乔治·华盛顿

乔治·华盛顿 乔治 华盛顿(1732 -- 1799) 乔治?华盛顿1732年生于美国弗吉尼亚的威克弗尔德庄园。他是一位富有的种植园主之子，二十岁时继承了一笔可观的财产。1753年到1758年期间华盛顿在军中服役，积极参加了法国人同印第安人之间的战争，从而获得了军事经验和威望;1758年解甲回到弗吉尼亚，不久便与一位带有四个孩子的富孀??玛莎?丹德利居?卡斯蒂斯结了婚(他没有亲生子女)。 华盛顿在随后的十五年中经营自己的家产，现出了非凡的才能，1774年他被选为弗吉尼亚的一位代表去参加第一届大陆会议时，就已经成为美国殖民地中最大的富翁之一了。华盛顿不是一位主张独立的先驱者，但是1775年6月的第二届大陆会议(他是一位代表)却一致推选他来统率大陆部队。他军事经验丰富，家产万贯，闻名遐迩;他外貌英俊，体魄健壮(身高6英尺2时)，指挥才能卓越，尤其他那坚韧不拔的性格使他成为统帅的理所当然的人选。在整个战争期间，他忠诚效劳，分文不取，廉洁奉公，堪称楷模。 华盛顿于1775年6月开始统率大陆军队，到1797年3月第二届总统任期期满，他的最有意义的贡献就是在这期间取得的。1799年12月在弗吉尼亚的温恩山，他在家中病逝。华盛顿是美国第一任总统。美国有一位华盛顿这样德才兼备的人作为第一任总统是幸运的。翻开南美和非洲各国的历史，我们可以看到即使是一个以民主宪法为伊始的新国家，堕落成为军事专制国家也是易如反掌。华盛顿是一位坚定的领袖，他保持了国家的统一，但是却无永远把持政权的野心，既不想做国王，又不想当独裁者。他开创了主动让权的先例??一个至今美国仍然奉行的先例。 Washington, George(1732 -- 1799) First U.S. president. Born February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. His father, a prosperous planter and iron foundry owner, died when he was 11, and Washington moved in with his elder half-brother Lawrence, who owned the plantation Mount Vernon. In 1748 Washington did some surveying for Lord Fairfax, a relative of Lawrence by marriage, meanwhile reading widely in Mt Vernon's library. In 1751, he accompanied the ailing Lawrence to Barbados; on his death the next year, Washington was left guardian of Lawrence's daughter at Mt Vernon, which Washington would inherit in 1761 after her death. Having studied military science on his own, in 1753 Washington began several years' service with the Virginia militia in the French and Indian Wars, taking command of all Virginia forces in 1755 and participating in several dangerous actions. Commissioned as aide-de-camp by General Edward Braddock in 1755, he barely escaped with his life in the battle that took Braddock's life. He resigned his commission in 1758, following his election to the Virginia House of Burgesses (1759--1774). In 1759, Washington married the wealthy widow Martha Custis, thus securing his fortune and social position. They had no children together but raised her two children, and later her two grandchildren. After a period of living the sociable life of a gentleman farmer, however, Washington risked it all by casting his lot with those rebelling against British rule, although his original motives probably had less to do with high principles and more to do with his personal annoyance with British commercial policies. In 1774, Washington participated in the First Continental Congress and took command of the Virginia militia; by the next year the Second Congress, impressed with his military experience and commanding personality, made him commander in chief of the Continental army (June 1775). With remarkable skill, patience, and courage, Washington led the American forces through the Revolution, struggling not only with the British but with the stingy Continental Congress and also on occasion with resentful fellow officers. Notable among his achievements were his bold crossing of the Delaware to rout enemy forces at Trenton on Christmas night of 1776 and his holding the army together during the terrible winter encampment at Valley Forge in 1777--8. His victory over the British at Yorktown (1781) effectively ended the war, but for almost two more years he had to strive to keep the colonists from splintering into selfish enterprises. Washington returned to Mount Vernon in 1783, but maintained his presence in the debate over the country's future. He solidified that role when he chaired the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention of 1787. In 1789, the first electors unanimously voted Washington as president; he was reelected in 1793. A natural leader rather than a thinker or orator, he had great difficulty coping with an unruly new government, futilely resisting the growing factionalism that resolved into the forming of Hamilton's Federalist Party - to which Washington finally gravitated - and Jefferson's liberal Democratic-Republican Party. In 1796, Washington announced he would not run again (thus setting a precedent for only two terms) and retired from office the next year. In 1798, he accepted command of a provisional American army when it appeared there would be war with France, but the threat passed. The following year, Washington died at Mount Vernon and was mourned around the world. He immediately began to attain almost legendary status, so that succeeding generations throughout the world could bestow no higher accolade than to call their own national hero, "the George Washington" of their country. Key words: first president general