Washington and some help from the French late in the War, the British were defeated in 1781 after many bloody battles. The Americans were now independent of the British. As you can see good old George help lead us to victory.
Now that the war was won and the nation needed to pull itself together, Washington found another honorable career change. He is now a politician. In 1758, Washington was elected to the House of Burgesses in Virginia (the local governing body of Virginia). After independence, the Americans were governed under the Articles of Confederation (adopted by the Patriots in 1777), but the country struggled. In 1787 Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when the U.S. Constitution was written.
The U.S. Constitution outlined a representative government with checks and balances among three branches of government: the Executive (the President), the Legislative Branch (law makers), and the Judicial Branch (judges and courts). The Constitution was ratified in 1788 and went into effect in 1789. The next step was to set up this new, revolutionary form of government.
Washington was unanimously elected President of the United States of America by electors in early 1789 and again in 1792. Both votes were unanimous. John Adams was his vice-president. Washington's first inauguration took place in New York City, New York (the first capital of the USA, from 1789 to 1790). Washington's second inauguration took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (the capital from 1790 to 1800). During Washington's presidency, the Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution) was adopted. The Bill of Rights guarantees the rights of the American people. Washington refused a third presidential term, saying in his farewell speech that a longer rule would give one man too much power. So putting aside his personal gain, he did what was right for the whole of the nation. Are you seeing the clear picture yet?
Drawing near to the end of the picture I am presenting to you, all the land poured out its grief as our beloved Washington died on December 14, 1799 of a rare throat disease at his home in Mt. Vernon. After his death, the nation's capital was moved from Philadelphia to a location on the border of Virginia and Maryland near Washington's home. It was named Washington, District of Columbia in his honor. There is one monument that stands above all the rest. In fact, no other building in Washington, D.C. can be taller. So, imagine this, even after his death he was remembered as one worthy of honoring.
Let me present the last few strokes of this picture of integrity. The chopping down of the cherry tree, I remember, is surely the most famous truth-telling tale in America. When George Washington was a boy, he cut down his father’s favorite cherry tree. When his dad asked him,” did you cut down my tree?” George said,” I can’t tell a lie. Yes, father, “I cut down the tree.” His dad did not punish him. Mr. Washington said, “I am sorry to have lost my cherry tree, but I am glad that you were brave enough to tell me the truth. I would rather have you truthful and brave than to have a whole orchard full of the finest cherry trees. Never forget that, my son. “
George Washington never forgot his father’s words. To the end of his life he was just as brave and honorable as he was that day as a little boy. And we should never forget, the greatest memorial is not the monument erected in Washington D.C. The real monument to our nation’s beloved father is the freedom for people to enjoy liberty and justice and to be blessed with a land that provides almost everything we need in the country we call United States of America. Do you see the picture as I do? George Washington as our founding President and a man of great honor and integrity is worthy of our homage.
So with that, let’s put into practice what another amazing President stated, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. But we shall also do our part to build a world of
peace where the weak are safe ...” May I dare say, the picture I painted is of peace, goodwill towards man. Let peace be our aim and love be our guide. Thank you, Lord for gracing us with a stoic man of integrity to show us the way to peace.
The End.
FUN FACTS: Washington wore false teeth made from hippopotamus ivory.
Vocabulary Words:
- honor:
- integrity
- painstaking
- homestead
- militia
- ragtag
- fortitude
- brilliant
- unanimously
- attributed
- orchard
- homage
- peace
- goodwill
- stoic
Question and Answer:
- Our Beloved President was born on _________.
- As a young man, Washington joined the Virginia Dance Company. T F
- The US Constitution outlined a representative government with checks and ATM machines.
- Washington refused a third Presidential term. T F
- When George Washington was a boy, he cut down his father’s favorite ____________.
- Perhaps the real monument to our nation’s beloved father, are all the _________________________________________________________________________________.
- Let ________________ be our aim and ____________be our Guide.
* Bonus Questions:
- What amazing President stated, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. .... But we shall also do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe ...”_____________________________________________________ ?
Essay Question:
- What can you do to bring Peace to your world?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
~ Strive for integrity - that means knowing your values in life and behaving in a way that is consistent with these values. ~
