The Right Man to Be First

John Patterson Patterson 1

Mrs. Terry

Class: 1st

1 April 2011

The Right Man to be First

There are many "First's in the history of the United States. There was the first man that walked on the moon. There was the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean. There was also the first president of the United States. George Washington's responsibility, leadership, and devotion to his country made him the right man to be America's first president.

George learned at an early age to become a responsible person. Being responsible is a key quality to becoming president. In 1743 George 's father, Augustine, died when George was eleven years old (Mello 9). When his mother was left to take after the plantation, George still had to carry on as the man of the house. Even at a young age, George was given responsibilities of a full grown man. Because of this responsibility to his mother, George knew he would not be going off to school. He decided to learn a skill. George's older brother Lawrence told George about a job as a surveyor with the Fairfax family. He became a surveyor at the of age 16. "He quickly discovered that he liked the rough life on the frontier, riding through hundreds of miles of forests, sleeping on the ground, eating whatever scraps of biscuit and dried meat he could carry in his pouches" (Collier 15) . George remained employed with the surveyor job, until his brother Lawrence became ill with tuberculosis. George then moved in with Lawrence in a town called Barbados, a small island off the West Indies, to take care of Lawrence in the warm weather. Lawrence never recovered and died in 1752. After Lawrence died, George moved back to Virginia. Sad about his brother's death, George "began the quest for notice by following in his

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brother's footsteps and entering a career in the military" (Burns; Dunn 8). George Washington

was a responsible person for his family, his career and his brother.

Not only was George responsible, he was also a great leader. At the age of 20, George joined the military with no combat experience whatsoever. One of his duties was to train volunteers how to fight. He taught the volunteers from skill books he had read. He later had an assignment to deliver a message to Lake Erie from the king of England to the French warning them about the British attempting to claim land in Ohio. George and a handful of men traveled through Indian tribes that were allied with the French forces. When George delivered the message, the French officer was not wanting to bargain with the British and that they need to leave the region immediately (Schlesinger 16). George knew that war was about to break out between the two forces. Upon George's return to Virginia, Lieutenant Governor Dinwiddie, a high ranked military officer, requested a written report about what had happened while George was gone. George was made famous from his report. At age 22, George was the second highest rank in the Virginia Regiment. War broke out between Britain and France in 1754. At the start of the war, George and his men built a fort called Fort Necessity, 50 miles outside Forks, Ohio. His fort was attacked almost immediately by French forces. George was outnumbered so he surrendered to keep his men from harm. After the loss from the French forces, George resigned from the military (Schlesinger 18). His years in the military showed that he was a great leader. When the Revolutionary war begun in 1775, George was asked by the Continental Congress to lead the Continental Army (Schlesinger 30). Everyone agreed to appoint George as their leader. George was a natural born leader in everyone's eyes, and being a leader is a primary quality to becoming a president.

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George Washington's leadership helped him become the Commander of the Continental Army but also his devotion to his country helped him become First President of the United States. George Washington is quoted saying he would devote himself solely to " American Union and Patriotism" (Burns; Dunn 25). After the Revolutionary War, many of the soldiers had fought without pay. These soldiers were