The Miraculous Story of the United States of America - Essay Example

US History Essay Proposal Focus: The current paper is intended to present an overview of the glorious life of George Washington, the first President of the United States of America, and “the father of the nation”. The paper will summarize the life of George Washington and try to analyze him as a leader, a President and a military commander. Thesis: George Washington is remembered in history not only as the first President of the USA but also as a great leader and a very capable military commander who led the continental army to victory against the Kingdom of Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War between 1775 to 1783. His initial military experiences were not very satisfying though he improved his positions later on and ended up defeating the then greatest world power in the American Revolution as the commander of continental army (Wildman, 1966). The present paper will try to present an overview of the glorifying military career of George Washington and also try to reveal if there was any liability or flaw in the character of George Washington as a military General. Outline The essay shall consist of 5 main paragraphs under different sections. The introduction shall give an idea about the relevant background and the thesis to be focuses upon. The body will consist of three paragraphs, which will argue regarding George Washington’s military career and leadership in the form of the outline presented below. The final paragraph shall draw a conclusion regarding the thesis of the essay. Supporting Arguments: I. George Washington was a capable military commander leading the victory in American Revolution. But in his military career he also showed some flaws and inabilities. a. Many of his initial battles were resulted in defeat, e.g., as a lieutenant colonel leading an expedition against French troops. b. He was appointed as Commander in Chief to the Continental Army in 1775. c. His overaggressive and careless nature as a tactician repeatedly placed his army in serious danger during American Revolution. d. Though his overall strategy was good but he had limited experience in warfare. e. But his ability to learn from past experience and use them in perfect balance transformed him to be victorious. f. His greatest military accomplishment was to build the first professional American military force in history (Lengel, 2005). II. George Washington was elected as the first President of the United States of America and proved to be the most capable administrator of his age. a. He was the only President to be elected unanimously. b. He preferred peace and exercised neutrality in wars between foreign forces (Flexner, 1994). c. He presided over the convention that wrote the Constitution of the United States. d. He specified the number of Federal courts and judges through the Judiciary Act in 1789. e. A national banking system was established followed by post offices and stock exchange. The Coinage Act was also enacted. f. He called Federal troops to suppress the armed rebellion in 1794 demonstrating the strength of his government in spite of exercising peace. g. He retired in 1796 after serving two successive terms as President starting the policy of maximum two terms for a President. III. George Washington was a legendary leader with several characteristic qualities. a. His brilliant leadership qualities brought victory in the American Revolution. b. He was able to unite his army with small gestures (“George Washington: A true leader”, 2006). c. He formed a well-trained and disciplined military force as the key to the victory. d. He served as the moral foundation for the infant nation’s struggle against the world’s superpower. e. Characteristically he was prudent with sound power of judgment of character and talent and was a person of pure integrity who can set example for others (Fishman, Pederson and Rozell, 2001). Literature review George Washington was elected the first President of the United States of America in 1789. He was proved to be an able administrator during his presidential tenure and took a number of decisions in both domestic and foreign affairs crucial for the wellbeing of the country. He preferred peace to war in his tenure. He was the proponent of many customs which later turned into laws, e.g., the policy of maximum two terms for a President which became law by the 22nd amendment of the constitution (“George Washington”, n.d.). One of his officers, Henry Lee gave word to the public opinion stating him to be “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” (Ferling, 1989) Finally the paper will concentrate on George Washington as the foundation of leadership. The discussions on the military expeditions and the presidential capabilities of George Washington truly place him as a leader against all adversity (Fishman, Pederson and Rozell, 2001). He possessed the characteristics, which drove the nation towards unity and peace making him a legendary leader. He preferred peace to war in his foreign policy but did not sacrifice the strength of his government in suppressing rebellion as seen in 1794 demonstration of Federal troops (Flexner, 1994) His inexperience often transformed the application of his plans and strategies into failure despite of them being quite valuable in nature. His over aggressiveness and ambition to achieve victory in a hurry made him underestimate the opponent. He was rash and careless in making defensive arrangements, which placed his army in great risk many a times. (Lengel, 2005, 49) His weaknesses as a tactician posed serious trouble for his troops in various battles of his initial years including the battle of Fort Necessity. Another serious problem in his character was his extremely short temper. He lost his cool at the smallest of temptations and took reckless decisions under the influence of his temper. Despite all these problems in his character or training as a soldier he developed himself to become one of the greatest military commanders of all time in America. He was the one whose command brought about the victory of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary war against the British super power. The characteristic trait of a leader, which deserved most praise for this transformation, is the will power, which Washington possessed a lot. Instead of becoming weak or timid following his repeated defeat and disaster in the battles he kept on learning from all his past experiences and mistakes and used them in perfect balance in his later war expeditions. Despite of the lack of proper support from the Congress or the French troops, the ambition and determination of George Washington kept the morale of his troop strong in the long term of the war. He had the capability to manage the entire warfare single handedly as the commander, chief engineer, chief of intelligence, soldier, judge, statesman, quartermaster, commissary head and even sanitary head. He was considered stern, cold, and remote, commanding the respect of the rank and file and the public by the forcefulness of his personality and his high character but he surely had the sympathetic character, which helped him secure the trust of his army (Wildman, 1966). His determination never accepted defeat and enabled him continue the resistance year after year, keeping the revolution alive during its darkest days. Thus despite his flaws and failures in his military career, there is no denying of the fact he brought about the victory in the Revolutionary war and without his presence the existence of the United States might have been in serious doubt (Lengel, 2005, 352) His tactics and strategies often proved to be fruitful in the battlefield as evident from the battle at Monmouth, New Jersey in 1778 (Stazesky, 2000). His administrative functioning also exemplified his visionary quality. To summarize it can be said that despite of the few characteristic flaws, his ability to overcome them as well as his sense of responsibility, patriotism, selflessness, patience and determination helped him develop as a leader. His religious tolerance, intelligence, respect for people and most importantly his multi-polar personality made him the true leader. He had the ability to lead with strength without being harsh or cruel. These qualities combined with his military and political capabilities made him the most obvious choice as the First President of the United States as of all the newly formed country required a true leader who can shape its future. The country needed someone who could set example for his people and make them secured and motivated towards the welfare of the budding nation and George Washington absolutely fitted the role with his contribution in the independence of the nation and his capabilities of nurturing the same. References 1. Ferling, J. E., 1989. The First of Men: A Life of George Washington. USA: University of Tennesse Press. 2. Fishman, E.M., Pederson, W.D. and Rozell, M.J., 2001. George Washington: Foundation of presidential leadership and character. USA: Greenwood Publishing Group. 3. Flexner, J. T., 1994. Washington: The Indispensable Man. USA: Back Bay Books. 4. “George Washington”, n.d. The White House. Available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gw1.html (accessed on 26 July 2008). 5. “George Washington: A true leader”, 2006. Measured Against Reality. Available at: http://stupac2.blogspot.com/2006/08/george-washington-true-leader.html (accessed on 26 July 2008). 6. Lengel, E.G., 2005. General George Washington, A Military Life. New York: Random House. 7. Stazesky, R.C. “George Washington, Genius in Leadership”. The Papers of George Washington Articles. 2000. Available at: http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/articles/stazesky.html (accessed on 18 August 2008). 8. Wildman, F.B., (1966). “George Washington: The commander in chief”. Historic Valley Forge. Available at: http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/washington/george2.html (accessed on 26 July 2008). Read More