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Martha Washington

Martha Washington

Martha Dandridge Parke-Custis Washington (June 2, 1731-May 22, 1802) served as the first First Lady of the United States when her second husband, George Washington, served as the first President, from 1789 to 1797.

Biography

Born near Williamsburg, Virginia, Martha "Patsy" Dandridge was the eldest daughter of Virginia planter John Dandridge (1700–1756). At the age of 18, she married Daniel Parke Custis, a rich bachelor twenty years her senior. She had four children by Custis, two of whom survived to adulthood, John (Jack) Parke Custis (1754-1781) and Martha "Patsy" Parke Custis. Custis' death in 1757 left Martha a rich widow, with independent control over a dower inheritance for her lifetime and trustee control over the inheritance of her minor children. Two years after the death of her first husband, Martha Dandridge Custis married Colonel George Washington on January 6, 1759. Shortly after the marriage, he left the colonial arm of the British military due to the British policy denying colonials command opportunities with the regular British army. They lived a prosperous and apparently happy life at Washington's Mount Vernon estate. Martha and George Washington had no children together, but they raised Martha's two surviving children. They also raised her two youngest grandchildren, Eleanor Parke Custis and George Washington Parke Custis (April 30, 1781 - October 10, 1857) after their father Jack died, probably of typhus, while serving as an aide to Washington during the siege of Yorktown in 1781. They also provided personal and financial support to nieces, nephews and other family members in both the Dandridge and Washington families. Content to live a private life at Mount Vernon and her homes from the Custis estate, Martha Washington nevertheless followed Washington into the battlefield when he served as Commander in Chief of the American Army. She spent the infamous winter at Valley Forge with the General, and was instrumental in maintaining some level of morale among officers and enlisted troops. She opposed his election as president of the newly formed United States of America, and refused to attend the inauguration, but gracefully fulfilled her duties as the official state hostess during their two terms. inauguration Martha Washington survived her husband and died at Mount Vernon, Virginia. She was buried on May 22, 1802 at Mount Vernon. In 1831, her remains were moved from their original burial site a few hundred feet to a brick tomb that overlooks the Potomac River. In 1902 Martha Washington was the first woman to be commemorated by a U.S. postal stamp.

Martha Washington and slavery

Martha Washington was raised in a time when chattel slavery was an economic reality for wealthy southern families. There is no evidence that she ever questioned the ethical and moral foundations of the "southern institution." Under English common law, Martha received the use of and income from one third of Daniel Parke Custis' extensive estate during her lifetime. The estate contained a number of individual real estate holdings, and many slaves attached to those holdings. She was the manager of her "dower" portion of the estate and, as her minor children would someday inherit the entire estate, designated as a trustee of the remaining portions. Although this responsibility came with considerable managerial power, she was legally limited in dealing with and disposing of the property of the estate, including the slaves. Martha Washington was upset and personally hurt when two slaves in President Washington's Philadelphia household fled to obtain their freedom. Although all documentation indicates she treated slaves in a kindly and dignified manner, her personal ladies maid Oney or Ona Judge, a slave of the Custis estate, left the household during President Washington's second term. She fled to free black friends in the city, and then traveled to the north. Patricia Brady, in her 2005 biography of Martha Washington, writes: :"Martha felt a responsibility for the unsophisticated girl under her care, especially since her mother and sister were expecting to see her back at Mount Vernon. What she could never understand was that (Oney had)...a simple desire to be free. Ona, as she preferred to call herself, wanted to live where she pleased, do what work she pleased, and learn to read and write....Ona Judge professed a great regard for Martha and the way she had been treated, but she couldn't face a future as a slave for herself and her children." (Brady, p. 209) During the Washington family's last week in Philadelphia, their chief cook Hercules also left the household, leaving his family behind. Historian Henry Wiencek, in his 2004 book "An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America", citing original documents he discovered in the files of Mount Vernon and the Virginia Historical Society, writes that Martha Washington owned her own mulatto half-sister, a slave named Ann Dandridge, who had a child by her nephew, Martha's son, John Parke "Jack" Custis. According to Wiencek, this incident was among several that led George Washington to call slavery repugnant, and probably influenced Washington's decision late in life to free all his slaves. Another source on the existence of a slave named Ann Dandridge was Helen Bryan's 2001 "Martha Washington: First Lady of Liberty." In this book, which draws upon Wiencek's research, Bryan stated that the "shadow sister" was close to Martha's age and had been with her since they were children. Since the documents, buttressed by the oral history of Ann Dandridge's descendants, indicate that Ann Dandridge had a child with Jack Custis, Wiencek asserts that Ann Dandridge was much younger than Martha and was close to Jack's age. Wiencek writes that previous historians ignored the documentary evidence that this sister existed. Patricia Brady asserts that Bryan and Wiencek accepted and adapted post-Civil War family traditions about events in the Custis/Washington family. Documents show that Martha Dandridge took no slaves with her when she moved from her childhood home in Chestnut Grove. No record of Ann Dandridge is found in Custis estate records, and neither the sister nor her children are found in George Washington's meticulous records of slaves at Mt. Vernon in either 1786 or 1799.

The Custis estate

Some of the estate left by Daniel Parke Custis to his descendants was eventually confiscated from George Washington Parke Custis's son-in-law, Robert E. Lee during the Civil War. The property later became Arlington National Cemetery. In 1882, after many years in the lower courts, the matter of the ownership of Arlington National Cemetery was brought before the United States Supreme Court. The Court affirmed a Circuit Court decision that the property in question rightfully belonged to the Lee family. The United States Congress then appropriated the sum of $150,000 for the purchase of the property from the Lee Family.

External link

[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/mw1.html White House biography]

Reference


- Brady, Patricia. "Martha Washington: An American Life." Viking/Penquin Group, New York, New York, 2005. ISBN 0-670-03430-4.
- Wiencek, Henry. "An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America." Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, hardbound edition 2003, paperback edition 2004. ISBN 0374529515. Washington, Martha Washington, Martha Washington, Martha Category:George Washington

1731

Events


- Downing Streetbecomes the official residence of the United Kingdom's Prime Minister when Robert Walpolemoves in.

Births


- February - Charles Churchill, English poet (d. 1764)
- May 8 - Beilby Porteus, Bishop of London and abolitionist (d. 1809)
- June 21 - Martha Washington, First Lady of the United States (d. 1802)
- October 10 - Henry Cavendish, English scientist (d. 1810)
- November 9 -Benjamin Banneker, American surveyor of the District of Columbia (d. 1806)
- November 15 - William Cowper, English poet (d. 1800)
- December 12 - Erasmus Darwin, English scientist and grandfather of Charles Darwin (d. 1802)

Deaths


- January 6 - Étienne François Geoffroy, French chemist (b. 1672)
- January 21 - Thomas Woolston, English theologian (b. 1669)
- January 27 - Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian maker of musical instruments (b. 1655)
- February 22 - Frederik Ruysch, Dutch physician and anatomist (b. 1638)
- March 8 - Ferdinand Brokoff, Czech sculptor (b. 1688)
- April 24 - Daniel Defoe, English writer (b. 1660)
- May 1 - Johann Ludwig Bach, German composer (b. 1677)
- December 26 - Antoine Houdar de la Motte, French writer (b. 1672)
- December 29 - Brook Taylor, English mathematician (b. 1685) Category:1731 ko:1731년

1802

1802 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar).

Events


- March 16 - West Point is established.
- March 25/27 - Treaty of Amiens between France and United Kingdom ends the War of the Second Coalition.
- March 28 - H. W. Olbers discovers the asteroid Pallas.
- May 19 - Napoleon Bonaparte establishes the French légion d'honneur (Legion of Honour).
- June 8 - Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture is seized by French troops and sent to Fort-de-Jeux for prison.
- July 4 - At West Point, New York the United States Military Academy opens.
- August 2 - In a plebiscite Napoleon Bonaparte is confirmed as consul for life.
- September 11 - The Italian region of Piedmont becomes a part of Napoleonic France.
- October 2 - War ends between Sweden and Tripoli. The United States also negotiates peace, but war continues over the size of compensation.
- July - Eleuthère Irénée du Pont founds E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, the modern DuPont Company.
- October - French army enters Switzerland.
- Marie Tussaud opens her famous wax museum in London, having been commissioned during the Reign of Terror to make death masks of the victims.
- Treviranus uses the term biology for the first time.
- Thomas Wedgwood produces the world's first photograph, but has no means of fixing the image, which quickly fades.
- William Symington builds the first successful steamship, the Charlotte Dundas.
- Ludwig van Beethoven performs the Moonlight Sonata for the first time.
- William Wordsworth publishes the poem "Westminster Bridge."
- The estimated world population reaches 1 billion people.

Ongoing events


- French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802)
- Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815)

Births


- February 11 - Lydia Child, American abolitionist author (d. 1880)
- February 19 - Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1881)
- February 26 - Victor Hugo, French author (d. 1885)
- April 4 - Dorothea Dix, American social activist (d. 1887)
- July 24 - Alexandre Dumas, père, French author (d. 1870)
- July 26 - Mariano Arista, President of Mexico (d. 1855)
- August 5 - Niels Henrik Abel, Norwegian mathematician (d. 1829)
- August 22 - Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard, American land speculator (d. 1886)
- November 9 - Elijah P. Lovejoy, American abolitionist (d. 1837)
- December 15 - Janos Bolyai, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1860)
- December 23 - Sara Coleridge, British scholar (d. 1852)

Deaths


- February 2 - Welbore Ellis, 1st Baron Mendip, British statesman (b. 1713)
- February 3 - Pedro Rodríguez, Conde de Campomanes, Spanish statesman and writer (b. 1723)
- February 26 - Esek Hopkins, American Revolutionary War admiral (b. 1718)
- April 18 - Erasmus Darwin, English physician and botanist (b. 1731)
- June 4 - Charles Emmanuel IV of Savoy, King of Sardinia (b. 1751)
- August 10 - Franz Aepinus, German philosopher (b. 1724)
- September 26 - Baron Jurij Vega, Slovenian mathematician, physicist, and soldier (b. 1754)
- November 9 - Thomas Girtin, English artist (b. 1775)
- November 15 - George Romney, English artist (b. 1734)
- November 16 - André Michaux, French botanist (b. 1746)
- July 22 - Marie François Xavier Bichat, French anatomist and physiologist (b. 1771) Category:1802 ko:1802년 ms:1802

George Washington

George Washington (February 22 1732 – December 14 1799) was the successful Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and later became the first President of the United States, an office to which he was elected twice (1789-1797). Washington first gained prominence as an officer during the French and Indian War, a war which he inadvertently helped to start. After leading the American victory in the Revolutionary War, he refused to lead a military regime, returning to civilian life at Mount Vernon. In 1787 he presided over the Constitutional Convention that drafted the current U.S. Constitution, and in 1789 was the unanimous choice to become the first President of the United States. His two-term Washington Administration set many policies and traditions that survive today. After his second term expired, Washington again voluntarily relinquished power, thereby establishing an important precedent that was to serve as an example for other future republics. Because of his central role in the founding of the United States, and his enduring legacy, Washington is often called the "Father of his Country". Scholars rank him with Abraham Lincoln among the greatest of presidents.

Early life

According to the Julian calendar, Washington was born on February 11 1731; according to the Gregorian calendar, which was adopted during Washington's life and is used today, he was born on February 22 1732 (Washington's Birthday is celebrated on the Gregorian date). At the time of his birth, the English year began March 25 (Annunciation Day, or Lady Day), hence the difference in his birth year. His birthplace was Pope's Creek Plantation, south of Colonial Beach in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Washington was part of the economic and cultural elite of the slave-owning planters of Virginia. His parents Augustine Washington (1693–April 12 1743) and Mary Ball (1708–August 25 1789) were of English descent. He spent much of his boyhood at Ferry Farm in Stafford County, near Fredericksburg and visited his Washington cousins at Chotank in King George County. He was home schooled and was also trained as a surveyor (obtaining his certificate from the College of William and Mary). He surveyed the Shenandoah Valley for Lord Fairfax, a distant relative, in western Virginia and retained a lifelong interest in western lands. His only foreign trip was a short visit to Barbados in 1751. He survived an attack of smallpox, although his face was scarred by the disease. He was initiated as a Freemason in Fredericksburg on February 4 1752. On brother Lawrence's death in July 1752, he rented and eventually inherited the estate, Mount Vernon in Fairfax County, Virginia (near Alexandria).

French and Indian War and afterwards

Alexandria At twenty-two years of age, George Washington fired some of the first shots of what would become a world war. The trouble began in 1753, when France began building a series of forts in the Ohio Country, a region also claimed by Virginia. Robert Dinwiddie, the governor of Virginia, had young Major Washington deliver a letter to the French commander, asking them to leave. The French refused, and so in 1754 Dinwiddie sent Washington, now promoted to lieutenant colonel in the First Virginia Regiment, on another mission to the Ohio Country. There, Washington and his troops ambushed a French Canadian scouting party. After a short skirmish, Washington's American Indian ally Tanacharison killed the wounded French commander Ensign Jumonville. Washington then built Fort Necessity, which soon proved inadequate, as he was compelled to surrender to a larger French and American Indian force. The surrender terms that Washington signed included an admission that he had "assassinated" Jumonville. (The document was written in French, which Washington could not read.) The "Jumonville affair" became an international incident and helped to ignite the French and Indian War, a part of the worldwide Seven Years' War. Washington was released by the French with the promise not to return to the Ohio Country for one year. Washington was always eager to serve in the British Army, which had a low regard for colonials. His opportunity came in 1755, when he accompanied the Braddock Expedition, a major effort by the British to retake the Ohio Country. The expedition ended in disaster at the Battle of the Monongahela. Washington distinguished himself in the debacle—he had two horses shot out from under him, and four bullets pierced his coat—yet he sustained no injuries and showed coolness under fire in organizing the retreat. In Virginia, Washington was acclaimed as a hero, and he commanded the First Virginia Regiment for several more years, although the focus of the war had shifted elsewhere. In 1758 he accompanied the Forbes Expedition, which successfully drove the French away from Fort Duquesne. Washington's goal at the outset of his military career had been to secure a commission as a regular British officer—rather than staying a mere colonial officer. The promotion did not come, and so in 1759 Washington resigned his commission and married Martha Dandridge Custis, a wealthy widow with two children. Washington adopted her two children, but never fathered any of his own. The newlywed couple moved to Mount Vernon where he took up the life of a genteel farmer and slave owner. He held local office and was elected to the provincial legislature, the House of Burgesses. By 1774 Washington had become one of the colonies' wealthiest men. In that year, he was chosen as a delegate from Virginia to the First Continental Congress. Although the American Revolution had not yet devolved into open warfare, tensions between the colonies and Great Britain continued to rise, and Washington attended the Second Continental Congress (1775) in military uniform—the only delegate to do so. He strongly supported independence.

American Revolution

American Revolution, 1851, Metropolitan Museum]] The Continental Congress needed to select as commander in chief of its newly formed Continental Army a natural leader with a commitment to the cause, suitable military experience, a commanding personality, and a base in a major colony. Washington was the unanimous selection, and was selected on June 15 1775. The Massachusetts delegate John Adams suggested his appointment, citing his "skill as an officer... great talents and universal character." He assumed command on July 3. During his first great military triumph Washington drove the British forces out of Boston on March 17, 1776, by stationing artillery on Dorchester Heights. The British army, led by General William Howe, retreated to Halifax, Canada. Washington moved his army to New York City in anticipation of a British offensive there. In August the British invaded in overwhelming numbers and Washington led a clumsy retreat that almost failed. He lost the Battle of Long Island on August 22 but managed to move most of his forces to the mainland. However, several other defeats sent Washington scrambling across New Jersey, leaving the future of the Revolution in doubt. On the night of December 25 1776, Washington staged a brilliant comeback. He led the American forces across the Delaware River to smash the Hessian forces in Trenton, New Jersey. Washington followed up the assault with a surprise attack on General Charles Cornwallis' forces at Princeton on the eve of January 2, 1777, eventually retaking the state of New Jersey. The successful attacks built morale among the pro-independence colonists. In summer 1777 the British launched a two-pronged attack, with Burgoyne marching south from Canada while Howe attacked the national capital of Philadelphia. Washington moved south but was badly defeated at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11. An attempt to dislodge the British, the Battle of Germantown, failed as a result of fog and confusion, and Washington was forced to retire to winter quarters at the miserably inadequate Valley Forge. In the face of high rates of disease Washington insisted on vaccinations to protect the soldiers from smallpox, which probably stem impact of that deadly disease over the harsh winter. Washington stood steadfast, demanding supplies from Congress. His men recovered their morale despite the harsh winter conditions. A new system of drill and training was established by Baron Friedrich von Steuben, who had served on the Prussian general staff. Von Steuben improving the army’s fighting capabilities so that it could match the British in the field. Washington attacked the British army moving from Philadelphia to New York at the Battle of Monmouth on June 28 1778, a drawn contest, but the British effort to disrupt the national government had failed. Burgoyne’s invading army, meanwhile, was captured at Saratoga in October, giving the British a crushing defeat. It now seemed likely that the British would never reconquer the new nation, and France signed a formal alliance with the U.S. After 1778 the British made one last effort to split apart the new nation, this time focused on the southern states. Rather than attack them there, Washington's forces moved to West Point New York. In 1779 Washington ordered a fifth of the army to carry out the Sullivan Expedition, an offensive against four of the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy which had allied with the British and attacked American settlements along the frontier. There were no battles but at least forty Iroquois villages were destroyed and the hostile Indians moved permanently to Canada. In October, 1781 American and French forces and a French fleet trapped General Cornwallis at Yorktown in Virginia. Washington quick-marched south, taking command of the American and French forces September 14, and pressed the siege until Cornwallis surrendered. It was the end of significant fighting, though British forces remained in New York City and a few other places until the final peace was ratified in 1783. In March 1783, Washington learned about a conspiracy that was being planned by some of his officers who were upset about back pay in the Continental Army's winter camp at Newburgh, New York. He was able to defuse this plot. Later in 1783, by means of the Treaty of Paris, the British recognized American independence. Washington disbanded his army and on November 2 at Rockingham House in Rocky Hill, New Jersey and gave an eloquent [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mgw3&fileName=mgw3b/gwpage016.db&recNum=347 farewell address] to his soldiers. A few days later the British evacuated New York City, and Washington and the governor took possession of the city; at Fraunces Tavern in the city on December 4, he formally bid his officers farewell.

Activities between Revolution and Presidency

Fraunces Tavern On December 23 1783 General George Washington resigned his commission as Commander in Chief of the Army to the Congress, which was then meeting at the Maryland State House in Annapolis. This action was of great significance for the young nation, establishing the precedent that civilian elected officials, rather than military officers, possessed ultimate authority. Washington was a firm republican, believing that the people are sovereign and that no one should ever come to power in America because of military force, or because of birth in a noble family. At the time of Washington's departure from military service, he was listed on the rolls of the Continental Army as "General and Commander in Chief." (See Retirement, death, and honors section below for more on this topic.) Although the world was at peace in the late 1780s, Washington worried that the fledling nation had such a weak central government that it could not survive a future war. He therefore endorsed plans to create a new constitution. His support guaranteed it would happen and he presided over the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. For the most part he did not participate in the debates involved, but his prestige was great enough to maintain collegiality and to keep the delegates at their labors. He adamantly enforced the secrecy adopted by the Convention during the summer. Many believe that the Framers created the Presidency with Washington in mind. After the Convention, his support convinced many, including the Virginia legislature, to support the Constitution. Washington farmed roughly 8,000 acres (32 km²). Like many Virginia planters at the time, he was frequently in debt and never had much cash on hand. In fact, he had to borrow $600 to relocate to New York, then the center of the American government, to take office as president. In 1788–1789, George Washington was elected the first President of the United States. The First U.S. Congress voted to pay Washington a salary of $25,000 a year—a significant sum in 1789. Washington, the wealthiest individual in the nation at the time and whose wealth (all of it in land that could eventually be sold) by some estimates exceeded $500 million in current dollars (as of 2005), refused to accept his salary.

Presidency

Main article: Washington Administration Washington Administration]] George Washington was elected unanimously by the Electoral College in 1789, and remains the only person ever to be elected president unanimously (a feat which he duplicated in 1792). As runner-up with 34 votes, John Adams became Vice President-elect. In 1791 Congress imposed an excise tax on distilled spirits, leading to protests. By 1794, after Washington ordered the protesters to appear in U.S. district court, the protests turning into full-scale riots, and outright rebellion. Washington raised an army, and marched at its head into the rebellious districts. There was no fighting, but Washington's forceful action proved the new government could protect itself. After two terms, Washington issued his "Farewell Adress" (actually a letter), and refused to run for a third term in office. This precedent of two terms was only to be broken successfully by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940 and 1944.

Cabinet


Supreme Court appointments

As the first President, Washington appointed the entire Supreme Court, a feat almost repeated by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during his four terms in office (1933–45). Washington appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States:
- John Jay - Chief Justice - 1789
- James Wilson - 1789
- John Rutledge - 1790
- William Cushing - 1790
- John Blair - 1790
- James Iredell - 1790
- Thomas Johnson - 1792
- William Paterson - 1793
- John Rutledge - Chief Justice, 1795 (an associate justice since 1790)
- Samuel Chase - 1796
- Oliver Ellsworth - Chief Justice - 1796

Major Presidential Acts


- Signed Judiciary Act of 1789
- Signed Indian Intercourse Acts, starting in 1790
- Signed Residence Act of 1790
- Signed Bank Act of 1791
- Signed Coinage Act of 1792 or Mint Act
- Signed Fugitive Slave Act of 1793
- Signed Naval Act of 1794

States admitted to the Union


- North Carolina (1789)
- Rhode Island (1790)
- Vermont (1791)
- Kentucky (1792)
- Tennessee (1796)

Retirement, death, and honors

Tennessee The Apotheosis of Washington is found in the rotunda of the United States Capitol]] After retiring from the presidency in March 1797, Washington returned to Mount Vernon with a profound sense of relief. He established a distillery there and became probably the largest distiller of whiskey in the nation at the time. In 1798 his distillery produced 11,000 gallons of whiskey and a profit of $7,500. During that year, Washington was appointed Lieutenant General in the United States Army (then the highest possible rank) by President John Adams. Washington's appointment was to serve as a warning to France, with which war seemed imminent. Washington never saw active service, however, and upon his death one year later the U.S. Army rolls listed him as a retired Lieutenant General, which was then considered the equivalent to his rank as General and Commander in Chief during the Revolutionary War. Within a year of this 1798 appointment, Washington fell ill from a bad cold with a fever and a sore throat that turned into acute laryngitis and pneumonia and died on December 14 1799, at his home. Modern doctors believe that Washington died from either a streptococcal infection of the throat or, since he was bled as part of the treatment, a combination of shock from the loss of blood, asphyxia, and dehydration. One of the physicians who administered bloodletting to him was Dr. James Craik, one of Washington's closest friends, who had been with Washington at Fort Necessity, the Braddock expedition, and throughout the Revolutionary War. Washington's remains were buried in a family graveyard at Mount Vernon. Congressman Henry Light Horse Harry Lee, a Revolutionary War comrade, famously eulogized Washington as "a citizen, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." With the exception of Dwight Eisenhower, who held a lifetime commission as General of the Army (five star), George Washington is the only President with military service to reenter the military after leaving the office of President. Even though he had been the highest-ranking officer of the Revolutionary War, having in 1798 been appointed a Lieutenant General (now three stars), it seemed, somewhat incongruously, that all later full (that is, four star) generals in U.S. history (starting with General Ulysses S. Grant), and also all five-star generals of the Army, were considered to outrank Washington. General John J. Pershing had attained an even higher rank of six-star general, General of the Armies (above five star—though the most stars Pershing actually ever wore were four). This issue was resolved in 1976 when Washington was, by Act of Congress, posthumously promoted to the rank of General of the Armies, outranking any past, present, and future general, and declared to permanently be the top-ranked military officer of the United States. [https://www.perscom.army.mil/tagd/tioh/rank/goa.htm]

Summary of Military Career


- 1753: Commissioned Lieutenant Colonel of the Virginia Militia
- 1754: Led abortive expedition to Fort Duquesne, later served as aide to General Edward Braddock
- 1755: Promoted to Colonel and named Commander of all Virginia Forces. Commissioned a Brigadier General later that year
- 1758–75: Retired from active military service
- June 1775: Commissioned General and Commander in Chief of the Continental Army
- 1775–81: Commands the Continental Army in over seven major battles with the British
- December 1783: Resigns commission as Commander in Chief of the Army
- July 1798: Appointed Lieutenant General and Commander of the Provisional Army to be raised in the event of a war with France
- 14 December 1799: Dies and is listed as a Lieutenant General (r) on the U.S. Army rolls
- 19 January 1976: Approved by the United States Congress for promotion to General of the Armies
- 11 October 1976: Declared the senior most U.S. military officer for all time by Presidential Order of Gerald Ford
- 13 March 1978: Promoted by Army Order 31-3 to General of the Armies with effective date of rank July 4, 1776

Personal information

Gerald Ford Admirers of Washington circulated an apocryphal story about his honesty as a child. In the story, he wanted to try out a new axe, so he chopped down his father's cherry tree; when questioned by his father, he gave the famous non-quotation: "I cannot tell a lie. It was I who chopped down the cherry tree.". The story first appeared after Washington's death in a naïve "inspirational" children's book by Parson Mason Weems, who had been rector of the Mount Vernon parish (See also George Washington's axe for an elaboration of this story). Parson Weems also fabricated a famous story about Washington praying for help in a lonely spot in the woods near Valley Forge. Nevertheless, Washington was a man of great personal integrity, with a deeply held sense of duty, honor and patriotism. He was courageous and farsighted, holding the Continental Army together through eight hard years of war and numerous privations, sometimes by sheer force of will. Because of Washington's involvement in Freemasonry, some publicly visible collections of Washington memorabilia are maintained by Masonic lodges, most notably the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia. The museum at Fraunces Tavern Museum in New York City includes specimens of Washington's false teeth. Washington was notable for his modesty and carefully controlled ambition. He never accepted pay during his military service, and was genuinely reluctant to assume any of the offices thrust upon him. When John Adams recommended him to the Continental Congress for the position of general and commander in chief of the Continental Army, Washington left the room to allow any dissenters to freely voice their objections. In later accepting the post, Washington told the Congress that he was unworthy of the honor. However, it should be reminded that Washington was always an ambitious man. He ensured that during the Continental Congress he arrived and was always present wearing his old colonial uniform so as to make it clear to all that he was deeply interested in commanding the continental troops. Congress actually made him the commander of the continental army before they authorized an army for him to command. In reality, no one else could have ensured that the southern colonies would assist the northern ones unless Washington was part of the equation; aside from a few other, less endearing leaders, Washington was likely, overall, the only choice that would achieve this. It is often said that one of Washington's greatest achievements was refraining from taking more power than was due. He was conscientious of maintaining a good reputation by avoiding political intrigue. He had no interest in nepotism or cronyism, rejecting, for example, a military promotion during the war for his deserving cousin William Washington lest it be regarded as favoritism. Thomas Jefferson wrote, "The moderation and virtue of a single character probably prevented this Revolution from being closed, as most others have been, by a subversion of that liberty it was intended to establish." Washington had to be talked into a second term of office as President, and very reluctantly agreed to it. However, he refused to serve a third term, setting a precedent that held until the Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. At John Adams's inauguration, Washington is said to have approached Adams afterwards and stated "Well, I am fairly out and you are fairly in. Now we shall see who enjoys it the most!" Washington also declined to leave the room before Adams and the new Vice President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, establishing the principle that even a former president is only, in the end, a private citizen.

Trivia


- A popular belief is that Washington wore a wig, as was the fashion among some at the time. He did not. He did, however, powder his hair, as represented in several portraits, including the well-known unfinished Gilbert Stuart [http://www.npg.si.edu/cexh/stuart/athen1.htm depiction].
- A number of younger men were essentially surrogate sons to the childless Washington, including Alexander Hamilton, Lafayette, Nathanael Greene, and George W. P. Custis, Washington's step-grandson. George Custis' daughter Mary would eventually become the wife of General Robert E. Lee.
- Washington was a cricket enthusiast and was known to have played the sport, which was popular at that time in the British colonies.
- Through his father's family, Washington was a direct descendant of King Edward III and William the Conqueror of England.
- One story about Washington has him throwing a silver dollar across the Potomac River. He may have thrown an object across the Rappahannock River, the river on which his childhood home, Ferry Farm, stood. However, the Potomac is over a mile wide at Mount Vernon. Also silver dollars did not exist then.
- Grew hemp, a common crop at the time used for fiber production, specifically to make rope. [http://www.stanford.edu/~johnbrks/theCafe/substance/marijuana.html]

Washington and slavery

Washington owned many slaves throughout his life, as did most of his peers in the Virginia plantation aristocracy. He was noteworthy, however, for the humane treatment of his slaves and for his growing unease with the "peculiar institution". Historian Roger Bruns has written, "As he grew older, he became increasingly aware that it was immoral and unjust. Long before the Revolution, Washington had taken the unusual position of refusing to sell any of his slaves or to allow slave families to be separated." After the Revolution, Washington told an English friend, "I clearly foresee that nothing but the rooting out of slavery can perpetuate the existence of our [Federal] union by consolidating it on a common bond of principle." He wrote to his friend John Francis Mercer in 1786, "I never mean... to possess another slave by purchase; it being among my first wishes to see some plan adopted, by which slavery in this country may be abolished by slow, sure, and imperceptible degrees." Ten years later, he wrote to Robert Morris, "There is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see some plan adopted for the gradual abolition [of slavery]." abolition As President, Washington was mindful of the risk of splitting apart the young republic over the question of slavery. He did not advocate the abolition of slavery while in office, but did sign legislation enforcing the prohibition of slavery in the Northwest Territory, writing to his good friend the Marquis de la Fayette that he considered it a wise measure. Lafayette urged him to free his slaves as an example to others— Washington was held in such high regard after the revolution that there was reason to hope that if he freed his slaves, others would follow his example. Lafayette purchased an estate in French Guiana and settled his own slaves there, and he offered a place for Washington's slaves, writing "I would never have drawn my sword in the cause of America if I could have conceived thereby that I was founding a land of slavery." Nevertheless, Washington did not free his own slaves in his lifetime. Washington included provisions in his will which freed his slaves upon his death. His widow Martha freed those she owned shortly before she died. As cited in Henry Wiencek's Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America, one of his slaves, Oney Judge Staines, escaped the Executive Mansion in Philadelphia in 1796 and lived the rest of her life free in New Hampshire.

Religious beliefs

Washington's religious views are a matter of some controversy. There is considerable evidence that he (like a number of Founding Fathers of the United States) was a Deist—believing in God but not believing in revelation or miracles. Before the Revolution, when the Episcopal Church was still the state religion in Virginia, he served as a vestryman (lay officer) for his local church. He spoke often of the value of prayer, righteousness, and seeking and offering thanks for the "blessings of Heaven". He sometimes accompanied his wife to Christian church services; however there is no record of his ever becoming a communicant in any Christian church, and he would regularly leave services before communion—with the other non-communicants. When Rev. Dr. James Abercrombie, rector of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, mentioned in a weekly sermon that those in elevated stations set an unhappy example by leaving at communion, Washington ceased attending at all on communion Sundays. Long after Washington died, asked about Washington's beliefs, Abercrombie replied: "Sir, Washington was a Deist!" His adopted daughter, Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis, and several others have said, however, that he was, indeed, a Christian. Various prayers said to have been composed by him in his later life are highly edited. He did not ask for any clergy on his deathbed, though one was available. His funeral services were those of the Freemasons at the request of his wife, Martha. Washington was an early supporter of religious pluralism. In 1775 he ordered that his troops not burn the pope in effigy on Guy Fawkes Night. In 1790 he wrote to Jewish leaders that he envisioned a country "which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.... May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid."

Legacy

Abraham, site of Washington's first inauguration as President]] Washington peacefully relinquished the presidency to John Adams after serving two terms in office. This is seen as one of Washington's most important legacies. Referring to this act, George III, the King of England defeated during the Revolution, called him "the greatest character of the age" and Napoleon complained "They wanted me to be another Washington". All presidents since Washington followed the custom of limiting their service in office to two terms, until Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was elected four times (1932, 1936, 1940, 1944). The Constitution was subsequently amended by the Twenty-second Amendment to set an express two-term limit upon future presidents. Washington set many other precedents that established tranquility in the presidential office in the years to come and is generally regarded by historians as one of the greatest presidents. He was also lauded posthumously as the "Father of His Country" and is often considered to be the most important of the United States' "Founding Fathers". He has gained fame around the world as a quintessential example of a benevolent national founder. Americans often refer to men in other nations considered the Father of their Country as "the George Washington of his nation" (for example, Mahatma Gandhi's role in India). Washington was ranked #26 in Michael H. Hart's list of the most influential figures in history.

Monuments and memorials

Today Washington's face and image are often used as national symbols of the United States, along with the icons such as the flag and great seal. Perhaps the most pervasive commemoration of his legacy is the use of his image on the one dollar bill and the quarter-dollar coin. The image used on the dollar bill is derived from a famous portrait of him painted by Gilbert Stuart, itself one of the most notable works of early American art. The capital city of the United States, Washington, D.C., is named for him. The District of Columbia was created by an Act of Congress in 1790, and Washington was deeply involved in its creation, including the siting of the White House. The Washington Monument, one of the most well-known landmarks in the city, was built in his honor. The George Washington University, also in D.C., was named after him, and it was founded in part with shares Washington bequeathed to an endowment to create a national university in Washington. The only state named for a president is the state of Washington in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Washington selected West Point, New York, as the site for the United States Military Academy. The United States Navy has named three ships after Washington. Other examples include the George Washington Bridge, which extends between New York City and New Jersey, and the palm tree genus Washingtonia is also named after him. See also: List of places named for George Washington List of places named for George Washington

Scholarly Secondary Sources

The literature on George Washington is immense. The Library of Congress has a comprehensive bibliography [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gwhtml/gwbib.html online]. Notable recent works include:
- Anderson, Fred 2000. [http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/a/anderson-war.html?oref=login Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766].
- Comora, Madeleine & Deborah Chandra. George Washington's Teeth. Illustrated by Brock Cole. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003; ISBN 0374325340. A lighthearted chronicle of his dental struggles, aimed at children and adults.
- Ellis, Joseph J. His Excellency: George Washington. New York: Knopf, 2004. ISBN 1400040310. Powerful interpretation of Washington's career.
- Elkins, Stanley M. and Eric McKitrick, The Age of Federalism. (1994), the leading scholarly history of the 1790s.
- Ferling, John E. The First of Men: A Life of George Washington (1989), solid and scholarly.
- Fisher, David Hackett. Washington's Crossing. (2004), prize-winning military history focused on 1775-1776.
- Flexner, James Thomas. Washington: The Indispensable Man. Boston: Little, Brown, 1974. ISBN 0316286168 (1994 reissue). Single-volume condensation of Flexner's popular four-volume biography.
- Freeman, Douglas. S. Washington: An abridgement in one volume by Richard Harwell of the seven-volume George Washington by Douglas Southall Freeman (1968), the standard scholarly biography.
- Grizzard, Frank E., Jr. George! A Guide to All Things Washington. Buena Vista and Charlottesville, VA: Mariner Publishing. 2005. ISBN 0-9768238-0-2. Grizzard is a leading scholar of Washington.
- Grizzard, Frank E., Jr. The Ways of Providence: Religion and George Washington. Buena Vista and Charlottesville, VA: Mariner Publishing. 2005. ISBN 0-9768238-1-0.
- Lengel, Edward G. General George Washington: A Military Life. New York: Random House, 2005. ISBN 1400060818.
- [Lodge, Henry Cabot]. George Washington (vol 2, 1899 covers 1783-99) [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12653 online at Project Gutenberg] old but generally accurate. Freeman and Flexner are much better.
- McDonald, Forrest . The Presidency of George Washington. (1988), Intellectual history showing Washington as exemplar of republicanism.
- Wiencek, Henry. An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003. ISBN 0374175268.
- Nash, Gary B. The Unknown American Revolution: The Unruly Birth of Democracy and the Struggle to Create America. Viking, 2005. ISBN 0670034207. A left-wing interpretation of the era, with little on Washington.

See also


- George Washington's presidency
- U.S. presidential election, 1789
- U.S. presidential election, 1792
- Famous military commanders
- George Washington's farewell address
- List of U.S. Presidential religious affiliations
- Newburgh conspiracy In recent years, a number of anti-Semitic groups have attributed false quotations to George Washington and other Founding Fathers, with the intention of inciting anti-Semitism. This subject is discussed in Neo-Nazi Theory (American founding fathers).

Notes

#The earliest known image in which Washington is identified as such is on the cover of the circa 1778 Pennsylvania German almanac (Lancaster: Gedruckt bey Francis Bailey). This identifies Washington as "Landes Vater" or Father of the Land.

External links


- [http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/] Full version of the on-line Papers of George Washington and other information from the University of Virginia
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/washpap.htm The Papers of George Washington] from the Avalon Project (includes Inaugural Addresses, State of the Union Messages, and other materials)
- [http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/commission.html Library of Congress: Washington's Commission as Commander in Chief]
- [http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/49.htm Farewell Address]
- [http://www.libraryreference.org/washington.html Biography of George Washington]
- [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jamesdow/s004/f647706.htm A pedigree of George Washington]
- [http://www.ericdigests.org/1999-2/washington.htm Teaching about George Washington]
- [http://www.thirty-thousand.org/pages/section_IB5.htm The First Presidential Veto] Analysis of the first veto by a U.S. President
- [https://www.perscom.army.mil/tagd/tioh/rank/goa.htm General Washington's military rank]
- [http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gw1.html White House Biography]
- [http://www.chicago-scots.org/clubs/History/Names-U-Z.htm]
-
- [http://www.archontology.org/nations/us/us2/washington.php George Washington: Archontology.org, chronology, dates, terms, election results]

Further Reading


- Barbara Bennett Peterson, "George Washington: America's Moral Exemplar", (2005). Washington, George Washington, George Washington, George Washington, George Washington, George Washington, George Washington, George Washington, George Washington, George Washington Washington, George Washington, George Washington, George Washington, George Washington, George Washington, George ko:조지 워싱턴 ja:ジョージ・ワシントン simple:George Washington th:จอร์จ วอชิงตัน

1789

1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar).

Events


- January 7 - First nationwide United States election
- January 21 - The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth, is printed in Boston, Massachusetts
- January 23 - Georgetown College becomes the first Catholic college in the United States (Washington, DC).
- February 4 - George Washington is unanimously elected the first President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College.
- March 4 - At Federal Hall in New York City, the first U.S. Congress meets and declares the new Constitution of the United States to be in effect.
- April 1 - At Federal Hall in New York City, the United States House of Representatives holds its first quorum and elects Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania as its first House Speaker.
- April 28 - Fletcher Christian leads a mutiny on HMS Bounty against Captain William Bligh
- April 30 - George Washington is inauguration at Federal Hall in New York City, beginning his term as the 1st President of the United States
- May 5 - In France, the Estates-General convenes for the first time in 175 years.
- June 14 - HMAV Bounty mutiny survivors including Captain William Bligh and 18 others reach Timor after a nearly 4,000 mile journey in an open boat
- June 17 - In France, representatives of the Third Estate at the Estates-General declare themselves the National Assembly.
- June 23 - Tennis Court Oath in Paris
- July 9 - In Versailles, the National Assembly reconstitutes itself as the National Constituent Assembly and begins preparations for a French constitution.
- July 10 - Alexander Mackenzie reaches Mackenzie River Delta.
- July 11 - King of France fires popular chief minister Necker
- July 12 - Angry Parisian crowd demonstrates against King’s decision to dismiss minister Necker
- July 14 - French Revolution: Citizens of Paris storm the Bastille and free seven prisoners. In rural areas, peasants attack noble manors.
- July 27 - The first U.S. federal government agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs (later renamed the Department of State), is established.
- August 4 - In France members of the Constituent Assembly take an oath to end feudalism and abandon their privileges
- August 7 - The United States War Department is established
- August 26 - Declaration of the Rights of Man in France
- September 2 - United States Department of the Treasury is founded.
- September 24 - The Judiciary Act of 1789 establishes the Supreme Court of the United States and the federal judiciary.
- September 25 - The United States Congress proposes a set of twelve amendments for ratification by the states. Ratification for ten of these proposals is completed on December 5, 1791, creating the United States Bill of Rights. An additional proposal is ratified more than two centuries later in 1992.
- September 29 - The United States War Department first establishes the nation's first regular army, with a strength of several hundred men.
- November 6 - Pope Pius VI appoints Father John Carroll the first Roman Catholic bishop in the United States.
- November 20 - New Jersey ratifies the United States Bill of Rights, the first state to do so.
- November 21 - North Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 12th U.S. state.

Undated


- Change of Ottoman sultan of the Ottoman Empire from Abd-ul-Hamid I (1773-1789) to Selim III (1789-1807)
- Thomas Jefferson brings the first macaroni machine to the United States
- United States Revenue Cutter Service (predecessor of United States Customs Service and direct predecessor of the United States Coast Guard) is founded
- United States Marshals Service is founded
- Influenced by dr Benjamin Rush's argue against excessive use of alcohol, about 200 farmers in a Connecticut community formed a temperance association.

Ongoing events


- French Revolution (1789-1799)

Births


- January 4 - Benjamin Lundy, American abolitionist (d. 1839)
- January 21 - William Machin Stairs, Canadian businessman and statesman (d. 1865)
- July 19 - John Martin, English painter (d. 1854)
- August 21 - Augustin Louis Cauchy, French mathematician (d. 1857)
- August 28 - Stephanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden (d. 1860)
- September 15 - James Fenimore Cooper, American writer (d. 1851)
- December 28 - Catharine Sedgwick, American writer (d. 1867)

Deaths

January 1 - Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley, English politician (b. 1716) January 8 - Jack Broughton, English boxer January 23 - Frances Brooke, English writer (b. 1724) February 19 - Nicholas Van Dyke, American lawyer and President of Delaware (b. 1738) April 7 - Abd-ul-Hamid I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1725) April 7 - Petrus Camper, Dutch anatomist (b. 1722) April 26 - Count Petr Ivanovich Panin, Russian soldier (b. 1721) May 9 - Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval, French Sartillery specialist (b. 1715) May 25 - Anders Dahl, Swedish botanist (b. 1751) June 4 - Louis-Joseph-Xavier-François, son of Louis XVI of France (tuberculosis) (b. 1781) [July 13]] - Victor de Riqueti, marquis de Mirabeau, French economist (b. 1715)
- July 14 - Jacques de Flesselles, French provost (assassinated) (b. 1721)
- July 15 - Jacques Duphly, French composer (b. 1715)
- July 22 - Joseph-François Foulon, French politician (executed) (b. 1715)
- September 23 -
- October 27 - John Cook, American farmer and President of Delaware (b. 1730)
- December 3 - Claude Joseph Vernet, French painter (b. 1714)
- December 12 - John Ponsonby, Irish politician (b. 1713)
- December 23 - Charles-Michel de l'Épée, French philanthropist and developer of signed French (b. 1712) Category:1789 ko:1789년 ms:1789 simple:1789

Williamsburg, Virginia

Williamsburg is a city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 11,998. It is the county seat of James City County, although it is itself an independent city. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Williamsburg with James City county for statistical purposes. Williamsburg is well-known for the restored colonial area of the city, Colonial Williamsburg, and for the College of William and Mary which is situated mostly within the city of Williamsburg. The newspaper of record is The Virginia Gazette.

History

17th-18th centuries

Williamsburg was settled in 1632 and was called Middle Plantation. The College of William and Mary was founded in Middle Plantation in 1693. In 1699 the village was laid out and renamed to Williamsburg in honor of King William III of England. The town was granted a royal charter as a city in 1722. Jamestown was the original capital of Virginia Colony, and remained as such until its burning in during the events of Bacon's Rebellion in 1676. Temporary quarters were established about 12 miles away on high ground at Middle Plantation, but the rebuilt statehouse in Jamestown burned again in 1698. After that fire, upon suggestion by students of the College of William and Mary, the colonial capital was permanently moved to nearby Middle Plantation again, and the town was renamed Williamsburg. Williamsburg's local newspaper, the Virginia Gazette, was the first newspaper paper published south of the Potomac River in 1736. The publisher was William Parks. Beginning in April, 1775, the Gunpowder incident of Williamsburg, a dispute between Governor Dunmore and Virginia colonists over gunpowder (stored in the Williamsburg Magazine) evolved into an important event in the run-up to the American Revolution. Dunmore, fearing a rebellion, ordered royal marines to seize gunpowder from the magazine. Virginia militia led by Patrick Henry responded to the "theft" and marched on Williamsburg. A standoff ensued with Dunmore threatening to destroy the city if attacked by the militia. The dispute was resolved when payment for the powder was arranged. In 1780, during the American Revolutionary War, the capital was moved again to Richmond at the urging of then-Governor Thomas Jefferson, who was afraid that Williamsburg's location made it vulnerable to a British attack. During the Revolutionary War many important conventions were held in Williamsburg.

19th century

With the capitol gone after 1780, Williamsburg also lost prominence. Early 19th century transportation was largely by canals and navigable rivers. Built deliberately on "high ground," Williamsburg was not located along a major waterway like many early communities in the United States. Early railroads beginning in the 1830s also did not come its way. The area saw some activity during the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War (1861-1865), notably the Battle of Williamsburg on May 5, 1862. About 20 years later, in 1881, Collis P. Huntington's Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad (with mostly through-coal traffic) built through the area. Of course, there were the ongoing activities of the College of William and Mary, but even that was suspended from 1882 until 1886.

20th century restoration: Colonial Williamsburg

In the early 20th century, one of the largest historic restorations ever undertaken anywhere in the world was championed by the Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin of Williamsburg's Bruton Parish Church. Initially, Dr. Goodwin had wanted to save his historic church building, and this he accomplished. However, he began to realize that much of the other colonial era buildings also remained, but were at risk. He sought financing from a number of sources before successfully drawing the interests and major financial support of Standard Oil heir and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. and his wife which resulted in the creation of Colonial Williamsburg, to celebrate the patriots and the early history of America. Today, Colonial Williamsburg forms the centerpiece of the Historic Triangle with Jamestown and Yorktown joined by the Colonial Parkway. See also article Colonial Williamsburg

Anheuser-Busch: brewery, theme park, development

Anheuser-Busch has large operations in James City County just outside the city. The company operates a large brewery there, and a subsidiary of the company operates two of its theme parks near the brewery, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and Water Country USA. Anheuser-Busch's subsidiary Busch Properties operates a commerce park, McLaw's Circle, and Kingsmill on the James a residential neighborhood that contains a resort of the same name.

G7 Summit

The 9th G7 Summit was held in Williamsburg in 1983. The summit participants discussed the growing debt crisis, arms control and greater co-operation between the Soviet Union and the G7 (now the G8). At the end of the meeting, U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz read to the press a statement confirming the deployment of American Pershing II-nuclear rockets in West Germany later in 1983.

Geography and climate

Geography

Williamsburg is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.5 km² (8.7 mi²). 22.1 km² (8.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.50% water. The city is located on the I-64 corridor on the Virginia Peninsula, 45 miles southeast of Richmond and approximately 37 miles northwest of Norfolk. It is in the northwest corner of the greater Hampton Roads area, (officially known as the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA), which is the 34th largest in the United States, with a total population of 1,576,370. The area includes the Virginia cities of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Williamsburg, and the counties of Gloucester, Isle of Wight, James City, Mathews, Surry, and York, as well as the North Carolina county of Currituck. While Virginia Beach is the most populated city within Hampton Roads, it currently functions more as a suburb. The city of Norfolk is recognized as the central business district, while the Virginia Beach seaside resort district and Williamsburg are primarily centers of tourism.

Climate

Williamsburg's mild four season climate means outdoor activities can be enjoyed year round. The weather in Williamsburg is temperate and seasonal. Summers are hot and humid with cool evenings. The mean annual temperature is 60 °F (15 °C), with an average annual snowfall of 6 inches and an average annual rainfall of 47 inches. No measurable snow fell in 1999. The wettest seasons are the spring and summer, although rainfall is fairly constant all year round. The highest recorded temperature was 104.0°F (40.0°C) on June 26, 1952 and August 22, 1983. The lowest recorded temperature was -7.0°F (-21.6°C) on January 21, 1985.

People and culture

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 11,998 people, 3,619 households, and 1,787 families residing in the city. The population density is 542.4/km² (1,404.1/mi²). There are 3,880 housing units at an average density of 175.4/km² (454.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 79.54% White, 13.34% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 4.58% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.75% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. 2.52% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 3,619 households out of which 16.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.2% are married couples living together, 9.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 50.6% are non-families. 35.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.07 and the average family size is 2.66. The age distribution, which is heavily influenced by the College of William and Mary, is: 9.6% under the age of 18, 46.0% from 18 to 24, 17.7% from 25 to 44, 15.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 23 years. For every 100 females there are 81.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 80.8 males. The median income for a household in the city is $37,093, and the median income for a family is $52,358. Males have a median income of $28,625 versus $26,840 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,483. 18.3% of the population and 9.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 29.7% of those under the age of 18 and 5.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. Williamsburg is notable for the fact that a high proportion of city residents derive a significant percentage of their annual income from investment sources, either in addition to or in lieu of income from work. This is because many retirees relocate to Williamsburg, who typically draw income from investments such as 401k plans and the like (see also retirement community).

Infrastructure

Government

The independent city has operated under the council-manager form of government since 1932. The governing body is composed of public-spirited citizens serving on a part-time basis to decide major policy issues. The Mayor is elected by the city council, and presides over council meetings and served as the Chief Elected Official for the city. The city council consists of five members that serve staggered, four-year terms. A city manager is hired by the city council, and is comparable to a corporation's chief executive officer. This person is usually a professionally-trained public administrator, who is charged with implementing the policies and directives of the city council, and has broad administrative authority with strict rules prohibiting political interference in administrative matters. The current Mayor of the city of Williamsburg is Jeanne Zeidler, and the Vice Mayor is Clyde A. Haulman. Other members of the city council are Paul Freiling, Billy Scruggs, and Mickey Chohany. The current city manager is Jackson C. Tuttle. The city shares constitutional officers, courts, and a school system with adjacent James City County, and is the county seat.

Education

The public school system is jointly operated by the city of Williamsburg and James City County. The system consists approximately 9,000 students in 12 schools, of which there are 7 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 2 high schools. For the 2001-2002 academic year, the public school system was ranked among the top five school systems in the Commonwealth of Virginia and in the top 15% nationwide by Expansion Management Magazine. There are also two regional Governor's Schools in the area that serve gifted and talented students. The city has also been the home to the College of William and Mary since its founding in 1693, making it America's second oldest college behind Harvard University. It is also the first U.S. institution to have a Royal Charter. Three other institutions of higher education are located within a twenty-five mile radius of the city, including Christopher Newport University (Newport News), Old Dominion University (Norfolk), and Hampton University (Hampton). There are also three community colleges, offering associate degrees and college transfer programs, within a twenty-five mile radius of Williamsburg: Thomas Nelson Community College, Paul D. Camp Community College, and Rappahannock Community College.

Transportation

Williamsburg is served by the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport, in nearby Newport News. The Norfolk International Airport and Richmond International Airport, each located a short drive away, are larger and offer considerably more flights. These two airports are convenient as Williamsburg is roughly equidistant from the two major cities. The [http://www.airnav.com/airport/KJGG Williamsburg-Jamestown Airport] is a small general aviation airport located 3 miles southwest of Williamsburg, that provides air transport for private and small business jets. Williamsburg is located on Interstate 64 which parallels U.S. Highway 60 in the area. State Highway 199 surrounds the city in a semicircle and is occasionally humorously called the Williamsburg Beltway. Virginia State Highway 5 links the city with the James River Plantations along the north shore of the James River, Interstate 295 and Richmond. Virginia State Highway 31 links the city to Jamestown and the toll-free Jamestown Ferry which connects to Virginia State Highway 10 at Surry, offering access to plantations south of the river as well as Hopewell, City Point, and Smithfield, Virginia. The Colonial Parkway provides a bucolic low-speed link between the points of the Historic Triangle which in addition to Colonial Williamsburg, included Jamestown and Yorktown. Also, motorized traffic is not allowed on Duke of Gloucester Street in the historic district, allowing visitors to gain a perspective of what life was really like in the colonial days. Intercity bus service is provided by Greyhound Lines. Local public transit bus and paratransit services are provided by Williamsburg Area Transit, which connects with the much larger Hampton Roads Transit bus system at Lee Hall in northwestern Newport News. The College of William and Mary also operates a bus service for students of the university, which runs between locations on the central university campus, points in the city of Williamsburg and James City County, the law school campus, and various outlying dormitories and auxiliary buildings owned or operated by the university that are not contiguous with the main campus. The city is also served by several Amtrak trains a day, with direct service to Newport News, Richmond, and points along the Northeast Corridor from Washington DC through New York City to Boston.

See also


- List of famous people from Hampton Roads
- Colonial Williamsburg
- Jamestown Settlement
- Green Spring Plantation
- Historic Triangle
- Colonial Parkway
- Norge, a small town with an Historic District near Williamsburg which was settled by Norwegian-American people and named for their homeland. ("Norge" is the Norwegian word for "Norway")

External links


- [http://www.ci.williamsburg.va.us/ Official Williamsburg Website]
- [http://www.jccegov.com/ Official James City County Website]
- [http://www.visitwilliamsburg.com/ Williamsburg Area Convention and Visitors Bureau]
- [http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/ Colonial Williamsburg]
- [http://www.history.org/ Official Web Site of Colonial Williamsburg, the World's Largest Living History Museum]
- [http://gowilliamsburg.com/ Go Williamsburg - Hotels, Tickets and Things to Do in Williamsburg, VA] Williamsburg