George of America? Washington, DC-Slave Owner "Father of the Nation"

Trump is often nicknamed the founding hero in Sichuan. What I want to talk about here is the first generation of "founding comrades" in the United States-George Washington.

As commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, Washington led the American people to win the War of Independence, and later became the first president of this beautiful country. Americans call him "the father of our country". In memory of him, he was printed on the dollar and named after the capital. He is on four portraits of the President on the President's Hill (Chuan Jianguo said he could have it).

Perhaps, every nation needs idol-like figures to worship and enhance cohesion. In fact, in the propaganda of the mainstream media in the United States, Washington has always been portrayed as a "pioneer of freedom and democracy" and has a good reputation among most people.

Later, with the deconstruction of history and the development of information, more and more people learned that Washington also has some black history, such as Washington is also a slave owner. Someone knocked down his statue in the "black life is expensive" movement.

So as the commander-in-chief of the American imperialists, what era did President Hua live in and what did he do? Let's stop here.

one

A wealthy n generation who wants to be a British officer

Since Columbus discovered America in 1492, Europeans have crossed the ocean to seek colonial development. Spain and Portugal, which acted quickly, first occupied Central and South America with gold and silver mines. Later, France and Britain had to go to North America, which was still a wild place at that time, to grow some tobacco and fish.

In, the British established Jamestown, which was their first overseas colony in North America. Later it belonged to Virginia. The history of America begins here.

Our master, Washington, was born in Virginia and his ancestors came from England. The Washington family has a long history and is a noble and prominent family. There are many military exploits in history, which are very close to the kingship. Later, there was a bourgeois revolution in Britain, the kingship was restricted, the old aristocracy was suppressed, and the Washington family declined. In order to take refuge, Washington's great-grandfather John Washington came to Virginia with the immigration tide in 1656.

John bought a piece of land here and opened a manor. Later, he became famous and became a local councillor and local governor. The parish where he lives is also called Washington parish. The Washington family took root in Virginia.

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732. It is already the fourth generation of descendants after family immigration. He was born by his father Augustine's second wife. There were two half-brothers in front of him, and his mother would later give him several younger brothers and sisters.

At that time, the educational environment in North America was still relatively backward, and parents with conditions would send their children to Europe for training. Washington's father sent 15-year-old Laurence to England for further study. Washington, on the other hand, may have stayed in the local primary school because of his age and learned some basic education such as literacy and arithmetic. Since then, he has never received higher education, and he himself regrets it.

Washington has a good relationship with his eldest brother Lawrence. Lawrence came back from England at the age of 2/kloc-0 to help his father manage the factory, when Washington was only 8 years old. In front of his younger brother, Lawrence was brilliant and ambitious, and took good care of Washington. So Washington respects and dotes on Big Brother.

Later, Britain and Spain competed for the colony of the West Indies. Lawrence entered the war and did well, so he was promoted and almost went to England to develop.

Influenced by his big brother, Washington is also very interested in military affairs. He likes to play in the Woods with his friends and imitate military codes. These activities strengthened his physique and exercised his military sports skills. At the same time, he is also very talented in leadership, especially the king of children.

1743, when Washington was 1 1, his father Augustine died suddenly, leaving a large legacy. According to the will, Washington will get 4400 mu of land and 10 slaves when he comes of age.

Although Washington was not well educated, he learned a very popular technology at that time-land survey. Because North America was in the early stage of development, the planning, use and sale of land needed a lot of survey data. Being a land surveyor is not only a high salary, but also a high social status. It is a decent job. With the help of his eldest brother's father-in-law, William Fairfax, Washington became a government-approved surveyor.

Lawrence was brilliant and prosperous, but unfortunately he died of tuberculosis. At the age of 2 1, Washington accidentally inherited his eldest brother's will and the rank of Virginia militia major.

Soon, Washington will have a chance to perform in its military career. From 65438 to 0756, Britain and France fought for the first place in the world for seven years, with North America as the focus.

As an officer of the British colonial militia, Washington took part in the battle and showed great enthusiasm. Although it was defeated and surrendered during the period, it was repeatedly defeated and fought. At one time, the clothes were punched four times, and they were still fine. So luck is also very important.

In the end, Britain won. During this period, Washington wanted to seek a formal British position and become a decent citizen of the British Empire, but I don't know whether the British didn't like colonial status or whether Washington had a black history of surrender, but it didn't succeed in the end. 1758, Washington simply resigned from the military and went home to be his own manor owner. This also enabled him to achieve his career on the road of anti-British.

two

Commander-in-Chief and President of the Continental Army

Although Britain won the Seven-Year War, fighting was burning money, and the British empire was a bit empty. In order to pay back the money, the British began to consider taxing the North American colonies.

Although it is a colony, the British never pay much tax. 1765 There are three tax cases: sugar tax law, tea tax law and stamp tax law. The people of North America couldn't stand it anymore, and they took to the streets to make trouble and strongly resisted. The British are afraid of making a mountain out of a molehill, and then only the tea tax is left. North Americans started smuggling, but they didn't pay.

Later, in a competition, 1773, North Americans dumped the tea that the British East India Company shipped to Boston for direct sale. The British think, alas, they have turned against you and want to clean up these hillbillies in North America. People in North America also think that the British want to touch us, so we must unite. So 1774, they went to Philadelphia to hold the first continental congress, ready to fight the British.

Contradiction triggers war 1775, and Fires of Lexington opens the American War of Independence.

1775 at the second continental congress, Washington was elected commander-in-chief of the continental army.

After Washington resigned and went home, he married the widow Martha on 1759. Widows are very rich, there are 84 slaves alone, and of course there are two children born with their ex-husbands, while Washington has never had children of its own blood relatives. Washington changed from a small rich man to a big rich man, and the class jumped. In addition, he was able to run his own business, and the owner of the manor became very comfortable and influential. He was elected to the Virginia House of Commons for a term of 15 years. By the time of the first continental congress, he attended the meeting as a representative of Virginia.

The meeting chose Washington as the commander-in-chief of the army because he participated in the seven-year war and was the only general with actual combat experience in the southern colonies.

1776, the colonial people in North America issued the famous Declaration of Independence. When America was born, the revolutionary enthusiasm was high. However, the new coach soon discovered that this team is not easy to take.

The continental army consists of North American militia and volunteers. Its style is loose, unorganized and undisciplined, lacking equipment and training, and its combat effectiveness is worrying. Soldiers often go home without saying hello for a long time, with an average service time of half a year. It took Washington a few days to find out how many people there were, and the data was not accurate. Even this team can't recruit enough people. During the War of Independence, when the number of Continental Army was large, it was less than 20,000. Moreover, the continental congress has no right to tax and allocate funds, and the military expenditure mainly depends on colonial donations.

The rival British army, a professional army that has fought all over the world, is well-equipped and clean. In contrast, just like today's US military and Afghan guerrillas.

However, there are local militias all over North America. Washington can often get the support of these militia when it moves to various places, forming a situation of fighting more with less. The tactics are mainly guerrilla warfare, ambush warfare, night attack warfare, and hit-and-run warfare. The British army, which is good at frontal combat, is a little uncomfortable. Still, Washington lost more than it won. 1776, only a few thousand people were hit, and it is almost impossible to persist.

Fortunately, the British have a powerful enemy, the French mentioned above. The French lost the seven-year war and are looking for revenge. Well, the colony has become independent, right? Come on, Americans, I'll give you a platform. Fuck the British. France first gave money to buy weapons, but it was afraid that Americans could not beat them. By 1778, the French directly sent troops to join american league in the war.

1In the winter of 777, the Continental Army in Washington retrained the army with the help of a Prussian officer, Steben, making the Continental Army the king of guerrillas. What is that? Or guerrillas! I'm kidding. Compared with before, this is a brand-new look.

178 1 year, the United States and France allied forces surrounded the British army in Yorktown, the last major stronghold in North America. Soon, the British general Cornwally surrendered. The war of independence is basically over.

It is worth noting that in this war, the French sent 32 warships, 65,438+10,000 navy and nearly 9,000 army, while the American continental army had less than 8,000, and most of the artillery used for combat was French. It's like a microcosm. Throughout the war of independence, France spent a lot of money, far exceeding that of the United States. So Washington is a little embarrassed to surrender.

After the war, it seems to be routine to praise Washington as the king of the United States, because the world at that time was basically a feudal kingdom. But Washington can see clearly that the trend of the times has changed, and the continental army is only 10,000 to 20,000. These states are still loosely federated. They first got together to defeat the British. Now that the task is completed, everyone still likes to go their own way. Who has the heart to make you king?

In fact, the Continental Army was hastily disbanded after the war. Washington also wisely chose to resign. This objectively sets a good example for putting an end to American soldiers' interference in politics.

1787, Washington presided over the American Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia. He did not participate in the discussion, but maintained the order of the meeting with his prestige, which contributed to the birth of the Constitution of the United States of America.

1789, Washington was elected as the first president of the United States, and was re-elected in 1793. He was the only president elected by unanimous vote in history, which laid the foundation for the establishment of a strong federal government.

1797, after two terms, Washington voluntarily gave up power and did not renew his post. It has become a tradition that American presidents serve only two terms.

1799, Washington died of a bad cold.

three

The other side of the founding father

President Hua's life is naturally a life of fame and fortune. In addition to the great cause, there are also many slots.

There are not many scandals about women in Washington's life. As we all know, he married a widow, but before he got married, Washington fell in love with another friend's wife, and after failing, he married Martha, also a famous wife lover.

Slavery in Washington is a long-standing controversial case in history. Washington inherited 1 10 slaves from his father at the age of 0, and later inherited several slaves from his brother. By the time he got married at the age of 27, he had about 36 slaves and Martha had 84 slaves. By the time he died, the number of slaves had reached more than 300.

Washington made a lot of money on slave-run manors. Although he gradually realized that slavery was out of date, he was not against slavery. In fact, it was very common for rich people to raise slaves at that time.

Slavery at that time was not as dark as imagined, but actually a backward personal attachment. Slaves are bought with money, and they are not cheap, and they are not caught casually. Even if you buy a cow, will you abuse it all day? For slave owners, slaves are property. Slaves will also set up their own families in the manor, and slave owners will be responsible for the birth, illness, death, marriage and child care of slaves. It is doubtful whether slaves will be better off if they are released. Martha, Washington's wife, believes that slaves will have no place to live outside the manor. Of course, do you think slave owners will bully slaves? This is more or less. For example, there are rumors that female slaves were raped in Washington. Just like the relationship between landlords and slaves in ancient China, it is common for masters to abuse and bully slaves.

Washington benefited from slavery. Although he knew that the elimination of slavery was a historical trend, he never released slaves in his life. Leaving a will at the end of his life, the slave under his name can be free after his wife dies. The wife immediately realized that it was a pit. Didn't those slaves murder themselves to be free early? Therefore, after Washington's death, he immediately released his slaves and gained a good reputation.

Slavery, times have changed, and we can't look at the problem completely according to today's standards.

In contrast, the systematic genocide against Indians promoted by Washington is even more sinful.

In order to make room for these aborigines, and because the Indians joined hands with the British in the War of Independence, the US military retaliated crazily and killed the Indians.

Washington compared Indians to beasts like garbage and wolves, and his command to his generals was: "Don't listen to any peace proposals until all Indian settlements are effectively destroyed." Within five years, 28 out of 30 Indian towns were destroyed.

Shockingly, Washington taught soldiers to skin Indians like this: "Skin them from the hips so that they can make high boots or boots that can reach their legs."

When Washington confidently read the Declaration of Independence to the British, the phrase "all men are created equal" obviously did not include blacks and Indians. Racial issues have also plagued the United States to this day.

Despite the controversy, Washington made the right choice at every critical moment of his career. Under his leadership, the United States was able to establish a strong central government and laid the foundation for the development of the United States.