In the biography "His Excellency: George Washington" the author Joseph Ellis wrote a detailed look inside Washington 's life while trying to convey his thoughts. The problem Joseph Ellis had was not on how many personal journal entries he could find but what little personal mental thoughts George Washington had written about himself and what he was thinking during some of his most important historical decisions. "Although Washington is both the narrator and the central character in the story he says little about himself and nothing about what he thinks." (Ellis, p.4) George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia on February 22, 1732. He was born to Augustine Washington and Mary Ball. About the age of sixteen was when we start to actually see George in historical records, including his first job, surveying land for William Fairfax which took him three years to complete. During his time surveying he also bought his first plot of land with money he had saved while working. In 1752 at age …show more content…
The American Revolution changed George Washington forever, both for what he stood for and the respect that he gained from the whole world. Washington led many battles throughout the American Revolution whether he won or not he was still known and feared for his perseverance. Once he set out to accomplish a task he would do it to the best of his abilities. Joseph Ellis summarizes the contributions made by Washington in the American Revolution in his first paragraph of chapter three with this thorough introduction "He was forty-three years old when he rode out of Mount Vernon toward Philadelphia. He was fifty-one when he arrived back at Mount Vernon on Christmas Eve, 1783 the most famous man in the world the cause he headed had not only smashed two British armies and destroyed the first British Empire, it had also set in motion a political movement committed to principles that were destined to topple the monarchical and aristocratic dynasties of the Old World."