When most people hear the name George Washington they automatically think first President of the United States. However, though he was the first president he was also so much more. George Washington is by far the most important figure in the history of the United States. Against all military odds, he liberated the thirteen colonies from the superior forces of the British Empire and presided over the process to produce and ratify a Constitution that has lasted for more than two hundred years. In two terms as President, he set that Constitution to work with such success that, by the time he finally retired, America was well on its way to becoming the most powerful and richest nation on earth.
Washington was a brilliant military mind in his later years, though this was not always the case. During the French and Indian War, Washington in his younger years commanded several hundred men for more than three years. He had led his men well, but his record was hardly perfect. He was with General Edward Braddock and his 1,700 soldiers in Pennsylvania when they were ambushed and routed by a smaller number of French soldiers and Native Americans. In addition he was in command when
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During the French and Indian War Washington had never commanded more than five thousand men at a time, did not know how to position artillery or maneuver cavalry, and had no engineering skills in building defensive positions .In the words of Gaffney and Gaffney (2012) when compared to the British officers he would face he was in the words of one historian, “a rank amateur.” However after much consideration congress followed John Adams advice to overlook the flaws and stated that Washington’s appointment “will have a great effect in cementing and securing the union of these colonies.” stated by Freeman (1957). Congress then voted and made him commander of the newly formed Continental