英文名言警句及口语50句，需要中英文译
Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.——美国国父 华盛顿 .G.Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must undergo the fatigue of supporting it .想要收获自由之果的人，必须承受维护自由的劳苦。
——英国作家潘恩Liberty is the only thing you cannot have unless you give it to others.自由就是这样的东西，不给予别人你自己也无法得到。
—— 美国记者 怀特. W. A.Those who deny freedom to others hardly deserve it for themselves. 凡是不给别人自由的人，自己也无法得到。
——英国诗人蒲柏There is in liberty as in innocence and virtue a satisfaction one can only feel in their enjoyment and a pleasure which can cease only when lost. 自由同清白与美德一样，只有在你享用它时，才感到满足，一旦失去它们，你就会感到欢乐停止了。
——法国思想家 卢梭The history of liberty is a history of the limitation of government power.自由的历史是限制政府权力的历史。
——美国总统威尔逊.W。
None is of freedom or of life deserving unless he daily conquers it anew.只有每天再度战胜生活并夺取自由的人，才配享受生活和自由。
——荷兰人文主义者 伊拉斯漠The time of life is short to spend that shortness basely, it would e too long . 人生苦短，若虚度年华，则短暂的人生就太长了。
——莎士比亚. W.
美国华盛顿儿童博物馆的格言我听见就忘记了我看见就记住了我做了就理解了主要说明了在教育过程中应
D说明了行动胜于语言，主动胜于被动。
英语原文是 I hear and I forget，I see and I remember，I do and I understand。
其实这段格言是老外从中国学到的，出自的 - “不闻不若闻之，闻之不若见之，见之不若知之，知之不若行之；学至于行之而止矣。
”
十句英语名言警句（中英文都要）十篇英语日记（80字左右），急需
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英文格言名人名言
战胜挫折的 英汉2009-02-26 16:22Adversity reveals genius; fortune conceals it. (, ancient Roman poet) 苦难显才华，好运隐天资。
(古罗马诗人 ) Almost any situation---good or bad ---is affected by the attitude we bring to. ( Annaus Seneca, Ancient Roman philosopher) 差不多任何一种处境——无论是好是坏——都受到我们对待处境的态度的影响。
(古罗马哲学家 西尼加 L A) Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it. (Hellen Keller, American writer) 虽然世界多苦难，但是苦难总是能战胜的(作家 海伦·凯勒) As fruit needs t only sunshine but cold nights and chilling showers to ripen it, so character needs t only but trial and difficulty to mellow it. (Hugh Black, American writer) 水果不仅需要阳光，也需要凉夜。
寒冷的雨水能使其成熟。
人的性格陶冶不仅需要欢乐，也需要考验和困难。
(作家 布莱克 H) Everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the freedom to choose attitude in any given set of circumstances. (Leonhard Frand , German velist) 我可以拿走人的任何东西，但有一样东西不行，这就是在特定环境下选择自己的生活态度的自由。
(德国小说家 弗兰克 L) Every tragedy makes heroes of common people. (Normna Stephens, American writer) 每场悲剧都会在平凡的人中造就出英雄来。
(作家 斯蒂芬斯 N) He who allows himself to be insulted, deserves to be. (F.C.Comford, British writer) 自己甘愿受辱的人，受污辱也活该。
(英国作家 科福德 F C) I find life an exciting business and most exciting when it is lived for others. (Helen Keller,Ameican writer) 我发现生活是令人激动的事情，尤其是为别人活着时。
(美国作家 海伦·凯勒) I wept when I was born, and every day shows why.(Jack London, American novelist) 我一生下来就开始哭泣，而每一天都表明我哭泣的原因。
(美国小说家 ) If you want to live your whole life free from pain 如果你想一生摆脱苦难 You must become either a or else a coupes 你就得是神或者是死尸 Consider other men's troubles 想想他人的不幸 That will comfort yours 你就能坦然面对人生 Menander, Ancient Athenian playwriter 古雅典剧作家 米南德 In t world there is always danger for those who are afraid of it. (George Bernad Shaw, British dramastist) 对于害怕危险的人，这个世界上总是 危险的。
(英国剧作家 肖伯纳 G) It is not true suffering ennobles the character; happiness does that sometimes, but suffering, for the most part, makes men petty and vindictive. (William Somerset Maugham, British novelist) 说苦难能使人格得到升华，这是不确切的；幸福有时倒能做到这一点，而苦难常会使人心胸狭窄，产生复仇的心理。
(英国小说家 毛姆 W S) Let us suggest to the person in crisis that he cease concentrating so upon the dangers involved and the difficultie，and concentrate instead upon the opptunity---for there is always opportunity in crisis. (Seebohm Caroline, British physician) 让我们建议处在危机之中的人：不要把精力如此集中地放在所涉入的危险和困难上，相反而要集中在机会上——因为危机中总是存在着机会。
(英国医生 卡罗琳 S) Light troubles speak; great troubles keep silent. (Lucius Annaeus Seneneca, Ancient Roman Philosopher) 小困难，大声叫嚷；大困难，闷声不响。
(古罗马哲学家 尼加 L A) Mishaps are like knives that either serve us or cut us as we grasp them by the handle or blade.(James Russell Lowell, American poetess and critic) 灾难就像刀子，握住刀柄就可以为我们服务，拿住刀刃则会割破手。
(美国女诗人、批评家 洛威尔 J R) No one can degrade us except ourselves; that if we are worthy, no influence can defeat us. (B.T.Washington, American educator) 除了我们自己以外，没有人能贬低我们。
如果我们坚强，就没有什么不良影响能够打败我们。
(美国教育家 华盛顿 B T) No pain , no palm; no thorns , no throne ; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown. (William Penn, British admiral) 没有播种，何来收获；没有辛劳，何来成功；没有磨难，何来荣耀；没有挫折，何来辉煌。
(英国海军上将 佩恩 W) Optimists always picture themselves accomplishing their goals. (Lucius Anaeus Seneca, Ancient Roman philosopher) 乐观主义者总是想象自己实现了目标的情景。
(古罗马哲学家 西尼加 L A) Perhaps you can't control your job, but you may be able to make other changes in your life. (Alan Loy Mcginnis ,British writer) 或许你不能支配自己的工作，但你能够使生活发生转变。
(英国作家 麦金尼斯 A L) Prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth discover virtue. 顺境时显现恶习，逆境时凸现美德 Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation. (John Kennedy, American president) 从希望中得到欢乐，在苦难中保持坚韧。
(美国总统 肯尼迪 J) Sweet are the uses of adversity.(William Shakspeare,British Playwriter) 苦尽甘来。
(英国剧作家 莎士比亚 W) The chinese word for crisis is divided into two characters, one meaning danger and the other meaning opportunity. (Burejer, British writer) 中文的“危机”分为两个字，一个意味着危险，另外一个意味着机会。
(英国作家 布瑞杰) The misfortunes hardest to bear are those which never come.(James Russell Lowell, American Poetess and critic) 最难忍受的不幸是那些从未来临的不幸。
(美国女诗人、评论家 洛威尔 J R) The more you fight something, the more anxious you become ---the more you're involved in a bad pattern, the more difficult it is to escape. (Seebohm Caroline, British Physician) 你越是为了解决问题而拼斗，你就越变得急躁——在错误的思路中陷得越深，也越难摆脱痛苦。
(英国医生 卡罗琳 S) The tragedy of life is not so much what men suffer, but what they miss. (Thomas Carlyle, British essayist and historian) 生活的悲剧不在于人们受到多少苦，而在于人们错过了什么。
(英国散文家、历史学家 卡莱尔 T) The very remembrance of my former misfortune proves a new one to me. (Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish writer) 对于过去不幸的记忆，构成了新不幸。
(西班牙作家 塞万提斯 M) Tough--minded optimists approach problems with a can-do philosophy and emerge stronger from tragedies. (Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Ancient Roman Philosopher) 意志坚强的乐观主义者用“世上无难事”人生观来思考问题，越是遭受悲剧打击，越是表现得坚强。
(古罗马哲学家 西尼加 L A) Trouble is only opportunity in work clothes.(H.J.Kaier, American businessman) 困难只是穿上工作服的机遇。
(美国实业家 凯泽 H J) We have all sufficient strength to endure the misfortunes of others. (La Rochefoucauld, French writer) 我们都有足够的力量来忍受别人的不幸。
(法国作家 拉罗什富科) We shall defend ourselves to the last breath of man and beast. (William II, King of England) 只要一息尚存，我们就要为保卫自己而战。
(英国皇帝 威廉二世)
关于严格教育的名言警句
1、少壮不努力，老大徒悲伤。
—— 汉乐府古辞《长歌行》 2、业精于勤，荒于嬉。
—— 韩 愈《进学解》 3、一寸光阴一寸金，寸金难买寸光阴。
——《增广贤文》 4、天行健，君子以自强不息。
——《周易•乾•象》 5、志不强者智不达。
——《墨子•修身》 6、青，取之于蓝而青于蓝；冰，水为之而寒于水。
——《荀子•劝学》 7、志当存高远。
—— 诸葛亮《诫外生书》 8、丈夫志四海，万里犹比邻。
—— 曹 植《赠白马王彪》 9、有志者事竟成。
——《后汉书•耿 列传》 10、欲穷千里目，更上一层楼。
—— 王之涣《登鹳雀楼》 11、会当凌绝顶，一览众山小。
—— 杜 甫《望岳》 12、岁寒，然后知松柏之后凋也。
——《论语•子罕》 13、天将降大任于是人也，必先苦其心志，劳其筋骨，饿其体肤，空乏其身，行拂乱其所为。
——《孟子•告子下》 14、锲而舍之，朽木不折；锲而不舍，金石可镂。
——《荀子•劝学》 15、石可破也，而不可夺坚；丹可磨也，而不可夺赤。
《吕氏春秋•诚廉》 16、精诚所加，金石为开。
——《后汉书•光武十王列传》 17、忧劳可以兴国，逸豫可以亡身。
——《新五代史•伶官传序》 18、古之立大事者，不惟有超世之才，亦必有坚忍不拔之志。
—— 苏 轼《晁错论》 19、路曼曼其修远兮，吾将上下而求索。
—— 屈 原《离骚》 20、位卑未敢忘忧国，事定犹须待盖棺。
—— 陆 游《病起》 21、尺有所短；寸有所长。
物有所不足；智有所不明。
—— 屈 原《卜居》 22、若要功夫深，铁杵磨成针。
—— 曹 学《蜀中广记•上川南道彭山县》 23、绳锯木断，水滴石穿。
—— 罗大经《鹤林玉露》 24、日日行，不怕千万里；常常做，不怕千万事。
——《格言联璧•处事》 25、恢弘志士之气，不宜妄自菲薄。
—— 诸葛亮《出师表》 26、天下之事常成于困约，而败于奢靡。
—— 陆 游 27、积土而为山，积水而为海。
——《荀子•儒效》 28、人非圣贤，孰能无过。
——《训俗遗规》 29、坚志而勇为，谓之刚。
刚，生人之德也。
——《练兵实纪•刚复害》 30、捐躯赴国难，视死忽如归。
—— 曹 植《白马篇》 31、天下兴亡，匹夫有责。
—— 顾炎武 32、丈夫不报国，终为愚贱人。
—— 陈恭尹《射虎射石头》 33、时危见臣节，世乱识忠良。
—— 鲍 照《代出自蓟北门行》 34、苟利国家生死以，岂因祸福避趋之。
—— 林则徐《赴戎登程口占示家人》 35、不为外撼，不以物移，而后可以任天下之大事。
吕 坤《呻吟语•应务》 36、真者，精诚之至也，不精不诚，不能动人。
——《庄子•渔夫》 37、勿以恶小而为之，勿以善小而不为。
惟贤惟德，能服于人。
刘 备 38、傲不可长，欲不可纵，乐不可极，志不可满。
—— 魏 徵 39、不傲才以骄人，不以宠而作威。
—— 诸葛亮 40、人生的旅途，前途很远，也很暗。
然而不要怕，不怕的人的面前才有路。
—— 鲁 迅 41、人生像攀登一座山，而找寻出路，却是一种学习的过程，我们应当在这过程中，学习稳定、冷静，学习如何从慌乱中找到生机。
席慕蓉 42、我们活着不能与草木同腐，不能醉生梦死，枉度人生，要有所作为。
—— 方志敏 43、做人也要像蜡烛一样，在有限的一生中有一分热发一分光，给人以光明，给人以温暖。
—— 萧楚女 44、所谓天才，只不过是把别人喝咖啡的功夫都用在工作上了。
鲁 迅 45、人类的希望像是一颗永恒的星，乌云掩不住它的光芒。
特别是在今天，和平不是一个理想，一个梦，它是万人的愿望。
—— 巴 金 46、我们是国家的主人，应该处处为国家着想。
—— 雷 锋 47、我们爱我们的民族，这是我们自信心的源泉。
—— 周恩来 48、路是脚踏出来的，历史是人写出来的。
人的每一步行动都在书写自己的历史。
—— 吉鸿昌 49、春蚕到死丝方尽，人至期颐亦不休。
一息尚存须努力，留作青年好范畴。
—— 吴玉章 50、学习的敌人是自己的满足，要认真学习一点东西，必须从不自满开始。
对自己，“学而不厌”，对人家，“诲人不倦”，我们应取这种态度。
—— 51、错误和挫折教训了我们，使我们比较地聪明起来了，我们的情就办得好一些。
任何政党，任何个人，错误总是难免的，我们要求犯得少一点。
犯了错误则要求改正，改正得越迅速，越彻底，越好。
52、一分钟一秒钟自满，在这一分一秒间就停止了自己吸收的生命和排泄的生命。
只有接受批评才能排泄精神的一切渣滓。
只有吸收他人的意见。
我才能添加精神上新的滋养品。
—— 徐特立 53、知识是从刻苦劳动中得来的，任何成就都是刻苦劳动的结果。
—— 宋庆龄 54、形成天才的决定因素应该是勤奋。
……有几分勤学苦练是成正比例的。
—— 郭沫若 55、自觉心是进步之母，自贱心是堕落之源，故自觉心不可无，自贱心不可有。
—— 邹韬奋 56、在劳力上劳心，是一切发明之母。
事事在劳力上劳心，变可得事物之真理。
—— 陶行知 57、入于污泥而不染、不受资产阶级糖衣炮弹的侵蚀，是最难能可贵的革命品质。
—— 周恩来 58、 一知半解的人，多不谦虚；见多识广有本领的人，一定谦虚。
—— 谢觉哉 59、骄傲自满是我们的一座可怕的陷阱；而且，这个陷阱是我们自己亲手挖掘的。
—— 老 舍 60、九牛一毫莫自夸，骄傲自满必翻车。
历览古今多少事，成由谦逊败由奢。
—— 陈 毅 61、不管发生什么事，都请安静且愉快地接受人生，勇敢地、大胆地，而且永远地微笑着。
—— 卢森堡 62、人要是惧怕痛苦，惧怕种种疾病，惧怕不测的事情，惧怕生命的危险和死亡，他就什么也不能忍受了。
—— 卢 梭 63、人的一生，总是难免有浮沉。
不会永远如旭日东升，也不会永远痛苦潦倒。
反复地一浮一沉，对于一个人来说，正是磨练。
因此，浮在上面的，的，不必骄傲；沉在底下的，更用不着悲观。
必须以率直、谦虚的态度，乐观进取、向前迈进。
—— 松下幸之助 64、人的一生可能燃烧也可能腐朽。
我不能腐朽，我愿意燃烧起来。
—— 奥斯特洛夫斯基 65、懒惰象生锈一样，比操劳更能消耗身体；经常用的钥匙，总是亮闪闪的。
—— 富兰克林 66、生命有如铁砧，愈被敲打，愈能发出火花。
—— 伽利略 67、凡是挣扎过来的人都是真金不怕火炼的；任何幻灭都不能动摇他们的信仰：因为他们一开始就知道信仰之路和幸福之路全然不同，而他们是不能选 选择的，只有往这条路走，别的都是死路。
这样的自信不是一朝一夕所能养成的。
你绝不能以此期待那些十五岁左右的孩子。
在得到这个信念之之 前，先得受尽悲痛，流尽眼泪。
可是这样是好的，应该要这样…… —— 罗曼•罗兰 68、一个最困苦、最卑贱、最为命运所屈辱的人，只要还抱有希望，便无所怨惧。
—— 莎士比亚 69、患难可以试验一个人的品格，非常的境遇方才可以显出非常的气节；风平浪静的海面，所有的船只都可以并驱竞胜。
命运的铁拳击中要害的时候，候，只有大勇大智的人才能够处之泰然；……—— 莎士比亚 70、当一切似乎毫无希望时，我看着切石工人在他的石头上，敲击了上百次，而不见任何裂痕出现。
但在第一百零一次时，石头被劈成两半。
我体会到，到，并非那一击，而是前面的敲打使它裂开。
贾柯•瑞斯 71、瓜是长大在营养肥料里的最甜，天才是长在恶性土壤中的最好。
—— 培 根 72、失去财产的人损失很大，失去朋友的人损失更大，失去勇气的人则损失了一切。
—— 塞万提斯 73、不要将过去看成是寂寞的，因为这是再也不会回头的。
应想办法改善现在，因为那就是你，毫不畏惧地鼓起勇气向着未来前进。
—— 朗费罗 74、悲观的人虽生犹死，乐观的人永生不老。
—— 拜 伦 75、一个有坚强心志的人，财产可以被人掠夺，勇气却不会被人剥夺的。
—— 雨 果 76、信仰是伟大的情感，一种创造力量。
—— 高尔基 79、乐观是一首激昂优美的进行曲，时刻鼓舞着你向事业的大路勇猛前进。
—— 大仲马 80、顽强的毅力可以征服世界上任何一座高峰
—— 狄更斯 81、壮志与毅力是事业的双翼。
—— 德国谚语 82、生活就像海洋，只有意志坚强的人，才能到达彼岸。
—— 马克思 83、黄金诚然是宝贵的，但是生气蓬勃、勇敢的爱国者却比黄金更为宝贵。
—— 林 肯 84、我们不得不饮食、睡眠、游玩、恋爱，也就是说，我们不得不接触生活中最甜蜜的事情，不过我们必须不屈服于这些事物。
—— 居里夫人 85、涓滴之水终可磨损大石，不是由于它力量大，而是由于昼夜不舍的滴坠。
只有勤奋不懈的努力才能够获得那些技巧，因此，我们可以确切地说：说：不积跬步，无以致千里。
—— 贝多芬 86、一个人在科学探索的道路上，走过弯路，犯过错误，并不是坏事，更不是什么耻辱，要在实践中勇于承认和改正错误。
—— 爱因斯坦 87、人类学会走路，也得学会摔跤，而且只有经过摔跤他才能学会走路。
—— 马克思 88、我们的理想应该是高尚的。
我们不能登上顶峰，但可以爬上半山腰，这总比待在平地上要好得多。
如果我们的内心为爱的光辉所照亮，我们面前前 又有理想，那么就不会有战胜不了的困难。
普列姆昌德 89、一个人在科学探索的道路上，走过弯路，犯过错误，并不是坏事，更不是什么耻辱，要在实践中勇于承认和改正错误。
—— 爱因斯坦 90、成功并不能用一个人达到什么地位来衡量，而是依据他在迈向成功的过程中，到底克服了多少困难和障碍。
—— 布克•华盛顿 91、理想是指路明灯。
没有理想，就没有坚定的方向，而没有方向，就没有生活。
—— 托尔斯泰 92、 成功，从失败的土壤中顽强生出。
—— 德 国 93、别因为落入了一把牛毛就把一锅奶油泼掉，别因为犯了一点错误就把一生的事业扔掉。
—— 蒙 古 94、危险、怀疑和否定之海，围绕着人们小小的岛屿，而信念则鞭策人，使人勇敢面对未知的前途。
—— 泰戈尔 95、论命运如何，人生来就不是野蛮人，也不是乞讨者。
人的四周充满真正而高贵的财富—身体与心灵的财富。
—— 霍勒斯•曼 96、如果只有火才能唤醒沉睡的欧洲，那么我宁愿自己被烧死，让从我的火刑堆上发出的光照亮这漫长的黑夜，打开那些紧闭的眼睛，将人类引进光明 的的的真理的殿堂。
—— 布鲁诺 97、走得最慢的人，只要他不丧失目标，也比漫无目的地徘徊的人走得快。
—— 莱 辛 98、喷泉的高度不会超过它的源头；一个人的事业也是这样，他的成就绝不会超过自己的信念。
—— 林 肯 99、朝着一定目标走去是“志”，一鼓作气中途绝不停止是“气”，两者合起来就是“志气”。
一切事业的成败都取决于此。
—— 卡内基 100、我无论做什么，始终在想着，只要我的精力允许我的话，我就要首先为我的祖国服务。
——《巴甫洛夫选集 》
励志名言警句及作者
英文唯美励志名言警句1.Evenwhenit'shardtomove,takesmallstepsforward.Becauseeverystepwillleadyoufartherawayfromwhereyouwereyesterday.即使前路艰难，也要跬步前进。
因为每一步都能让你比昨天前进一点儿。
2.Realstrongmenarenotthosewithouttears,butthoserunningintears.真正的强者，不是没有眼泪的人，而是含着眼泪奔跑的人。
3.Theysayapersonneedsjust3thingstobetrulyhappyinthisworld,someonetolove,somethingtodo,andsomethingtohopefor.4.Nomatterhowmuchyou'vedoneorhowsuccessfulyouhavebeen,there'salwaysmoretolearn,andalwaysmoretoachieve.无论你做了多少事、有多么成功，前面还有更多要做的、要学的、要去实现的。
5.Thegreatesttragedyoflifeisnotthatmenperish,butthattheyceasetolove.人生最大悲剧不是死亡，而是不再有爱。
6.一息若存，希望不灭。
Whilethereislifethereishope.7.MaybeI'mtoolatetobeyourfirst.Butrightnow,I'mpreparingmyselftobeyourlast.也许做你的第一个爱人太迟了，但是从现在开始，我要让自己成为你最后一个爱人。
8.Letgoorbedragged.-ZenProverb要么放手，要么被拖住。
-禅语9.Youarebraverthanyoubelieve,strongerthanyouseem,andsmarterthanyouthink.你比你想象中更
谁能帮我用英语写出一篇介绍美国总统华盛顿的文章
WASHINGTON, George (1732-1799), first president of the U.S., commander in chief of the Continental army during the American Revolution. He symbolized qualities of discipline, aristocratic duty, military orthodoxy, and persistence in adversity that his contemporaries particularly valued as marks of mature political leadership. Washington was born on Feb. 22, 1732, in Westmoreland Co., Va., the eldest son of Augustine Washington (1694??743), a Virginia planter, and Mary Ball Washington (1708?9). Although Washington had little or no formal schooling, his early notebooks indicate that he read in geography, military history, agriculture, deportment, and composition and that he showed some aptitude in surveying and simple mathematics. In later life he developed a style of speech and writing that, although not always polished, was marked by clarity and force. Tall, strong, and fond of action, he was a superb horseman and enjoyed the robust sports and social occasions of the Virginia planter society. At the age of 16 he was invited to join a party to survey lands owned by the Fairfax family (to which he was related by marriage) west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. His journey led him to take a lifelong interest in the development of western lands. In the summer of 1749 he was appointed official surveyor for Culpeper Co., and during the next two years he made many surveys for landowners on the Virginia frontier. In 1753 he was appointed adjutant of one of the districts into which Virginia was divided, with the rank of major. Early Military Experience. Washington played an important role in the struggles preceding the outbreak of the French and Indian War. He was chosen by Lt. Gov. Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia to deliver an ultimatum calling on French forces to cease their encroachment in the Ohio River valley. The young messenger was also instructed to observe the strength of French forces, the location of their forts, and the routes by which they might be reinforced from Canada. After successfully completing this mission, Washington, then a lieutenant colonel, was ordered to lead a militia force for the protection of workers who were building a fort at the Forks of the Ohio River. Having learned that the French had ousted the work party and renamed the site Fort Duquesne, he entrenched his forces at a camp named Fort Necessity and awaited reinforcements. A successful French assault obliged him to accept articles of surrender, and he departed with the remnants of his company. Washington resigned his commission in 1754, but in May 1755 he began service as a volunteer aide-de-camp to the British general Edward Braddock, who had been sent to Virginia with a force of British regulars. A few kilometers from Fort Duquesne, Braddock抯 men were ambushed by a band of French soldiers and Indians. Braddock was mortally wounded, and Washington, who behaved gallantly during the conflict, narrowly escaped death. In August 1755 he was appointed (with the rank of colonel) to command the Virginia regiment, charged with the defense of the long western frontier of the colony. War between France and Britain was officially declared in May 1756, and while the principal struggle moved to other areas, Washington succeeded in keeping the Virginia frontier relatively safe. The American Revolution. After the death of his elder half brother Lawrence (1718?2), Washington inherited the plantation known as Mount Vernon. A spectacular rise in the price of tobacco during the 1730s and ?0s, combined with his marriage in 1759 to Martha Custis, a young widow with a large estate, made him one of the wealthiest men in Virginia. Elected to the House of Burgesses in 1758, he served conscientiously but without special distinction for 17 years. He also gained political and administrative experience as justice of the peace for Fairfax Co. Like other Virginia planters, Washington became alarmed by the repressive measures of the British crown and Parliament in the 1760s and early ?0s. In July 1774 he presided over a meeting in Alexandria that adopted the Fairfax Resolves, calling for the establishment and enforcement of a stringent boycott on British imports prior to similar action by the First Continental Congress. Together with his service in the House of Burgesses, his public response to unpopular British policies won Washington election as a Virginia delegate to the First Continental Congress in September and October 1774 and to the Second Continental Congress in 1775. The opening campaigns of the war. When fighting broke out between Massachusetts and the British in 1775, Congress named Washington commander of its newly created Continental army, hoping thus to promote unity between New England and Virginia. He took command of the makeshift force besieging the British in Boston in mid-July, and when the enemy evacuated the city in March 1776, he moved his army to New York. Defeated there in August by Gen. William Howe, he withdrew from Manhattan to establish a new defensive line north of New York City. In November he retreated across the Hudson River into New Jersey, and a month later crossed the Delaware to safety in Pennsylvania. Although demoralized by Howe抯 easy capture of New York City and northern New Jersey, Washington spotted the points where the British were overextended. Recrossing the icy Delaware on the night of Dec. 25, 1776, he captured Trenton in a surprise attack the following morning, and on Jan. 3, 1777, he defeated British troops at Princeton. These two engagements restored patriot morale, and by spring Washington had 8000 new recruits. Impressed by such tenacity, Howe delayed moving against Washington until late August, when he landed an army at the head of Chesapeake Bay. Wanting to fight, Washington tried unsuccessfully to block Howe抯 advance toward Philadelphia at the Battle of Brandywine Creek in September. Following the British occupation of the city, he fought a minor battle with them at Germantown, but their superior numbers forced him to retreat. Washington and his men spent the following winter at Valley Forge, west of Philadelphia. During these months, when his fortunes seemed to have reached their lowest point, he thwarted a plan by his enemies in Congress and the army to have him removed as commander in chief. In June 1778, after France抯 entry into the war on the American side, the new British commander, Sir Henry Clinton, evacuated Philadelphia and marched overland to New York; Washington attacked him at Monmouth, N.J., but was again repulsed. Washington blamed the defeat on Gen. Charles Lee抯 insubordination during the battle梩he climax of a long-brewing rivalry between the two men. Victory. Washington spent the next two years in relative inactivity with his army encamped in a long semicircle around the British bastion of New York City梖rom Connecticut to New Jersey. The arrival in 1780 of about 6000 French troops in Rhode Island under the comte de Rochambeau augmented his forces, but the weak U.S. government was approaching bankruptcy, and Washington knew that he had to defeat the British in 1781 or see his army disintegrate. He hoped for a combined American-French assault on New York, but in August he received word that a French fleet was proceeding to Chesapeake Bay for a combined land and sea operation against another British army in Virginia, and reluctantly agreed to march south. Washington and Rochambeau抯 movement of 7000 troops, half of them French, from New York State to Virginia in less than five weeks was a masterpiece of execution. Washington sent word ahead to the marquis de Lafayette, commanding American forces in Virginia, to keep the British commander, Lord Cornwallis, from leaving his base of operations at Yorktown. At the end of September the Franco-American army joined Lafayette. Outnumbering the British by two to one, and with 36 French ships offshore to prevent Yorktown from being relieved by sea, Washington forced Cornwallis to surrender in October after a brief siege. Although peace and British recognition of U.S. independence did not come for another two years, Yorktown proved to be the last major land battle of the Revolution. Washington as a military leader. Washington抯 contribution to American victory was enormous, and analysis of his leadership reveals much about the nature of the military and political conflict. Being selective about where and when he fought the British main force prevented his foes from using their strongest asset, the professionalism and discipline of their soldiers. At the same time, Washington remained a conventional military officer. He rejected proposals made by Gen. Charles Lee early in the war for a decentralized guerrilla struggle. As a conservative, he shrank from the social dislocation and redistribution of wealth that such a conflict would cause; as a provincial gentleman, he was determined to show that American officers could be every bit as civilized and genteel as their European counterparts. The practical result of this caution and even inhibition was to preserve the Continental army as a visible manifestation of American government when allegiance to that government was tenuous. Political Leadership. In one of his last acts as commander, Washington issued a circular letter to the states imploring them to form a vibrant, vigorous national government. In 1783 he returned to Mount Vernon and became in the mid-1780s an enterprising and effective agriculturalist. Shay抯 Rebellion, an armed revolt in Massachusetts (1786?7), convinced many Americans of the need for a stronger government. Washington and other Virginia nationalists were instrumental in bringing about the Constitutional Convention of 1787 to promote that end. Elected as a delegate to the convention by the Virginia General Assembly, Washington was chosen its president. In this position he played virtually no role梕ither formal or behind the scenes梚n the deliberations of the convention; however, his reticence and lack of intellectual flair may well have enhanced his objectivity in the eyes of the delegates, thereby contributing to the unself-conscious give and take that was the hallmark of the framers?deliberations. Also, the probability that Washington would be the first president may have eased the task of designing that office. His attendance at the Constitutional Convention and his support for ratification of the Constitution were important for its success in the state conventions in 1787 and 1788. First administration. Elected president in 1788 and again in 1792, Washington presided over the formation and initial operation of the new government. His stiff dignity and sense of propriety postponed the emergence of the fierce partisanship that would characterize the administrations of his three successors桱ohn Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. He also made several decisions of far-reaching importance. He instituted the cabinet, although no such body was envisioned by the Constitution. He was socially aloof from Congress, thus avoiding the development of court and opposition factions. By appointing Alexander Hamilton secretary of the treasury and Thomas Jefferson secretary of state, he brought the two ablest and most principled figures of the revolutionary generation into central positions of responsibility. Washington supported the innovations in fiscal policy proposed by Hamilton梐 funded national debt, the creation of the Bank of the United States, assumption of state debts, and excise taxes, especially on whiskey, by which the federal government would assert its power to levy controversial taxes and import duties high enough to pay the interest on the new national debt. Similarly, he allowed Jefferson to pursue a policy of seeking trade and cooperation with all European nations. Washington did not foresee that Hamilton抯 and Jefferson抯 policies were ultimately incompatible. Hamilton抯 plan for an expanding national debt yielding an attractive rate of return for investors depended on a high level of trade with Britain generating enough import-duty revenue to service the debt. Hamilton therefore felt that he had to meddle in foreign policy to the extent of leaking secret dispatches to the British. Second administration. The outbreak of war between revolutionary France and a coalition led by Britain, Prussia, and Austria in 1793 jeopardized American foreign policy and crippled Jefferson抯 rival foreign policy design. When the French envoy, Edmond Gen阾, arrived in Charleston in April 1793 and began recruiting American privateers梐nd promising aid to land speculators who wanted French assistance in expelling Spain from the Gulf Coast梂ashington insisted, over Jefferson抯 reservations, that the U.S. denounce Gen阾 and remain neutral in the war between France and Britain. Washington抯 anti-French leanings, coupled with the aggressive attitude of the new regime in France toward the U.S., thus served to bring about the triumph of Hamilton抯 pro-British foreign policy梖ormalized by Jay抯 Treaty of 1795, which settled outstanding American differences with Britain. The treaty梬hich many Americans felt contained too many concessions to the British梩ouched off a storm of controversy. The Senate ratified it, but opponents in the House of Representatives tried to block appropriations to establish the arbitration machinery. In a rare display of political pugnacity, Washington challenged the propriety of the House tampering with treaty making. His belligerence on this occasion cost him his prized reputation as a leader above party, but it was also decisive in securing a 51?8 vote by the House to implement the treaty. Conscious of the value of his formative role in shaping the presidency and certainly stung by the invective hurled at advocates of the Jay Treaty, Washington carefully prepared a farewell address to mark the end of his presidency, calling on the U.S. to avoid both entangling alliances and party rancor. After leaving office in 1797, Washington retired to Mount Vernon, where he died on Dec. 14, 1799. Evaluation. Washington抯 place in the American mind is a fascinating chapter in the intellectual life of the nation. Washington provided his contemporaries with concrete evidence of the value of the citizen soldier, the enlightened gentleman farmer, and the realistic nationalist in stabilizing the culture and politics of the young republic. Shortly after the president抯 death, an Episcopal clergyman, Mason Locke Weems, wrote a fanciful life of Washington for children, stressing the great man抯 honesty, piety, hard work, patriotism, and wisdom. This book, which went through many editions, popularized the story that Washington as a boy had refused to lie in order to avoid punishment for cutting down his father抯 cherry tree. Washington long served as a symbol of American identity along with the flag, the Constitution, and the Fourth of July. The age of debunking biographies of American personages in the 1920s included a multivolume denigration of Washington by American author Rupert Hughes (1872?956), which helped to distort Americans?understanding of their national origins. Both the hero worship and the debunking miss the essential point that his leadership abilities and his personal principles were exactly the ones that met the needs of his own generation. As later historians have examined closely the ideas of the Founding Fathers and the nature of warfare in the Revolution, they have come to the conclusion that Washington抯 specific contributions to the new nation were, if anything, somewhat underestimated by earlier scholarship.
