5) George Washington. The American revolution. The declaration of independence.

George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1797. As the leader of the Continental Army in the American Revolution, he led the American victory over Great Britain. He then presided over the writing of the Constitution in 1787, and he was unanimously elected as the first President of the United States, a position he held from 1789-1797. During his presidency, he developed the forms and rituals of government that have been used ever since, such as using a cabinet system and delivering an inaugural address. Acclaimed ever since as the "Father of his country", Washington, along with Abraham Lincoln, has become a central icon of republican values, self sacrifice in the name of the nation, American nationalism and the ideal union of civic and military leadership.

Washington was born in Westmoreland County in the Colony of Virginia in 1732. At a very young age, Washington became a senior officer of the colonial forces, 1754–58, during the first stages of the French and Indian War. Washington's experience, his military bearing, his leadership of the Patriot cause in Virginia, and his political base in the largest colony made him the obvious choice of the Second Continental Congress in 1775 as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army to fight the British in the American Revolution. He forced the British out of Boston in 1776, but was defeated and nearly captured later that year when he lost New York City. After crossing the Delaware River in the dead of winter he defeated the British in two battles and retook New Jersey. Because of his strategy, Revolutionary forces captured two major British armies at Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781. After victory was finalized in 1783, Washington resigned rather than seize power, and returned to his plantation at Mount Vernon.^[1][2]

Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention that drafted the United States Constitution in 1787 because of his dissatisfaction with the weaknesses of Articles of Confederation that had time and again impeded the war effort. Washington was then unanimously elected as the first President of the United States in 1789. As President, Washington set precedents for the way the office is run today. After his second term expired in 1797, Washington chose not to run again, and he died two years later. At his death Washington was hailed as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen".^[3] Historical scholars consistently rank him as one of the two or three greatest presidents.^[4]

The war started at Lexington and Concord in New England. The continental army was untrained, poorly disciplined, and inadequately equipped. The minutemen were capable of handling a gun, but they knew little else about soldiering. The British troops were well-trained, well-supplied, and well-organized. The redcoats were supported by all kinds of mercenaries, loyalists, and some Indian tribes. At first the war went badly for the Continental Army. They lost battle after battle. In winter 1776 the army was at its weakest when George Washington was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the CA. The exhausted army needed something to revive its spirit. And George Washington did it. He organized a surprise attack near the town of Trenton, NJ, and won a victory there. 900 redcoats were captured. This daring raid gave heart to the American Army. In 1778 France entered the war openly on the American side. It supported the Army from the very beginning but secretly. And in 1778 France sent its fleet and its army to fight on the American side. They cut the British line of supplies and now redcoats were short of them. The final was the greatest fierce battle was staged at Saratoga, VA, 1781. Under George Washington. The combat raged for two weeks before British troops under Charles Cornwallis surrendered. 8000 British soldiers were made prisoners. After this battle there were skirmishes all over the States but actually the war was over. The peace treaty was signed only in 1783 in Paris. Thus the war lasted for long 8.5 years.

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America. They first rejected the authority of the Parliament of Great Britain to govern them from overseas without representation, and then expelled all royal officials. By 1774 each colony had established a Provincial Congress, or an equivalent governmental institution, to form individual self-governing states. The British responded by sending combat troops to re-impose direct rule. Through representatives sent in 1775 to the Second Continental Congress, the new states joined together at first to defend their respective self-governance and manage the armed conflict against the British known as the American Revolutionary War (1775–83, also American War of Independence). Ultimately, the states collectively determined that the British monarchy, by acts of tyranny, could no longer legitimately claim their allegiance. They then severed ties with the British Empire in July 1776, when the Congress issued the United States Declaration of Independence, rejecting the monarchy on behalf of the new sovereign nation. The war ended with effective American victory in October 1781, followed by formal British abandonment of any claims to the United States with the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

The American Revolution was the result of a series of social, political, and intellectual transformations in early American society and government, collectively referred to as the American Enlightenment. Americans rejected the oligarchies common in aristocratic Europe at the time, championing instead the development of republicanism based on the Enlightenment understanding of liberalism. Among the significant results of the revolution was the creation of a representative government responsible to the will of the people. However, sharp political debates erupted over the appropriate level of democracy desirable in the new government, with a number of Founders fearing mob rule.

Many fundamental issues of national governance were settled with the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788, which replaced the relatively weaker first attempt at a national government adopted in 1781, the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. In contrast to the loose confederation, the Constitution established a strong federated government. The United States Bill of Rights (1791), comprising the first 10 constitutional amendments, quickly followed. It guaranteed many "natural rights" that were influential in justifying the revolution, and attempted to balance a strong national government with relatively broad personal liberties. The American shift to liberal republicanism, and the gradually increasing democracy, caused an upheaval of traditional social hierarchy and gave birth to the ethic that has formed a core of political values in the United States.^[1][2]

The importance of the American Revolution.

The revolution was the product of 2 general movements – the struggle for self-gov’t and national independence, and the struggle of the American people for a more democratic order in the country. Thus the revolution had its external aspect – that is the colonial war of Liberation against Britain, and the internal aspect – the mass upsurge against antidemocratic elements. In evaluating the importance of the revolution it is necessary to point out that it was the first successful colonial revolution in history. The imperial powers from Spain to France, to Holland and Portugal, had all faced colonial insurrections, but they all had been suppressed. But the Americans succeeded. And this fact itself, apart from its resulting political and social institutions, had a great impact upon the great peoples of the world.

The Declaration of independence.

While the war was still in full swing, NA colonies, urged by working people, officially proclaimed their independence from British rule. The document sent to the British Gov’t, read, “From that time on, the former colonies would be free, separate, independent states.” This act of the American colonies, was the most important political event of the day. A special committee was set up to work out the declaration. Among the members were eminent American statesmen of the time- -Benjamin Franklin, Sam Adams, Sherman, and Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson is considered to be the author of the Declaration, and he drafted it at the age of 33. The declaration was adopted by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia on July 4^th 1776. The hall where the Declaration was read, was named Independence hall, and the reading of the document was accompanied by the ringing of the Bell, known as Liberty Bell. Tourists can see both nowadays, too. The Declaration set forth a philosophy of human freedom based on the assumption that Colonial Dependence is foreign to the Inherent rights of people. The declaration was quite progressive at the time, but not all of its ideas were carried into life because the new American Bourgeoisie took the matter into their own hands. Thus the right to liberty didn’t abolish slavery, though Thomas Jefferson laid special stress on it, as he himself had two daughters by a Negro woman. The suffrage was limited as well. It did not include women, and it was based on property census, so that the poorer part of the population, the Indians and Negroes, didn’t get any vote at all.

The formation of the National Government.

After the liberation from British troops, each of the 13 colonies proclaimed themselves as states. Each state formed a governmental body. There was also central power exercised by the continental congress. This was a framework which had many weak points.

States quarreled with each other over boundary lines. Bigger states issued tariff laws which injured smaller ones.

A number of states began independent negotiations with foreign countries.

Each state had its own army and Navy.

George Washington wrote at the time – “The states are United by a rope of sand”. It was decided to call a federal convention with representatives from all states. In May, 1787, the convention numbering 55 delegates, assembled in Philadelphia with George Washington as chairman. Only Rhode island abstained from participating in the convention. those 55 delegates are known as 55 wise men.

They represented the new American bourgeoisie. They agreed to decide upon the national government. The main point of debate was the form of the government. Some were for Royal power, others for the republic. But there were points on which all the delegates were unanimous – lower classes were to be excluded from taking part in governmental affairs because they were not fit for it by their education and upbringing. Finally it was decided to have a republic with a president at the head. He would be elected for the whole span of life. And in 1789 George Washington was elected 1^st president of the USA. On april, 30, he was inaugurated, and took an oath:

I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Since that time, every new president pronounces the same oath. Washington was the president of the country for 8 years. After retirement he spent last years of his life on his estate in Mt Vernon. When he was elected president, he faced formidable problems. F.E. he was left with a dozen clerks, an empty treasury, and a burden of debts. The America Army consisted of only 672 officers and men. The Navy had ceased to exist by the time. But George Washington did his best. He is known as the Father of the Nation, only for the Victory he brought his nation to during the war of independence. They say by sheer force of his character.