Few figures have cast as large a shadow on a nation as George Washington. With his face on the one dollar bill, and carved into the granite of Mt. Rushmore, Washington commands a respect bordering on awe. Where did this remarkable man come from? What motives drove him throughout his extraordinary life? How did a person born into a modesty prosperous family achieve so much? Albert Marrin delves into these vital questions in this outstanding biography of the first president of the United States. Appropriately enough, Marrin shows the parallel growth of Washington as a person, and the development of the American colonies into a nation.
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Washington’s father Gus was a giant of a man, with aspirations of becoming a great land owner. His mother seems to have been a beautiful woman, but one of cold and uncaring nature. At the age of eleven, Gus Washington died, leaving the bulk of his estate to George’s half brother, Lawrence. In due time, young George went to live with Lawrence and began to be introduced to the highest levels of colonial society. With the sudden death of Lawrence, the 20-year-old was cast into an uncertain world. Not knowing what to do, George accepted a military command under the Governor of Virginia, Robert Dinwiddie. Washington was to lead the expedition into the Ohio River Valley and warn the French not to colonize the area. Rebuffed by the French, Washington returned to Virginia and fought with the British in the French and Indian War. So impressive was his battlefield leadership that Gov. Dinwiddie soon appointed the young Virginian to command all the Virginia troops. Washington held this command for five years during the war before retiring to his inherited estate at Mount Vernon.
For a number of years, Washington lived the life of a Virginia gentleman. These were happy years as George could concentrate on farming, management of his estates and living with his wife Martha. This pleasant period was soon interrupted by the events leading up to the American Revolution. The American colonies began to grow away from the mother country of England. To pay for debts incurred during the French and Indian War, Parliament began levying taxes on the colonies. Though the taxes weren’t brutal, American resentment started to build. The Americans wanted to tax themselves, not have the English decide what was best. All of these angers and grievances finally drove the colonists into a rebellion against the Crown. Against the strongest army in the world, the rebelling Continental Congress appointed George Washington as general of the Continental Army. This was the most important and clear-sighted decision that could have been made.
During the grueling years of the Revolution, only Washington’s great strength of character held the rag tag Continental Army together. How did he do it? How did Washington keep learning from his military defeats? Why was his personal integrity as important to the Revolution’s victory as any military decision he made? To find out, read this magnificently written biography, "George Washington & the Founding of a Nation" by Albert Marrin.
This biography stands out as an outstanding account of the life of George Washington. The author uses original sources, quotes from important personages about the events and Washington’s own letters. Baron von Steuben’s salty drill instructions to the undisciplined Americans add color to the misery of the Valley Forge period. This is a fine book to learn a great deal about the founding father of the United States. I hope your junior high school student gets the opportunity to read this fine biography. Enjoy!
