"Beating swords into ploughshares" (or plowshares) is the conversion of military weapons or technologies for peaceful civilian applications. The phrase originates from Isaiah 2:4:
Many peoples shall come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and
that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth
instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge
between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall
beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn
war any more. –
The ploughshare (Hebrew: אֵת’êṯ, also translated coulter) is often used to symbolize creative tools that benefit humankind, as opposed to destructive tools of war, symbolized by the sword (Hebrew: חֶרֶבḥereḇ), a similar sharp metal tool with an arguably opposite use. The rest of the passage similarly equates spears with pruning hooks.
In addition to the original Biblical Messianic intent, the expression "beat swords into ploughshares" has been used by various pacifist movements.
A past example from the period 1993 continuing to 2013 is the dismantling of nuclear weapons and the use of their contents as fuel in civilian electric power stations, the Megatons to Megawatts Program. Nuclear fission development, originally accelerated for World War II weapons needs, has been applied to many civilian purposes since its use at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, including electricity and radiopharmaceutical production.
Biblical references
Mosaic in the Beit Habad Gallery, Jerusalem, quoting Isaiah 2:4, with lion, spear and spade
Beyond the above usage in the Book of Isaiah, this analogy is used twice more in the Old Testament/Tanakh, in both directions. In Micah, it is recited word for word:
He shall judge between many
peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall
beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn
war any more.
An expression of this concept can be seen in a bronze statue in the United Nations garden called Let Us Beat Swords into Plowshares, a gift from the Soviet Union sculpted by Evgeniy Vuchetich, representing the figure of a man hammering a sword into the shape of a plowshare.
At last came Yen Yuan, who said "I
should like to find an intelligent king and sage ruler whom I might
assist. I would diffuse among the people instructions on the five great
points, and lead them on by the rules of propriety and music, so that
they should not care to fortify their cities by walls and moats, but
would fuse their swords and spears into implements of agriculture.
— "Chapter V, Section III: His Immediate Disciples", Confucian Analects, The Great Learning, and The Doctrine of the Mean (1892)
Practical applications
Tokyo Tower,
the second-tallest tower in Japan, is partially constructed from steel
obtained by recycling US tanks damaged in battle during the Korean War.
After World War II, military surplusAFVs were sometimes converted into bulldozers, agricultural, and logging tractors, as seen in the American television series Ax Men. Two are currently preserved at the Swords and Ploughshares Museum in Canada. French farmers sometimes used modified versions of the obsolete FT-17 tank, and similar vehicles, based on the T-34 tank, remain in widespread use in the former USSR. A British agricultural engineer and collector of classic tractors, owns a Sherman tank that was adapted to plow Lincolnshire's fields in response to the shortage of crawler tractors.
Nitrogen mustard, developed from the chemical weapon mustard gas developed in World War I, became the basis for the world's first chemotherapy drug, mustine, developed through the 1940s.
Swedish aid organization IM Swedish Development Partner launched Humanium Metal, using metal from illegal handguns to create everyday objects. The first product announced was headphones by Yevo.
The Global Positioning System
was originally developed to enable more accurate strikes with
long-range weapons by the United States, but its purpose was later
expanded to include civilian applications such as personal navigation assistants.
Twelve-term US Congressman and three-time presidential candidate Ron Paul wrote a book entitled Swords into Plowshares: A Life in Wartime and a Future of Peace and Prosperity, in which he discusses growing up during World War II and living his life through war after war.
Until the latest of our world
conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers
of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But
now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense;
we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast
proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are
directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on
military security more than the net income of all United States
corporations.
For his first and second inaugurations, U.S. President Richard Nixon took the oath of office with his hand on two family Bibles, opened to Isaiah 2:2–4.
Cannot swords be turned to
plowshares? Can we and all nations not live in peace? In our obsession
with antagonisms of the moment, we often forget how much unites all the
members of humanity. Perhaps we need some outside, universal threat to
make us recognize this common bond. I occasionally think how quickly our
differences world-wide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat
from outside this world. And yet, I ask you, is not an alien force
already among us? What could be more alien than war and the threat of
war?
Melting down all metals, turning plows and shears to swords
Shun words of the Bible, we need implements of war
Chalklines and red puddles of those who have been slain
Destiny, that crooked schemer, says the dead shall rise again
And everyone neath their vine and fig tree
shall live in peace and unafraid,
Everyone neath their vine and fig tree
shall live in peace and unafraid.
And into ploughshares beat their swords
Nations shall learn war no more.
And into ploughshares beat their swords
Nations shall learn war no more.
O' beautiful, for spacious skies
But now those skies are threatening
They're beating plowshares into swords
For this tired old man that we elected king
They will live again in freedom
In the garden of the Lord.
They will walk behind the ploughshare,
They will put away the sword.
The chain will be broken
And all men will have their reward.
Don’t stop after beating the swords
into plowshares, don’t stop! Go on beating
and make musical instruments out of them.
Whoever wants to make war again
will have to turn them into plowshares first.
The marketing slogan used by the fictional Globotech Industries in Small Soldiers,
serving as the introduction to the movie, and foreshadowing the central
plot of smart ballistic missile guidance microprocessors being
mistakenly used in children's toys.
A "Swords into Ploughshares" badge was worn by Christian peace groups in East Germany. Wearers of the badge who refused to take it off were barred from educational and work opportunities by the state.
Born in the Colony of Virginia, Washington became the commander of the Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War (1754–1763). He was later elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses,
and opposed the perceived oppression of the American colonists by the
British Crown. When the American Revolutionary War against the British
began in 1775, Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.
He directed a poorly organized and equipped force against disciplined
British troops. Washington and his army achieved an early victory at the
Siege of Boston in March 1776 but were forced to retreat from New York City in November. Washington crossed the Delaware River and won the battles of Trenton in late 1776 and of Princeton in early 1777, then lost the battles of Brandywine and of Germantown
later that year. He faced criticism of his command, low troop morale,
and a lack of provisions for his forces as the war continued. Ultimately
Washington led a combined French and American force to a decisive
victory over the British at Yorktown in 1781. In the resulting Treaty of Paris in 1783, the British acknowledged the sovereign independence of the United States. Washington then served as president of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which drafted the current Constitution of the United States.
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, at Popes Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the first of six children of Augustine and Mary Ball Washington. His father was a justice of the peace and a prominent public figure who had four additional children from his first marriage to Jane Butler. Washington was not close to his father and rarely mentioned him in
later years; he had a fractious relationship with his mother. Among his siblings, he was particularly close to his older half-brother Lawrence.
The family moved to a plantation on Little Hunting Creek in 1735 before settling at Ferry Farm near Fredericksburg, Virginia,
in 1738. When Augustine died in 1743, Washington inherited Ferry Farm
and ten slaves; Lawrence inherited Little Hunting Creek and renamed it Mount Vernon. Because of his father's death, Washington did not have the formal education his elder half-brothers had received at Appleby Grammar School in England; he instead attended the Lower Church School in Hartfield. He learned mathematics and land surveying, and became a talented draftsman and mapmaker. By early adulthood, he was writing with what his biographer Ron Chernow described as "considerable force" and "precision". As a teenager, Washington compiled over a hundred rules for social interaction styled The Rules of Civility, copied from an English translation of a French guidebook.
Washington often visited Belvoir, the plantation of William Fairfax,
Lawrence's father-in-law, and Mount Vernon. Fairfax became Washington's
patron and surrogate father. In 1748, Washington spent a month with a
team surveying Fairfax's Shenandoah Valley property. The following year, he received a surveyor's license from the College of William & Mary. Even though Washington had not served the customary apprenticeship, Thomas Fairfax (William's cousin) appointed him surveyor of Culpeper County, Virginia. Washington took his oath of office on July 20, 1749, and resigned in 1750. By 1752, he had bought almost 1,500 acres (600 ha) in the Shenandoah Valley and owned 2,315 acres (937 ha).
In 1751, Washington left mainland North America for the first and only time, when he accompanied Lawrence to Barbados, hoping the climate would cure his brother's tuberculosis. Washington contracted smallpox during the trip, which left his face slightly scarred. Lawrence died in 1752, and Washington leased Mount Vernon from his
widow, Anne; he inherited it outright after her death in 1761.
Colonial military career (1752–1758)
Lawrence Washington's service as adjutant general of the Virginia militia inspired George to seek a militia commission. Virginia's lieutenant governor, Robert Dinwiddie,
appointed Washington as a major and commander of one of the four
militia districts. The British and French were competing for control of
the Ohio River Valley: the British were constructing forts along the river, and the French between the river and Lake Erie.
In October 1753, Dinwiddie appointed Washington as a special envoy to demand the French forces vacate land that was claimed by the British. Washington was also directed to make peace with the Iroquois Confederacy and to gather intelligence about the French forces. Washington met with Iroquois leader Tanacharison at Logstown. Washington said that at this meeting Tanacharison named him Conotocaurius. This name, meaning "devourer of villages", had previously been given to his great-grandfather John Washington in the late 17th century by the Susquehannock.
Washington's party reached the Ohio River in November 1753 and was intercepted by a French patrol. The party was escorted to Fort Le Boeuf, where Washington was received in a friendly manner. He delivered the British demand to vacate to the French commander Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre,
but the French refused to leave. Saint-Pierre gave Washington his
official answer after a few days' delay, as well as food and winter
clothing for his party's journey back to Virginia. Washington completed the precarious mission in difficult winter
conditions, achieving a measure of distinction when his report was
published in Virginia and London.
In February 1754, Dinwiddie promoted Washington to lieutenant colonel and second-in-command of the 300-strong Virginia Regiment, with orders to confront the French at the Forks of the Ohio. Washington set out with half the regiment in April and was soon aware that a French force of 1,000 had begun construction of Fort Duquesne there. In May, having established a defensive position at Great Meadows, Washington learned that the French had made camp seven miles (11 km) away; he decided to take the offensive. The French detachment proved to be only about 50 men, so on May 28 Washington commanded an ambush. His small force of Virginians and Indian allies killed the French, including their commander Joseph Coulon de Jumonville, who had been carrying a diplomatic message for the British. The French later found their countrymen dead and scalped, blaming Washington, who had retreated to Fort Necessity.
The rest of the Virginia Regiment joined Washington the following
month with news that he had been promoted to the rank of colonel and
given command of the full regiment. They were reinforced by an independent company of a hundred South Carolinians led by Captain James Mackay;
his royal commission outranked Washington's and a conflict of command
ensued. On July 3, 900 French soldiers attacked Fort Necessity, and the ensuing battle ended in Washington's surrender. Washington did not speak French, but signed a surrender document in
which he unwittingly took responsibility for "assassinating" Jumonville,
later blaming the translator for not properly translating it. The Virginia Regiment was divided and Washington was offered a
captaincy in one of the newly formed regiments. He refused, as it would
have been a demotion—the British had ordered that "colonials" could not
be ranked any higher than captain—and instead resigned his commission. The Jumonville affair became the incident which ignited the French and Indian War.
In 1755, Washington volunteered as an aide to General Edward Braddock, who led a British expedition to expel the French from Fort Duquesne and the Ohio Country. On Washington's recommendation, Braddock split the army into one main column and a smaller "flying column". Washington was suffering from severe dysentery
so did not initially travel with the expedition forces. When he
rejoined Braddock at Monongahela, still very ill, the French and their
Indian allies ambushed the divided army. Two-thirds of the British force
became casualties in the ensuing Battle of the Monongahela, and Braddock was killed. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Gage, Washington rallied the survivors and formed a rear guard, allowing the remnants of the force to retreat. During the engagement, Washington had two horses shot out from under him, and his hat and coat were pierced by bullets. His conduct redeemed his reputation among critics of his command in the Battle of Fort Necessity, but he was not included by the succeeding commander (Colonel Thomas Dunbar) in planning subsequent operations.
The Virginia Regiment was reconstituted in August 1755, and
Dinwiddie appointed Washington its commander, again with the rank of
colonel. Washington clashed over seniority almost immediately, this time
with Captain John Dagworthy, who commanded a detachment of Marylanders at the regiment's headquarters in Fort Cumberland. Washington, impatient for an offensive against Fort Duquesne, was
convinced Braddock would have granted him a royal commission and pressed
his case in February 1756 with Braddock's successor as Commander-in-Chief, William Shirley, and again in January 1757 with Shirley's successor, Lord Loudoun.
Loudoun humiliated Washington, refused him a royal commission, and
agreed only to relieve him of the responsibility of manning Fort
Cumberland.
In 1758, the Virginia Regiment was assigned to the British Forbes Expedition to capture Fort Duquesne. General John Forbes took Washington's advice on some aspects of the expedition but rejected his opinion on the best route to the fort. Forbes nevertheless made Washington a brevet
brigadier general and gave him command of one of the three brigades
that was assigned to assault the fort. The French had abandoned the fort
and the valley before the assault, however, and Washington only saw a friendly fire
incident which left 14 dead and 26 injured. Frustrated, he resigned his
commission soon afterwards and returned to Mount Vernon.
Under Washington, the Virginia Regiment had defended 300 miles (480 km) of frontier against twenty Indian attacks in ten months. He increased the professionalism of the regiment as it grew from 300 to
1,000 men. Though he failed to realize a royal commission, which made
him hostile towards the British, he gained self-confidence, leadership skills, and knowledge of British
military tactics. The destructive competition Washington witnessed among
colonial politicians fostered his later support of a strong central
government.
On January 6, 1759, Washington, at age 26, married Martha Dandridge Custis, the 27-year-old widow of wealthy plantation owner Daniel Parke Custis. Martha was intelligent, gracious, and experienced in managing a planter's estate, and the couple had a happy marriage. They lived at Mount Vernon, where Washington cultivated tobacco and wheat. The marriage gave Washington control over Martha's one-third dower interest in the 18,000-acre (7,300 ha) Custis estate,
and he managed the remaining two-thirds for Martha's children. As a
result, he became one of the wealthiest men in Virginia, which increased
his social standing.
At Washington's urging, Governor Lord Botetourt
fulfilled Dinwiddie's 1754 promise to grant land bounties to those who
served with volunteer militias during the French and Indian War. In late 1770, Washington inspected the lands in the Ohio and Great Kanawha regions, and he engaged surveyor William Crawford
to subdivide it. Crawford allotted 23,200 acres (9,400 ha) to
Washington, who told the veterans that their land was unsuitable for
farming and agreed to purchase 20,147 acres (8,153 ha), leaving some
feeling that they had been duped. He also doubled the size of Mount Vernon to 6,500 acres (2,600 ha) and,
by 1775, had more than doubled its slave population to over one
hundred.
As a respected military hero and large landowner, Washington held
local offices and was elected to the Virginia provincial legislature,
representing Frederick County in the Virginia House of Burgesses for seven years beginning in 1758. Early in his legislative career, Washington rarely spoke at or even
attended legislative sessions, but was more politically active starting
in the 1760s, becoming a prominent critic of Britain's taxation and mercantilist policies towards the American colonies. Washington imported luxury goods from England, paying for them by
exporting tobacco. His profligate spending combined with low tobacco
prices left him £1,800 in debt by 1764. Washington's complete reliance on London tobacco buyer and merchant Robert Cary also threatened his economic security. Between 1764 and 1766, he sought to diversify his holdings: he changed
Mount Vernon's primary cash crop from tobacco to wheat and expanded
operations to include flour milling and hemp farming. Washington's stepdaughter Patsy suffered from epileptic
attacks, and she died at Mount Vernon in 1773, allowing Washington to
use part of the inheritance from her estate to settle his debts.
Washington was opposed to the taxes which the British Parliament imposed on the Colonies without proper representation. He believed the Stamp Act 1765 was oppressive and celebrated its repeal the following year. In response to the Townshend Acts,
he introduced a proposal in May 1769 which urged Virginians to boycott
British goods; the Townshend Acts were mostly repealed in 1770. Washington and other colonists were also angered by the Royal Proclamation of 1763 (which banned American settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains) and British interference in American western land speculation (in which Washington was a participant).
Parliament sought to punish Massachusetts colonists for their role in the Boston Tea Party in 1774 by passing the Coercive Acts, which Washington saw as "an invasion of our rights and privileges". That July, he and George Mason drafted a list of resolutions for the Fairfax County committee, including a call to end the Atlantic slave trade; the resolutions were adopted. In August, Washington attended the First Virginia Convention and was selected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress. As tensions rose in 1774, he helped train militias in Virginia and organized enforcement of the Continental Association boycott of British goods instituted by the Congress.
General Washington, Commander of the Continental Army, a 1776 portrait by Charles Willson Peale
The American Revolutionary War broke out on April 19, 1775, with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Washington hastily departed Mount Vernon on May 4 to join the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. On June 14, Congress created the Continental Army and John Adams nominated Washington as its commander-in-chief,
mainly because of his military experience and the belief that a
Virginian would better unite the colonies. He was unanimously elected by
Congress the next day. Washington gave an acceptance speech on June 16, declining a salary, though he was later reimbursed expenses.
Washington initially banned the enlistment of Black soldiers,
both free and enslaved. The British saw an opportunity to divide the
colonies: the colonial governor of Virginia issued a proclamation promising freedom to slaves if they joined the British forces. In response to this proclamation and the need for troops, Washington soon overturned his ban. By the end of the war, around one-tenth of the soldiers in the Continental Army were Black, with some obtaining freedom.
In April 1775, in response to the growing rebellious movement, British troops occupied Boston, led by General Thomas Gage, commander of British forces in America. Local militias surrounded the city and trapped the British troops, resulting in a standoff. As Washington headed for Boston, he was greeted by cheering crowds and political ceremony; he became a symbol of the Patriot cause. Upon Washington's arrival on July 2, he went to inspect the army, but found undisciplined militia. After consultation, he initiated Benjamin Franklin's suggested reforms, instituting military drills and imposing strict disciplinary measures. Washington promoted some of the soldiers who had performed well at Bunker Hill to officer rank, and removed officers who he saw as incompetent. In October, King George III declared that the colonies were in open rebellion and relieved Gage of command, replacing him with General William Howe.
When the Charles River
froze over, Washington was eager to cross and storm Boston, but Gates
and others were opposed to having untrained militia attempt to assault
well-garrisoned fortifications. Instead, Washington agreed to secure the Dorchester Heights above Boston to try to force the British out. On March 17, 8,906 British troops, 1,100 Loyalists,
and 1,220 women and children began a chaotic naval evacuation.
Washington entered the city with 500 men, giving them explicit orders
not to plunder. He refrained from exerting military authority in Boston, leaving civilian matters in the hands of local authorities.
After the victory at Boston, Washington correctly guessed that the
British would return to New York City and retaliate. He arrived there on
April 13, 1776, and ordered the construction of fortifications. He also
ordered his forces to treat civilians and their property with respect,
to avoid the abuses Bostonians suffered at the hands of British troops. The British forces, including more than a hundred ships and thousands of troops, began arriving on Staten Island in July to lay siege to the city.
Howe's troop strength totaled 32,000 regulars and Hessian auxiliaries; Washington had 23,000 men, mostly untrained recruits and militia. In August, Howe landed 20,000 troops at Gravesend, Brooklyn,
and approached Washington's fortifications. Overruling his generals,
Washington chose to fight, based on inaccurate information that Howe's
army had only around 8,000 soldiers. In the Battle of Long Island, Howe assaulted Washington's flank and inflicted 1,500 Patriot casualties. Washington retreated to Manhattan.
Howe sent a message to Washington to negotiate peace, addressing
him as "George Washington, Esq." Washington declined to accept the
message, demanding to be addressed with diplomatic protocol—not as a
rebel. Despite misgivings, Washington heeded the advice of General Greene to defend Fort Washington, but was ultimately forced to abandon it. Howe pursued and Washington retreated across the Hudson River to Fort Lee. In November, Howe captured Fort Washington. Loyalists in New York City considered Howe a liberator and spread a rumor that Washington had set fire to the city. Now reduced to 5,400 troops, Washington's army retreated through New Jersey.
Washington crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania, where General John Sullivan joined him with 2,000 more troops. The future of the Continental Army was in doubt due to a lack of supplies, a harsh winter, expiring enlistments, and desertions. Howe posted a Hessian garrison at Trenton to hold western New Jersey and the east shore of the Delaware. At sunrise on December 26, 1776, Washington, aided by Colonel Knox and artillery, led his men in a successful surprise attack on the Hessians.
Washington returned to New Jersey on January 3, 1777, launching an attack on the British regulars at Princeton, with 40 Americans killed or wounded and 273 British killed or captured. Howe retreated to New York City for the winter. Washington took up winter headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey. Strategically, Washington's victories at Trenton and Princeton were
pivotal: they revived Patriot morale and quashed the British strategy of
showing overwhelming force followed by offering generous terms,
changing the course of the war.
In July 1777, the British general John Burgoyne led his British troops south from Quebec in the Saratoga campaign; he recaptured Fort Ticonderoga, intending to divide New England. However, General Howe took his army from New York City south to Philadelphia rather than joining Burgoyne near Albany. Washington and Gilbert, Marquis de Lafayette rushed to Philadelphia to engage Howe. In the Battle of Brandywine
on September 11, 1777, Howe outmaneuvered Washington and marched
unopposed into the American capital at Philadelphia. A Patriot attack against the British at Germantown in October failed.
In Upstate New York,
the Patriots were led by General Horatio Gates. Concerned about
Burgoyne's movements southward, Washington sent reinforcements north
with Generals Benedict Arnold and Benjamin Lincoln. On October 7, 1777, Burgoyne tried to take Bemis Heights
but was isolated from support and forced to surrender. Gates' victory
emboldened Washington's critics, who favored Gates as a military leader. According to the biographer John Alden, "It was inevitable that the
defeats of Washington's forces and the concurrent victory of the forces
in upper New York should be compared." Admiration for Washington was waning.
Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge, a 1907 painting by John Ward Dunsmore
Washington and his army of 11,000 men went into winter quarters at Valley Forge
north of Philadelphia in December 1777. There they lost between 2,000
and 3,000 men as a result of disease and lack of food, clothing, and
shelter, reducing the army to below 9,000 men. By February, Washington was facing low troop morale and increased desertions. An internal revolt
by his officers prompted some members of Congress to consider removing
Washington from command. Washington's supporters resisted, and the
matter was ultimately dropped.
Washington made repeated petitions to Congress for provisions and
expressed the urgency of the situation to a congressional delegation. Congress agreed to strengthen the army's supply lines and reorganize the quartermaster and commissary departments, while Washington launched the Grand Forage of 1778 to collect food from the surrounding region. Meanwhile, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben's incessant drilling transformed Washington's recruits into a disciplined fighting force.[117] Washington appointed him Inspector General.
In early 1778, the French entered into a Treaty of Alliance with the Americans. In May, Howe resigned and was replaced by Sir Henry Clinton. The British evacuated Philadelphia for New York that June and
Washington summoned a war council of American and French generals. He
chose to order a limited strike on the retreating British. Generals Lee
and Lafayette moved with 4,000 men, without Washington's knowledge, and
bungled their first strike on June 28. Washington relieved Lee and
achieved a draw after an expansive battle. The British continued their retreat to New York. This battle "marked the end of the war's campaigning in the northern and
middle states. Washington would not fight the British in a major
engagement again for more than three years". British attention shifted to the Southern theatre; in late 1778, General Clinton captured Savannah, Georgia, a key port in the American South. Washington, meanwhile, ordered an expedition against the Iroquois, the Indigenous allies of the British, destroying their villages.
Washington became America's first spymaster by designing an espionage system against the British.[125] In 1778, Major Benjamin Tallmadge formed the Culper Ring at Washington's direction to covertly collect information about the British in New York. Intelligence from the Culper Ring saved French forces from a surprise
British attack, which was itself based on intelligence from Washington's
general turned British spy Benedict Arnold.
Washington had disregarded incidents of disloyalty by Arnold, who had distinguished himself in many campaigns, including the invasion of Quebec. In 1779, Arnold began supplying the British spymaster John André with sensitive information intended to allow the British to capture West Point, a key American defensive position on the Hudson River. On September 21, Arnold gave André plans to take over the garrison. André was captured by militia who discovered the plans, after which Arnold escaped to New York. On being told about Arnold's treason, Washington recalled the
commanders positioned under Arnold at key points around the fort to
prevent any complicity. He assumed personal command at West Point and
reorganized its defenses.
By June 1780, the British had occupied the South Carolina Piedmont
and had firm control of the South. Washington was reinvigorated,
however, when Lafayette returned from France with more ships, men, and
supplies, and 5,000 veteran French troops led by Marshal Rochambeau arrived at Newport, Rhode Island in July.
General Clinton sent Arnold, now a British brigadier general, to Virginia in December with 1,700 troops to capture Portsmouth and conduct raids on Patriot forces. Washington sent Lafayette south to counter Arnold's efforts. Washington initially hoped to bring the fight to New York, drawing the
British forces away from Virginia and ending the war there, but
Rochambeau advised him that Cornwallis in Virginia was the better target. On August 19, 1781, Washington and Rochambeau began a march to Yorktown, Virginia, known now as the "celebrated march". Washington was in command of an army of 7,800 Frenchmen, 3,100 militia,
and 8,000 Continental troops. Inexperienced in siege warfare, he often
deferred to the judgment of Rochambeau. Despite this, Rochambeau never
challenged Washington's authority as the battle's commanding officer.
By late September, Patriot-French forces surrounded Yorktown,
trapping the British Army, while the French navy emerged victorious at
the Battle of the Chesapeake. The final American offensive began with a shot fired by Washington. The siege ended with a British surrender on October 19, 1781; over 7,000 British soldiers became prisoners of war. Washington negotiated the terms of surrender for two days, and the official signing ceremony took place on October 19. Although the peace treaty was not negotiated for two more years,
Yorktown proved to be the last significant battle of the Revolutionary
War, with the British Parliament agreeing to cease hostilities in March
1782.
When peace negotiations began in April 1782, both the British and French began gradually evacuating their forces. In March 1783, Washington successfully calmed the Newburgh Conspiracy, a planned mutiny by American officers dissatisfied with a lack of pay.Washington submitted an account of $450,000 in expenses which he had
advanced to the army. The account was settled, though it was vague about
large sums and included expenses his wife had incurred through visits
to his headquarters.
When the Treaty of Paris
was signed on September 3, 1783, Britain officially recognized American
independence. Washington disbanded his army, giving a farewell address
to his soldiers on November 2. He oversaw the evacuation of British forces in New York and was greeted by parades and celebrations.
In early December 1783, Washington bade farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern and resigned as commander-in-chief soon after. In a final appearance in uniform, he gave a statement to the Congress:
"I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my
official life, by commending the interests of our dearest country to
the protection of Almighty God, and those who have the superintendence
of them, to His holy keeping." Washington's resignation was acclaimed at home and abroad, "extolled by
later historians as a signal event that set the country's political
course" according to the historian Edward J. Larson. The same month, Washington was appointed president-general of the Society of the Cincinnati, a newly established hereditary fraternity of Revolutionary War officers.
"I am not only retired from all public employments but I am retiring
within myself, and shall be able to view the solitary walk and tread the
paths of private life with heartfelt satisfaction ... I will move
gently down the stream of life, until I sleep with my fathers."
— George Washington in a letter to Lafayette. February 1, 1784.
After spending just ten days at Mount Vernon out of 8+1⁄2 years of war, Washington was eager to return home. He arrived on Christmas Eve; Professor John E. Ferling wrote that he was delighted to be "free of the bustle of a camp and the busy scenes of public life". He received a constant stream of visitors paying their respects at Mount Vernon.
Washington reactivated his interests in the Great Dismal Swamp and Potomac Canal projects, begun before the war, though neither paid him any dividends. He undertook a 34-day, 680-mile (1,090 km) trip in 1784 to check on his land holdings in the Ohio Country. He oversaw the completion of remodeling work at Mount Vernon, which
transformed his residence into the mansion that survives to this
day—although his financial situation was not strong. Creditors paid him
in depreciated
wartime currency, and he owed significant amounts in taxes and wages.
Mount Vernon had made no profit during his absence, and he saw
persistently poor crop yields due to pestilence and bad weather. His
estate recorded its eleventh year running at a deficit in 1787.
To make his estate profitable again, Washington undertook a new
landscaping plan and succeeded in cultivating a range of fast-growing
trees and native shrubs. He also began breeding mules after being gifted a stud by King Charles III of Spain in 1785; he believed that they would revolutionize agriculture.
Before returning to private life in June 1783, Washington called for a
strong union. Though he was concerned that he might be criticized for
meddling in civil matters, he sent a circular letter to the states,
maintaining that the Articles of Confederation
were no more than "a rope of sand". He believed the nation was on the
verge of "anarchy and confusion", was vulnerable to foreign
intervention, and that a national constitution would unify the states
under a strong central government.
When Shays's Rebellion erupted in Massachusetts in August 1786, Washington was further convinced that a national constitution was needed. Some nationalists feared that the new republic had descended into lawlessness, and they met on September 11, 1786, at Annapolis to ask the Congress to revise the Articles of Confederation. Congress agreed to a Constitutional Convention to be held in Philadelphia in 1787, with each state to send delegates. Washington was chosen to lead the Virginia delegation, but he declined.
He had concerns about the legality of the convention and consulted James Madison,
Henry Knox, and others. They persuaded him to attend as they felt his
presence might induce reluctant states to send delegates and smooth the
way for the ratification process while also giving legitimacy to the
convention.
Washington arrived in Philadelphia on May 9, 1787, and the
convention began on May 25. Benjamin Franklin nominated Washington to
preside over the meeting, and he was unanimously elected. The delegate Edmund Randolph introduced Madison's Virginia Plan; it called for an entirely new constitution and a sovereign national government, which Washington highly recommended. However, details around representation were particularly contentious, resulting in a competing New Jersey Plan being brought forward. On July 10, Washington wrote to Alexander Hamilton: "I almost despair
of seeing a favorable issue to the proceedings of our convention and do
therefore repent having had any agency in the business." Nevertheless, he lent his prestige to the work of the other delegates, lobbying many to support the ratification of the Constitution. The final version adopted the Connecticut Compromise between the two plans, and was signed by 39 of 55 delegates on September 17, 1787.
Just prior to the first presidential election of 1789, in 1788 Washington was appointed chancellor of the College of William & Mary. He continued to serve through his presidency until his death. The delegates to the convention for the first presidential election
anticipated a Washington presidency and left it to him to define the
office once elected. When the state electors voted on February 4, 1789, Washington was unanimously elected, unique among U.S. presidents. John Adams was elected vice president. Despite writing that he felt "anxious and painful sensations" about
leaving Mount Vernon, Washington departed for New York City on April 16.
Washington was inaugurated on April 30, 1789, taking the oath of office at Federal Hall in New York City. His coach was led by militia and a marching band and followed by
statesmen and foreign dignitaries in an inaugural parade, with a crowd
of 10,000. Robert R. Livingston administered the oath, using a Bible provided by the Masons. Washington read a speech in the Senate Chamber, asking "that Almighty
Being ... consecrate the liberties and happiness of the people of the
United States". Though he wished to serve without a salary, Congress insisted that he receive one, providing Washington $25,000 annually (compared to $5,000 annually for the vice president).
Washington wrote to James Madison: "As the first of everything in
our situation will serve to establish a precedent, it is devoutly
wished on my part that these precedents be fixed on true principles." To that end, he argued against the majestic titles proposed by the
Senate, including "His Majesty" and "His Highness the President", in
favor of "Mr. President". His executive precedents included the inaugural address, messages to Congress, and the cabinet form of the executive branch. He also selected the first justices for the Supreme Court.
Washington was an able administrator and judge of talent and character. The old Confederation
lacked the powers to handle its workload and had weak leadership, no
executive, a small bureaucracy of clerks, large debt, worthless paper
money, and no power to establish taxes. Congress created executive departments in 1789, including the State Department, the War Department, and the Treasury Department. Washington appointed Edmund Randolph as Attorney General, Samuel Osgood as Postmaster General, Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State, Henry Knox as Secretary of War, and Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury. Washington's cabinet became a consulting and advisory body, not mandated by the Constitution. Washington restricted cabinet discussions to topics of his choosing and
expected department heads to agreeably carry out his decisions.[189] He exercised restraint in using his veto power, writing that "I give my Signature to many Bills with which my Judgment is at variance."
Washington opposed political factionalism and remained
non-partisan throughout his presidency (the only United States president
to do so). He was sympathetic to a Federalist form of government. Washington's closest advisors formed two factions, portending the First Party System. Hamilton formed the Federalist Party to promote national credit and a financially powerful nation. Jefferson opposed Hamilton's agenda and founded the Jeffersonian Republicans. Washington favored Hamilton's agenda, however, and it ultimately went into effect—resulting in bitter controversy. Other domestic issues during Washington's first term included the planning of a permanent capital, the passage of several constitutional amendments including the Bill of Rights, and continuing debates concerning slavery and expansion into Native American territory. Washington proclaimed November 26, 1789, as a day of Thanksgiving to encourage national unity.
Washington initially planned to retire after his first term, weary of
office and in poor health. After dealing with the infighting in his
cabinet and with partisan critics, he showed little enthusiasm for a
second term, and Martha wanted him not to run. Washington's nephew George Augustine Washington, managing Mount Vernon
in his absence, was critically ill, further increasing Washington's
desire to retire. Many, however, urged him to run for a second term. Madison told him
that his absence would allow the dangerous political rift in his cabinet
and the House to worsen. Jefferson also pleaded with him not to retire,
pledging to drop his attacks on Hamilton. Hamilton maintained that Washington's absence would be "deplored as the greatest evil" to the country. With the election of 1792 nearing, Washington agreed to run. On February 13, 1793, the Electoral College unanimously re-elected Washington president, while John Adams was re-elected as vice president by a vote of 77 to 50. Washington was sworn into office by Associate Justice William Cushing on March 4, 1793, in Congress Hall in Philadelphia.
On April 22, 1793, after the French Revolutionary Wars broke out, Washington issued a proclamation
declaring American neutrality. He was resolved to pursue "a conduct
friendly and impartial toward the belligerent Powers" while warning
Americans not to intervene in the conflict. Although Washington recognized France's revolutionary government, he
eventually asked that the French minister to the United States, Edmond-Charles Genêt, be recalled. Genêt was a diplomatic troublemaker who was openly hostile toward
Washington's neutrality policy. He procured four American ships as
privateers to strike at Spanish forces (British allies) in Florida
while organizing militias to strike at other British possessions.
However, his efforts failed to draw the United States into the conflict.
During his second term Washington faced two major domestic conflicts. The first was the Whiskey Rebellion
(1791–1794), a Pennsylvania revolt against liquor taxation. Washington
mobilized a militia and personally commanded an expedition against the
rebels which suppressed the insurgency. The second was the Northwest Indian War
between White settlers and Native Americans who were supported by the
British; the latter were stationed in forts that they had refused to
abandon after the Revolutionary War. In 1794 American troops defeated the Native American forces at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, ending the conflict between the two.
Hamilton formulated the Jay Treaty
to normalize trade relations with Britain while removing them from
western forts, and also to resolve financial debts remaining from the
Revolution. Chief Justice John Jay
represented Washington's position and signed the treaty on November 19,
1794. Washington supported the treaty because it avoided war, although he was disappointed that its provisions favored Britain. He mobilized public opinion and secured ratification but faced frequent public criticism and political controversy. Following the British abandonment of their forts around the Great Lakes, the proposed position of the Canada–United States border was sent to arbitration. Numerous pre-Revolution debts were settled and the British opened the British West Indies
to American merchants. The agreement secured peace with Britain and a
decade of prosperous trade; however, Jefferson claimed that it angered
France and "invited rather than avoided" war. Jefferson's claim was verified when relations with France deteriorated after the signing of the treaty, with the French Directory authorizing the seizure of American ships two days before Washington's term ended. Succeeding president John Adams was left with the prospect of war. Relations with the Spanish were more successful: Thomas Pinckney negotiated the Treaty of San Lorenzo
in 1795, settling the border between the United States and Spanish
territory, and guaranteeing American navigational access to the Mississippi River
On July 31, 1793, Jefferson submitted his resignation from cabinet. Hamilton resigned from office in January 1795 and was replaced by Oliver Wolcott Jr.
Washington's relationship with Secretary of War Henry Knox deteriorated
over rumors that Knox had profited from contracts for the construction
of U.S. frigates ostensibly commissioned to combat Barbary pirates under the Naval Act of 1794. Knox was forced to resign. In the final months of his presidency, Washington was assailed by his
political foes and a partisan press who accused him of being ambitious
and greedy. He came to regard the press as a disuniting force. Washington also opposed demands by Congress to see papers related to
the Jay Treaty, arguing that they were not "relative to any purpose
under the cognizance of the House of Representatives, except that of an
impeachment, which the resolution has not expressed."
At the end of his second term, Washington retired. He was dismayed
with the personal attacks against him and wanted to ensure that a truly
contested presidential election could be held. He did not feel bound to a
two-term limit, but his retirement set a significant precedent. In May 1792, in anticipation of his retirement, Washington instructed James Madison to prepare a "valedictory address", an initial draft of which was entitled the "Farewell Address". In May 1796, Washington sent the manuscript to Hamilton, who did an extensive rewrite, while Washington provided final edits. On September 19, 1796, David Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser published the address.
Washington stressed that national identity was paramount, and
said that the "name of AMERICAN... must always exalt the just pride of
patriotism". Washington warned against the dangers of political parties and entangling foreign alliances with domestic affairs. He counseled friendship and commerce with all nations, but advised against involvement in European wars. He stressed the importance of religion, asserting that "religion and morality are indispensable supports" in a republic.
He closed the address by reflecting on his legacy: "I fervently
beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which [my
unintentioned errors] may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that
my country will never cease to view them with indulgence, and that,
after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service with an
upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to
oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest." After initial publication, many Republicans, including Madison,
criticized the address and described it as an anti-French campaign
document, with Madison believing that Washington was strongly
pro-British. In 1972, the Washington scholar James Flexner referred to the Farewell Address as receiving as much acclaim as Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence and Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. In 2010, Chernow called the "Farewell Address" one of the most influential statements on republicanism.
Washington retired to Mount Vernon in March 1797 and devoted time to his business interests. His plantation operations were minimally profitable, and his lands in the west (on the Piedmont) yielded little income; he attempted to sell these but was unable to. He became an even more committed Federalist. He vocally supported the Alien and Sedition Acts and convinced Federalist John Marshall to run for Congress to weaken the Jeffersonian hold on Virginia. French privateers began seizing American ships in 1798, and deteriorating relations led to the "Quasi-War". Washington wrote to Secretary of War James McHenry offering to organize President Adams' army. Adams nominated him for a lieutenant general commission and the position of commander-in-chief of the armies on July 4, 1798. Washington served as the commanding general from July 13, 1798, until his death 17 months later. He participated in planning but delegated the active leadership of the
army to Hamilton. No army invaded the United States during this period,
and Washington did not assume a field command.
Washington was known to be rich because of what Chernow calls the "glorified façade of wealth and grandeur" at Mount Vernon. However, nearly all of his wealth was in the form of land and slaves
rather than ready cash. To supplement his income, he erected a distillery for whiskey production. He bought land parcels to spur development around the new Federal City
(named in his honor in 1791), and he sold individual lots to
middle-income investors rather than multiple lots to large investors,
believing the former would be more likely to commit to making
improvements. At the time of his death in 1799, his estate was worth an estimated $780,000, and he held title to more than 58,000 acres (23,000 ha) of land across Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky, and the Northwest Territory. Washington's peak net worth was estimated to be $587 million in 2020 dollars.
On December 12, 1799, Washington inspected his farms on horseback in
inclement weather for five hours. He then dined with guests without
putting on dry clothes. He had a sore throat the next day but was well enough to mark trees for cutting. Early the following morning, he awoke to an inflamed throat and
difficulty breathing. He ordered his estate overseer, George Rawlins, to
remove nearly a pint of his blood (bloodletting was a common practice of the time). His family summoned doctors James Craik, Gustavus Richard Brown, and Elisha C. Dick. Brown initially believed Washington had quinsy; Dick thought the condition was a more serious "violent inflammation of the membranes of the throat". They continued bloodletting to approximately five pints, but Washington's condition deteriorated further. Dick proposed a tracheotomy; the other physicians were not familiar with that procedure and disapproved. Washington instructed Brown and Dick to leave the room, while he
assured Craik, "Doctor, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go."
On his deathbed, afraid of being entombed alive, Washington instructed his private secretary Tobias Lear to wait three days before his burial. According to Lear, Washington died between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on
December 14, 1799, with Martha seated at the foot of his bed. His last
words were "'Tis well." The diagnosis of Washington's illness and the immediate cause of his
death have been subjects of debate. The published account of Craik and
Brown stated that his symptoms were consistent with "cynanche
trachealis", a term then used to describe severe inflammation of the
upper windpipe, including quinsy. Accusations of medical malpractice have persisted since Washington's death. Modern medical authors have largely concluded that he likely died from severe epiglottitis complicated by the treatments he was given, which included multiple doses of calomel (a purgative) and extensive bloodletting, likely resulting in hypovolemic shock.
Funeral and burial
Washington's funeral was held on December 18, 1799, four days after
his death, at Mount Vernon. Cavalry and foot soldiers led the
procession, and six colonels served as the pallbearers. The Mount Vernon
funeral service was restricted mostly to family and friends. Reverend Thomas Davis read a brief funeral service, followed by a
ceremony performed by members of Washington's Masonic lodge; Washington
had been a Freemason since 1752. Word of his death traveled slowly, but as it reached other regions, church bells rang and many businesses closed. Memorial processions were held in major cities of the United States.
Martha burned her correspondence with Washington to protect its privacy,
though five letters between the couple are known to have survived.
Washington was buried in the Washington family vault at Mount Vernon on December 18, 1799. In his will, Washington left instructions for the construction of a new vault; this was completed in 1831, after a disgruntled ex-employee of the estate attempted to steal what he thought was Washington's skull. In 1832, a joint Congressional committee debated moving his body from Mount Vernon to a crypt in the United States Capitol.
Southern opposition was intense, antagonized by an ever-growing rift
between North and South; many were concerned that Washington's remains
could end up, in the words of Representative Wiley Thompson, on "a shore foreign to his native soil" if the country became divided, and Washington's remains stayed in Mount Vernon. On October 7, 1837, Washington's remains, still in the original lead coffin, were placed within a marble sarcophagus designed by William Strickland and constructed by John Struthers.
During Washington's lifetime at least 577 slaves lived and worked at Mount Vernon. He inherited some, gained control of 84 dower slaves upon his marriage to Martha, and purchased at least 71 slaves between 1752 and 1773. From 1786, he rented slaves as part of an agreement regarding a neighboring estate; they totaled 40 in 1799.
Slavery was deeply ingrained in the economic and social fabric of the Colony of Virginia. Prior to the Revolutionary War, Washington's views on slavery matched those of most Virginia planters of the time: "his principal interest was still their contribution to the economic life of the plantation." Beginning in the 1760s, however, Washington gradually grew to oppose
it. His first doubts were prompted by his choice to transition from
tobacco to grain crops, which left him with a costly surplus of slaves,
causing him to question the system's economic efficiency. In a 1778 letter to Lund Washington, he made clear his desire "to get quit of Negroes".
His growing disillusionment with the institution was spurred by
the principles of the Revolution and revolutionary friends such as
Lafayette and Hamilton. Most historians agree the Revolution was central to the evolution of Washington's attitudes; Kenneth Morgan writes that after 1783, "[Washington] began to express
inner tensions about the problem of slavery more frequently, though
always in private". As president, he remained publicly silent on the topic, believing it
was a nationally divisive issue that could undermine the union. He gave moral support to a plan proposed by Lafayette to purchase land
and free slaves to work on it, but chose not to participate in the
experiment. Washington privately expressed support for emancipation to prominent Methodists Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury in 1785 but declined to sign their petition. In personal correspondence the next year, he made clear his desire to
see the institution of slavery ended by a gradual legislative process, a
view that correlated with the mainstream antislavery literature
published in the 1780s. Washington emancipated 123 or 124 slaves, which was highly unusual
among the large slave-holding Virginians during the Revolutionary era. However, he remained dependent on slave labor to work his farms.
Runaway advertisement for Ona Judge, enslaved servant in Washington's presidential household
Based on his private papers and on accounts from his contemporaries,
Washington slowly developed a cautious sympathy toward abolitionism that
ended with his will freeing his long-time valet Billy Lee, and freeing the rest of his personally owned slaves outright upon Martha's death. On January 1, 1801, one year after George Washington's death, Martha
Washington signed an order to free his slaves. Many of them were
reluctant to leave; others refused to abandon spouses or children still
held as dower slaves by the Custis estate. Following Washington's instructions in his will, funds were used to
feed and clothe the young, aged, and infirm slaves until the early
1830s.
Washington was baptized as an infant in April 1732 and was a devoted member of the Anglican Church. He served for more than 20 years as a vestryman and churchwarden at the Fairfax and Truro parishes in Virginia. He privately prayed and read the Bible daily, and publicly encouraged prayer. He may have taken communion regularly prior to the Revolution, but he did not do so afterwards.
Washington referred to God in American Enlightenment terms, including Providence, the Almighty, and the Divine Author. He believed in a divine power who watched over battlefields, influenced
the outcome of war, protected his life, and was involved in American
politics and specifically in the creation of the United States. Chernow has argued that Washington avoided evangelistic Christianity,
hellfire-and-brimstone speech, and anything inclined to "flaunt his
religiosity", saying that he "never used his religion as a device for
partisan purposes or in official undertakings". At the same time, Washington frequently quoted from or paraphrased the Bible, and often referred to the Anglican Book of Common Prayer.
While president, Washington acknowledged major religious sects, gave speeches on religious toleration, and opposed state religion. He adopted the ideas, values, and modes of thinking of the Enlightenment, but he harbored no contempt for organized Christianity and its clergy. In 1793, speaking to members of the New Church in Baltimore,
Washington said, "We have abundant reason to rejoice that in this Land
the light of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry
and superstition."
Freemasonry was a widely accepted institution in the late 18th century, known for advocating moral teachings. American Masonic lodges did not share the anti-clerical views of the controversial European lodges.[300] A Masonic lodge was established in Fredericksburg, Virginia,
in September 1752, and Washington was initiated two months later at the
age of 20 as one of its first Entered Apprentices. Within a year, he
progressed through its ranks to become a Master Mason. In 1777, he was recommended for the office of Grand Master of the newly established Grand Lodge of Virginia; sources differ as to whether he declined or was never asked, but he did not assume the role. He served as the charter Master of Alexandria Masonic lodge No. 22 in 1788–1789.
Personal life
Washington's 1751 bout with smallpox may have rendered him sterile,
though Chernow notes that it is possible Martha "sustained injury during
the birth of Patsy, her final child, making additional births
impossible". The couple lamented not having any children together. The two raised Martha's children John Parke Custis (Jacky) and Martha Parke Custis (Patsy), and later Jacky's two youngest children Eleanor Parke Custis (Nelly) and George Washington Parke Custis (Washy), and supported numerous nieces and nephews. Some descendants of West Ford, a slave of Washington's younger brother John Augustine Washington, maintain (based on family oral history) that Ford was fathered by George Washington, though this paternity has been disputed.
Washington was somewhat reserved in personality, although he was
known for having a strong presence. He made speeches and announcements
when required, but he was not a noted orator nor debater. He drank alcohol in moderation but was morally opposed to excessive drinking, smoking tobacco, gambling, and profanity. He was taller than most of his contemporaries; accounts of his height vary from 6 ft (1.83 m) to 6 ft 3.5 in (1.92 m). He was known for his strength. He had grey-blue eyes and long reddish-brown hair. He did not wear a powdered wig; instead he wore his hair curled, powdered, and tied in a queue in the fashion of the day.
Washington suffered from severe tooth decay and ultimately lost all of his teeth
except one. He had several sets of false teeth during his presidency.
Contrary to common lore, these were not made of wood, but of metal, ivory, bone, animal teeth, and human teeth possibly obtained from slaves. His dental problems left him in constant pain, which he treated with laudanum. He also experienced a painful growth in his thigh early in his first presidential term, followed by a life-threatening bout of pneumonia in 1790 from which he never fully recovered.
Washington was a talented equestrian. Jefferson described him as "the best horseman of his age". He collected thoroughbreds at Mount Vernon; his two favorite horses were Blueskin and Nelson.
Washington is one of the most influential figures in American history. Virginia's Governor Henry Leeeulogized him as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen". Polls have consistently placed Washington among the highest-ranked of presidents.
Washington became an international symbol for liberation and
nationalism as the leader of the first successful revolution against a
colonial empire. In 1879, Congress proclaimed Washington's Birthday to be a federal holiday. In 1976, he was posthumously appointed General of the Armies of the United States during the American Bicentennial. President Gerald Ford stated that Washington would "rank first among all officers of the Army, past and present". On March 13, 1978, Washington was officially promoted by the Army.
In the 21st century, Washington's reputation has been critically
scrutinized. The historian John Ferling maintains that Washington
remains the only founder and president ever to be referred to as
"godlike", and points out that his character has been the most
scrutinized by historians. The author David Hackett Fischer
defined Washington's character as "integrity, self-discipline, courage,
absolute honesty, resolve, and decision, but also forbearance, decency,
and respect for others".
Washington's legacy with Native Americans is mixed. Chernow
describes Washington as always trying to be even-handed in dealing with
Indigenous peoples, hoping they would abandon their itinerant hunting
life and adapt to fixed agricultural communities in the manner of White
settlers. He also maintains that Washington never advocated outright
confiscation of tribal land or the forcible removal of tribes. By contrast, Colin G. Calloway
wrote that "Washington had a lifelong obsession with getting Indian
land, either for himself or for his nation, and initiated policies and
campaigns that had devastating effects in Indian country." He stated:
The growth of the nation demanded
the dispossession of Indian people... But if Indians refused and
resisted, as they often did, he felt he had no choice but to "extirpate"
them and that the expeditions he sent to destroy Indian towns were
therefore entirely justified.
Along with other Founding Fathers, Washington has been criticized for
holding enslaved people. Though he expressed the desire to see the
abolition of slavery through legislation, he did not initiate or support
any initiatives for bringing about its end. This has led to calls to
remove his name from public buildings and his statue from public spaces.
Many places and monuments have been named in honor of Washington, including the capital city of Washington, D.C., and the state of Washington. On February 21, 1885, the Washington Monument was dedicated, a 555-foot (169 m) marble obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
.svg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
