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How Did George Washington Deserve The American Crisis

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The winter that George Washington’s soldiers spent at Valley Forge was backbreaking, cold, and the men had little clothing. Smallpox ran rampant, with a 40% death rate and a painful inoculation process. Because of the lack of clean water, the soldiers suffered from dysentery. After a few weeks, they had run out of meat, and were forced to survive on firecakes, a crude mixture of flour and water. Many froze or starved to death, causing the death rate to grow to 10 men per day. However, George Washington was an powerful inspiring force, doing everything he could to uplift his men, he worked day and night without leaving like all of his officers. He tried to do everything in his power to get his army through the winter. The soldiers, despite …show more content…

The American Crisis by Thomas Paine states thus: “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” This means that the hardships that the men were living were a test of their character; if they stayed, it meant that they were real soldiers who were deserving of the utmost respect, and they had a strong and enduring heart. If they had left however, they are like the sunshine patriot and the summer soldier that Thomas Paine speaks of, they would have failed the test of character. Paine also states that “the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” This means that only the things that are fought for, that are bought with blood and tears, are truly worth the most value. It means that if living through Valley Ford were easy, then living through Valley Ford wouldn’t be important or dear. The tyranny that Britain imposed on them was like slavery, Paine stated. The men who lived through Valley Forge would be proud to say that they not only had a character of gold, but fought to abolish the tyranny that Britain

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According to Estimates of Illness and Deaths at Valley Forge (Doc. A), there was about 4,000 illnesses in February 1778. The illnesses mainly came from diseases. There was also 2,500 deaths due to disease. In the painting of George Washington presenting to Continental Congress (Doc. B), the soldiers were wearing no shoes. Since they were low on supplies, they had to step on the cold ground giving

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During the winter 1776, Thomas Paine, a well known writer accompanies General Washingtons troops along the retreat from the dominating British forces. He inspires the troops with his speech, The Crisis, by using rhetroical strategies, and empowering tone, and religous inferences. Paines repetitive referance to God, gains the emotiond of the troops by enhancing their relieability towards their faiths. His speech mentions that power can not be invested to man, but only God has authourity over such entitlements. This develops pathos by having spiritual ingluences and makes Wahingtons troops feel condemned to fight for the cause.

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In the winter, Washington took his troops to Valley Forge, which was 18 miles from Philadelphia. At this time, Valley Forge was a difficult place to live for the Patriots. It was a struggle but if I were a Patriot in Valley Forge fighting for Washington’s Army, I wouldn’t quit. I won’t quit for three big reasons; yes I know there were a lot of sick soldiers but not as much as dying soldiers, another thing is the conditions were horrible, but there were many brave soldiers who stuck with it, and stayed with Washington, lastly I do not want to be a “summer soldier” because freedom is valuable so it is worth fighting for.

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In the same context on page 84 in Forge, Silvenus said, “ Are you real soldiers, or boys who just want to march in the sunshine?”. This portrays the same idea that Paine was trying to

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George Washington and many other generals rented out rooms or whole farm houses for the entire encampment. Most of the time the soldiers cut down trees for firewood, went in the surrounding countryside to gather food, and when the weather improved trained for battle. Many soldiers survived because they experience hardships before in Washington’s Army. 2. Were there any soldiers that didn’t respect George Washington?

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The winter of 1777-78 was terribly cold, bitter, and harsh. These conditions made things very difficult for General Washington’s military unit. The unit’s morale and physical strengths were severely tested throughout this challenging and historical time. On December 19, 1777, General George Washington, the Commander of the U.S. Continental Army led the troops to Valley Forge in Pennsylvania for a few different reasons.

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“The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country.” Thomas Paine’s strong words help me to stay and fight for my country. (Paine 153) “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.” Paine’s words are more than strong enough to help us win. (Paine 153)

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Like many great leaders who inspire their followers, George Washington valued the people he led rather than thinking of them as means to an end. Richard Neustadt, Presidential Scholar at Harvard University, once observed the following about Washington: “It wasn’t his generalship that made him stand out . . . It was the way he attended to and stuck by his men. His soldiers knew that he respected and cared for them, and that he would share their severe hardships.” Edward G. Lengel, described Washington’s leadership during the extraordinarily cold winter of 1777–78 at Valley Forge as “sacrificial” and noted that “he took great care in seeing that his soldiers were well housed.”

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The soldiers were inadequately trained and lacked ammunition, food, and other provisions. They sometimes even went without clothing and went barefoot in the winter. However, General Washington was able to give them direction and encourage them to persevere. The common soldier would prove important.

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I’m standing in the center of our camp at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The British are 20 miles away in Philadelphia. Men surround me, shivering, starving, and covered in their own vomit. I know I do not want to be a part of this madness. The winter of 1777-1778 has been rough enough already.

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“The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind” (Paine 1). With the Revolutionary War beginning in 1775, and the publication of Common Sense, by Thomas Paine, only a year later, this statement was widely recognized and addressed the issue at hand: the fight for independence. According to Paine’s assertion, America’s desire for peace and freedom is a basic necessity of life; it is what all men desire. Despite this innate thirst for liberty, many residents of America’s thirteen colonies were fearful of Great Britain, and because of this fear, complied with Great Britain’s every whim. Consequently, most colonists were hesitant to fight against the mother country for independence.

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Common Sense was an important stepping stone towards independence. Thomas Paine was a person who advocated and supported egalitarian principles. He believed that all people are equal and deserved equal rights and opportunities. Thomas goal was to influence to people in the Thirteen Colonies to stand for independence from Great Britain. The thirteen colonies were a group of British colonies on the east coast of North America.

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As a visionary leader, General Washington had developed an organization to achieve the goal of winning the war for independence. During those eight years of the American Revolution, General Washington spent countless time, thought and energy as being the organizer and administrator of the military forces than he did as a military strategist and tactician. According to “Washington The Indispensable Man” written by James Thomas Flexner states “When Washington became conscious of this British conclusion, it was to have a major effect on his strategy.” Similarly, “He agreed that it would be wise for him to take advantage of the Sabbath by slipping inconspicuously into the encampment.” Leading a whole army of 20,000 soldiers, Washington was definitely

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It was extremely important for Paine to persuade the colonist to continue the war for American independence. He used pathos by using a parent’s love for their children against them to convince the army to continue on with the war. By way of example, when Paine is talking about a tori and patriotic father “finished with this unfatherly expression ‘Well! Give me peace in my day…’ and a generous parent should have said ‘If there must be trouble let it be in my day; that my child may have peace’ and this single reflection, well applied, is sufficient enough to awaken every man to duty” (Paine 109).

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With all of these soul-shattering, life-changing conditions, it is less of a war and more of a test of strength for the soldiers, here at Valley Forge. Some men were going home and not returning. Other men just completely deserted. Even George Washington’s position was uncertain, the members of congress didn’t trust him. Life at Valley Forge was obviously horrible, and the ugly truth is that it wouldn’t get much better.

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