hce308.txt 4.9 KB

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  1. George Washington
  2. George Washington was born on his father's estate in Westmoreland County,
  3. Virginia, on February 22, 1732. He was the oldest son of a Virginia farmer,
  4. Augistine Washington , by his second wife, Mary Ball, The Washington family was
  5. descended from two brothers, John and Lawrence Washington, who emigrated from
  6. England to Virginia in 1657. The family's rise to modest wealth in three generations was
  7. the result of steady application to farming, land buying, and development of local
  8. industries.
  9. George seemed to have received most of his schooling from his father and, after
  10. the father's death in 1743, from his older half-brother Lawrence. The boy enjoyed
  11. mathematics, and he applied it to acquiring a knowledge of surveying, which was a skill
  12. greatly in demand in a country where people were seeking new lands in the West. For
  13. the Virginians of that time the West meant the upper Ohio River valley. Throughout his
  14. life, George Washington maintained a keen interest in the development of these western
  15. lands, and from time to time he bought properties for himself.
  16. Under the terms of the Constitution, the formal election for the president was
  17. done by electors, who were collectively called the Electoral College. Each elector was to
  18. vote for the two persons he considered most qualified; the winner would be the president,
  19. and the runner-up would be the vice president. The electors themselves were chosen
  20. January 7, 1789, by the direct vote of the people in some states, and by the legislature in
  21. other states. The electors met en each state on February 4 and unanimously voted for
  22. George Washington, who thereby became president. Their second choice, far from
  23. unanimous, was John Adams of Massachusetts. This pleased Washington because he
  24. had feared that the vice presidency might ho to Governor George Clinton of New York,
  25. who favored drastic amendment of the constitution. Washington, considering these
  26. amendments dangerous, had allowed amendment word to go out that votes for Adams
  27. would be agreeable to him because he considered Adams to be a safe man and a strong
  28. supporter of the constitution. Also, Washington still had a lingering hope that, after
  29. getting the government well started, he might resign from office and hasten home to
  30. Mount Vernon. He could not reconcile this hope with his conscience unless a man he
  31. considered safe was next in line of succession.
  32. In the spring of 1790, Washington was struck by a severe cold and then by
  33. influenza. For several days it was thought that George would not live. The illness and
  34. the anxiety it caused throughout the country underlined Washington's importance to the
  35. new nation. Abigail Adams, wife of the vice president, wrote: It appears to me that the
  36. union of the states and consequently the permanency of the government depend under
  37. Providence upon his life. At this early day when neither our finances are arranged nor
  38. our government sufficiently cemented to promise duration, his death would …have…the
  39. most disastrous consequences. (page 322 Encyclopedia)
  40. Washington attended the inauguration of President John Adams on March 4,
  41. 1797, and left Philadelphia two days later for Mount Vernon. There he wrote to an old
  42. friend that he did not intend to allow the political turmoil of the country to disturb his
  43. ease. I shall view things, he said, in the light of mild philosophy.
  44. But he did not always agree to this resolve. He strongly opposed the Kentucky
  45. and Virginia Resolutions of 1798, which where an attempt to limit federal powers in line
  46. with Jefferson's beliefs. These resolutions seemed to Washington a formula for the
  47. dissolution of the Union. In that year also, he accepted the nominal command of the
  48. army should the undeclared hostility with France develop into open war. The last
  49. journey of his life, in 1799, were to the army camp at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, and to
  50. Philadelphia to consult on any matters.
  51. Early on the morning of December 14, 1799, Washington awoke with an inflamed
  52. throat. His condition rapidly got worse. He was further weakened by medical treatment
  53. that involved frequent blood letting. He faced death calmly and died at 11:30 later that
  54. night.
  55. In the national mourning that followed, many tributes were paid to Washington.
  56. President Adams call the most illustrious and beloved person that the country had
  57. produced. Adams later added: His example is now complete, and it will teach wisdom
  58. and virtue to magistrates, citizens, and men, not only in the present age but in future
  59. generations as long as our history shall be read.
  60. <br><br><b>Bibliography</b><br><br>
  61. I am going to show you a few domes and tell you their names, and locations. I will also tell you a brief idea of the domes surface areas, and volumes, and how and when they were built. That is pretty much the idea of my project. I think you will enjoy the pictures of the domes that I included.
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  63. Words: 750