George Washington :: essays research papers

Find in this articlePrint articleSend us feedbackMore Media (11 items)Article abstractionIntroduction, Early Life, Early Career, General of the Continental Army, Return Home, President of the join States, Second Term as President, Last Years I. IntroductionPrint sectionWashington, George (1732-1799), maiden president of the United States (1789-1797) and one of the most important leaders in United States history. His role in gaining license for the American colonies and later in unifying them under the new U.S. federal government cannot be overestimated. fight against great difficulties, he created the Continental Army, which fought and won the American Revolution (1775-1783), kayoed of what was little more than an armed mob. After an eight-year struggle, his design for victory brought concluding defeat to the British at Yorktown, Virginia, and forced Great Britain to grant independence to its overseas possession.With victory won, Washington was the most revered man in the Un ited States. Advertisement A lesser person might wealthy person used this power to establish a military dictatorship or to become king. Washington sternly suppressed all such attempts on his behalf by his officers and continued to obey the weak and divided Continental Congress. However, he never ceased to work for the union of the states under a strong substitution government. He was a leading influence in persuading the states to participate in the Constitutional Convention, over which he presided, and he used his immense prestigiousness to help gain ratification of its product, the Constitution of the United States.Although worn proscribed by years of service to his country, Washington reluctantly accepted the presidential term of the United States. Probably no other man could have succeeded in welding the states into a lasting union. Washington fully understood the moment of his presidency. I walk on untrodden ground, he said. There is simply any part of my conduct which m ay not hereafter be drawn in precedent.