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GEORGE WASHINGTON.   Term Paper ID:29093 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Why he is the "father of his country."... More...

4 Pages / 900 Words 2 sources, 8 Citations, MLA Format $16.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Why he is the "father of his country." Discusses whether Washington still deserves this honor. Biographical data. Washington's crucial role as a general in the Revolutionary War. His commitment to republican values. His ideals. His political disinterest. Role in the Constitutional Convention. Election as first President of the U.S. Paper Introduction: George Washington deserves to be called "the father of his country" for a number of reasons. He has been traditionally given this title and the tradition stretches back to his own lifetime. This indicates that he was important to people at the time in some unique fashion. It also indicates that the people must have had a specific desire to create such a role and that Washington filled it to their satisfaction. The question that remains, however, is whether he still deserves such an honor, now that centuries have passed. In order to determine this it is necessary to look at what he did that set him apart and made him uniquely qualified for such a role. Since his career was crucial to the country's birth in ways that no other man filled it can be said that he should be called "the father of his country." Washington, of course, was very similar to many of the other Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Washington's retirement was not so easily accomplished as he hadhoped, but in every one of the decisions he was forced to make throughoutthe decade he continued to put the good of the country first. Washington separated himself from public life at every level,clearly indicating that he had no wish to use the successes of his militarytenure to seize power. But the otherleaders knew that the creation and ratification of the new constitution wasby no means a sure thing and that they would need every kind of supportthat could be mustered since failure of the Convention might mean failureof the new nation. Thus itwas of the greatest importance that Washington persevered and, on severaloccasions, inspired everyone else with hope. He was fully aware, as Wood notes, thatthis course of action was "full of significance for an enlightened andrepublicanized world" and he was not wrong in estimating that it would havea huge impact (2 6). The best American general, Benedict Arnold, went over to theBritish and the war looked nearly as hopeless to many other people whobelieved that the colonies should come to terms with the enemy. Since his career was crucial to the country's birth in ways thatno other man filled it can be said that he should be called "the father ofhis country." Washington, of course, was very similar to many of the other FoundingFathers of the United States. This was especially true in Europe where victoriousgenerals habitually leveraged their successes in the field to greatpolitical and economic advantage and even, on occasion, to the seizure ofpower. Washington's action not only confirmed the young nation's commitmentto republican values in the eyes of the rest of the world, it also servedto show his fellow Americans that he, their greatest leader thus far,believed fully in these ideas and was confident that the new nation couldsucceed even though no such state had ever been attempted before. When he wasoffered valuable shares in the James River and Potomac canal companies bythe Virginia legislature, for example, he badly needed the money but feltit went against the spirit of his retirement to accept them. Washington eventually bowed to theargument that retirement would be the easy course and accepting the officewould be for the good of the country. This position as moral example and practicalleader was inspirational in his own time and should be inspirational today. He was an important landowner who risked hisproperty to participate in the Revolution, he served in political office,and he participated in the Philadelphia Convention that devised theConstitution. Throughout the 178 s, therefore, Washington was widely praised as aCincinnatus, (the Roman general who had returned to farming after hisvictories) rather than a Caesar and his position as "a great classical herowas international [and] virtually unrivaled" (2 6). Charlottesville: UP of Virginia, 1991.Wood, Gordon S. He wished to retire tohis farm at Mount Vernon and, more importantly, he wished to set anexample. New York: Vintage, 1993. Again, Bonwick notes, in September 178 it was "crucial" thatWashington "once more kept his army intact" while his victory at Yorktownin 1781 "brought the war to an effective end" (1 9). This deliberate withdrawal from power was the greatmoral act of Washington's life. He has been traditionally given this title andthe tradition stretches back to his own lifetime. Another major problem for Washington was the decision to accept arole in the Constitutional Convention after having promised that he wouldremove himself completely from government and politics. This indicates that hewas important to people at the time in some unique fashion. But it was the act of rejecting the power that couldhave been his that truly set Washington apart. The questionthat remains, however, is whether he still deserves such an honor, now thatcenturies have passed. Hethought he would be able to retire once again to Mount Vernon but, as Woodsays, "everyone else" thought he would be the first president and, indeed,many people had been willing to accept the new Constitution's "strongkinglike chief executive" because they were sure that the always honorableWashington would fill the office (2 9). Hebecame a wildly popular figure who embodied the ideal and, thereby,provided a focus for the people's emerging idea of what the new nation wassupposed to be. Throughout his years of service, Wood says, Washingtonmade a "strenuous effort to live up to the classical ideal of a republicanleader" and he demonstrated as no one else could have done how idealsshould be put into practice. These acts and decisions made Washington one of the mostimportant symbols of the new nation--both at home and abroad--and he tookup many of his post-Revolution activities because he understood the good hecould do by lending the prestige of his reputation to the new government. Later, however, he was to retireagain--setting his own limit at two terms a president and, once again,voluntarily demonstrating that he wholeheartedly believed in the principlesof the new nation. After the signing of thepeace treaty in 1783 and Great Britain's recognition of Americanindependence Washington performed what Wood describes as "the greatest actof his life, the one that gave him his greatest fame" when he resigned asthe commander in chief of the armed forces (2 5). But Washington was also unique in combining all theseactions with the leadership of the armed forces of the emerging nation.And, in contrast to that endeavor (which required all his time and energyfor several years), he was also unique in that he was in a position toseize power in the colonies but rejected such an idea in favor of a returnto his farm. It entitles him to the description "father of his country." Works CitedBonwick, Colin. The American Revolution. The greatest crisis Washington faced, however, was the decisionregarding his possible election as president of the new country. It alsoindicates that the people must have had a specific desire to create such arole and that Washington filled it to their satisfaction. Washington was convinced by his friends that he wasnecessary and, Bonwick notes, "his presence gave legitimacy to theConvention" as no one else's could (2 3). ThomasJefferson assured Washington that he was right and that, as Woods puts it,rejecting the gift "would only add to his reputation for disinterestedness"(2 8). The Radicalism of the American Revolution. As Bonwick says, the survivalof Washington's force at Valley Forge "was of great strategic significance"because it meant that the Continental army still posed a threat to theBritish and kept them from re-imposing their authority on the colonies(1 6). Throughout the revolutionary war the colonists' forces wererepeatedly overwhelmed by the British and the outcome was completelyuncertain. These military feats kept the American rebels going in military andpsychological terms. George Washington deserves to be called "the father of his country"for a number of reasons. In order to determine this it is necessary to lookat what he did that set him apart and made him uniquely qualified for sucha role. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.