Famous Persons
English
George Washington Reports on the Status of the War to Congress
Washington provided an update to Congress about the status of military action against the British.
George Washington’s Rise to Rebellion Washington's long road from Virginia planter to American General
George Washington did not start out as the towering figure of American history that he eventually became. Born on February 22, 1732, George was the fifth of his father’s 10 children. The Washingtons had not risen to the heights of Virginia’s elite, but his father, Augustine, was acquiring properties with sufficient slaves to work them and provide a comfortable life for his family. Augustine’s untimely death in 1743 destroyed any hope of an English education for George, but he always remained dedicated to self-improvement.
How George Washington made America great
As a young surveyor, George Washington would likely never have imagined the man he would become. Like many a youth, he dreamt of a meaningful life, a life of purpose: a life of some notoriety.
Tracing the Maps in George Washington's Life
Beginning with his early career as a surveyor and throughout his life as a soldier, planter, businessman, land speculator, farmer, military officer, and president, Washington relied on and benefitted from his knowledge of maps.
Washington as Land Speculator
In 1752 Washington made his first land purchase, 1,459 acres along Bullskin Creek in Frederick County, Virginia. This act inaugurated the second and more profitable phase of his cartographic career, in which he assumed the role of land speculator.
George Washington took his oath of office as the first President of the United States
“As the first of every thing, in our situation will serve to establish a Precedent,” he wrote James Madison, “it is devoutly wished on my part, that these precedents may be fixed on true principles.”
