George Washington is undoubtedly the most influential character to ever grace the pages of American history books. His effect on the world is immeasurable and limitless. Washington led the colonies against all odds and, oh yeah, not to mention against the British Empire to become a free nation. He later led the new country through its first 8 years under the Constitution, and set an example for all future presidents. George set out to strengthen America and did just that, creating a world power that would become the beacon for freedom and charity for the world. Washington set an example in public and lived it in private, and will forever be the greatest American we have ever had.
Direct Effect
Action= George Washington led the Continental Army and kept it together through all its hardships and trials. Effect= Allowed the US to have an opportunity to succeed. Defeats British Army against all odds.
Action= Refused opportunity to be King. Effect= Allowed the Country to have an opportunity to become the Great Experiment. Set example for American leaders by rejecting an unfair amount of power.
Washington at Valley Forge
Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for, I have grown not only gray, but almost blind in the service of my country.
Indirect Effect
Aside from the more obvious impacts that George Washington had on the country, the indirect impacts and influences he had on the country were astronomical and virtually immeasurable Washington had an unprecedented influence and single handedly shaped the country more than any other individual. To be able to go into depth on the indirect impact of Washington is impossible without understanding his personality, morals, and belief system. While little is known about his exact religious views, George was known to be a religious man as most were at the time, and was often found in prayer. He used over 80 different names to reference God. Washington himself was dignified and reserved in public, but held a connection to the common man unlike any president to ever come after him. He was known in private to have an ironic sense of humor that few Americans knew of. Washington grew up as a Virginia aristocrat and lived as such in the public eye, but he also was very much like all colonials in a moral sense. His reservation and more quiet manner made him seem higher almost a god-like leader for America. The largest problem with deciphering who Washington was was that he became a symbol once he died and few attempts were made to look at Washington the man till we had lost all connections with the 1700's. Washington himself was not the most intellectually brilliant of the Founding Fathers. He was not the most ambitious. He was not the most capable. In fact Washington was not Jefferson. He was not Hamilton. He most certainly wasn't Franklin. He was the first American though, and that is why he was such a brilliant leader. He didn't craft the Constitution, but he supported it with his actions and words. He represented everything that was America and helped to set an example for what an American was. He backed up the Constitution and led our country while implementing the thoughts and plans of other brilliant minds so that the country would one day thrive. George Washington was never the most intelligent, witty, ambitious, or charismatic man, but he was George Washington, and that is exactly what America needed.
I walk on untrodden ground. There is scarcely any part of my conduct which may not hereafter be drawn into precedent.
George Washington, in his early military years
I had rather be in my grave than in my present situation, I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world; and yet they charge me with wanting to be a king
Bio
George Washington was born on a Virginia Plantation in 1732. George was home schooled and only achieved a basic education equivalent to an elementary school education today. He grew up in the manner that all Virginian gentlemen grew up, learning manners, morals, and proper etiquette. He was taught these matters by his half-brothers wife, Anne Fairfax. His father died after remaining out too long in bad weather checking his land when he was 11 and he was raised from that point on by Lawrence, his half-brother, and Anne, his half-brothers wife. George was not very literate and was relatively quite growing up.
Mount Vernon, George's inheirited home.
George Washington was part of a surveying team in the wilderness of western Virginia when he was 16, and surveyed 3 other counties for 2 years following. These years out in the wilderness helped his physical stature and increased his interest in the West. Lawrence Washington died of tuberculosis when George was 20 which made him the owner of Mount Vernon. George grew to love farming and always wanted to return to it later on in life. Following his brothers death, George was promoted to the position of major in the Virginia militia and eventually executed the order that started the French and Indian War. He setup a military base on the Ohio that was eventually captured from him by a much larger force. At the end of the summer of 1755, George was made commander of all Virginia forces. At one point in the war he managed to get through a battle unscathed with 4 bullet holes in his coat and having had two horses shot out from under him. Eventually Washington retired from the military and married his wife Martha.
Martha Washington
Washington served in the Virginia House of Burgess and worked his plantation from 1759 to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The future president often felt exploited by British merchants and businessmen. Washington was sent to the Second Continental Congress as a representative from Virginia. They elected him Commander in Chief of the Continental army in May of 1775. Washington realized he could never win a head to head war with the British and he took a more guerrilla warfare-esque approach and forced British surrender at Yorktown. He was later unanimously elected President of the United States by the electoral college. He died of a throat infection three months into retirement on December 14, 1799.