25. He Realized The Truth
George Washington had been willing to put all of his faith in Arnold, but in the face of certain betrayal, the commander could no longer avoid the truth. After militia members captured British spymaster John André, they learned all about Arnold’s treachery and his subsequent escape to New York. After getting over the initial shock of these events, Washington kept a level head and recalled anyone who could have been in league with the traitor.
Luckily, he was about to get another major assist—and this time from halfway across the world.
26. He Had More Help
With the beginning of the 1780s, George Washington was facing increasingly worse odds as the British secured a firm grip on the southern colonies, but the fight wasn’t over yet. Seeing the fruits of their alliance, Washington suddenly felt the tide of the Revolution turning as the Marquis de Lafayette returned from France with a host of men and all the supplies they could ask for.
After years of it, Washington was ready to end this conflict—all they had to do was fight one more massive battle.
Charles Willson Peale, Wikimedia Commons
27. They Marched To Victory
After spending the last several years fighting on the backfoot, often being outnumbered, Washington finally felt like the colonies had a chance at victory. Planning to besiege Yorktown, Virginia, in what they could tell would be the Revolution’s climactic battle, Washington led a force of nearly 20,000 men on what historians now consider the “celebrated march”.
All they had to do was take their places and make their final push to freedom.
Rembrandt Peale, Wikimedia Commons
28. They Made Their Move
Each of Washington’s victories and losses led up to this moment, and when the Continental Army and its French allies reached Yorktown, Washington fired the first shot to kick off the battle. With the French navy tearing through the British at Chesapeake Bay, the rest of the Revolutionary forces circled the city and locked the enemy in.
The Americans knew it was now or never—and they were done losing.
29. They Threw In The Towel
After nearly a month-long siege, during which Washington and his forces finally gained the upper hand over the British, the Americans emerged victorious. Due to his tactical prowess, indomitable will, and invaluable alliances, the Revolutionary Army forced the British to surrender. After seeing the white flag on October 19, 1781, Washington spent the next two days negotiating the terms of surrender, after which the British began their mass evacuation.
With that, Washington’s grand purpose had come to a head—and all that was left was to say goodbye.
30. He Let Them All Go
While Yorktown was the final major battle in the American Revolution, the US wouldn’t fully gain its independence until about two years later, when Britain signed the Treaty of Paris. With no more need for the Continental Army, George Washington gave one more address to his forces before officially resigning as commander-in-chief and dissolving them.
While the conflict was over, the real struggle had just begun—and Washington wasn’t sure about his place in it.
Benjamin West, Wikimedia Commons
31. He Didn’t Want To
With the Revolution over and done with, Congress had to work out how to move forward as a sovereign nation, holding the Constitutional Convention in 1787. As he had been multiple times before, Washington was the top choice for Virginia’s delegation, but he wasn’t sold on the convention’s legitimacy and initially declined the position.
Washington was sure about his stance on the situation—but he was still open to advice.
Junius Brutus Stearns, Wikimedia Commons
32. They Convinced Him
Although George Washington was a natural-born leader, he always valued the input of those he found most trustworthy, and the question of whether he would serve as a delegate was no different. Asking advice from his fellow revolutionaries, Henry Knox and James Madison, he began to understand that his influence alone would help the convention run more smoothly and convince those still on the fence.
As it turns out, they were more right than Washington thought.
33. They All Picked Him
Madison and Knox seemed to have hit the nail on the head, and as Washington attended the Constitutional Convention, everyone felt the weight of his presence immediately. Believing his influence would be best used at the wheel, Benjamin Franklin nominated Washington to run the convention as a whole. This was far from an unpopular opinion, and the other delegates unanimously voted the veteran commander in charge.
Of course, this was merely a stepping stone to his most powerful role.
David Martin, Wikimedia Commons
34. He Was The Right Choice
Soon enough, the question arose of who would lead their newly formed nation as president—but there was really one clear option. Given that he had led them to victory and demonstrated all the qualities the state electors wanted in a leader, Washington’s was the only name on anyone’s lips. On February 4, 1789, he became the first and only US president to receive a completely unanimous vote.
Even with all these praises and achievements, he never let it get to his head—in fact, he made a point of it.
Howard Chandler Christy, Wikimedia Commons
35. He Stayed Humble
As the colonies were under the King of Britain before achieving their independence, they needed to figure out how exactly the president would differ, but Washington already had a few ideas. Although many proposed that they refer to him as “His Highness the President” or “His Majesty,” he didn’t feel comfortable being so similar to a monarch. Instead, he simply went by “Mr President,” setting the standard for the future.
Under his leadership, he hoped to guide America as one nation—this didn’t go according to plan.
Gilbert Stuart, Wikimedia Commons
36. They Split In Two
George Washington may have envisioned America united under one banner, but since people will always disagree about something, this was much easier said than done. Two of his closest advisors, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, often found themselves at odds, so they eventually split up. This was the foundation of America’s two-party system, as Jefferson created the Jeffersonian Republicans, while Hamilton formed the Federalist Party.
Washington was certainly a strong and effective leader—but he didn’t want to do it forever.
37. He Wanted To Stop
By the end of his first term as president, George Washington had long since grown sick of his position and all the stress that came with it. Not to mention that his health was steadily declining, prompting Martha to insist he leave the presidency behind. Considering all the factors, his goal was to stick out his first term and retire right after.
He was exhausted, and nothing would stop him from finally having some rest—almost nothing.
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Unsplash
38. They Were Very Persuasive
Once news got out that Washington was planning to hang up his career after his first term, he instantly received an influx of people pushing him to run again, including Jefferson and Hamilton. In fact, Hamilton told the president that, to the president’s supporters, Washington’s retirement would be “deplored as the greatest evil”.
With the massive outpour of support for his second term, Washington suddenly wasn’t so sure about his decision anymore.
Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller, Wikimedia Commons
39. He Was Still Popular
Hearing the countless voices urging him to run for the presidency again, Washington soon agreed not to retire and joined the race as the 1792 election approached. It turns out that people had never stopped admiring him, and once again, he received a unanimous vote, electing him as President of the US.
However, he wouldn’t always make the most popular decisions.
Alonzo Chappel, Wikimedia Commons
40. He Stayed Out Of It
Although France had proven such an integral ally to America during the Revolution, the US wouldn’t return the favor—and it was all due to Washington’s decision. When it was France’s turn for revolution, the last thing the president wanted was to risk America in a new conflict, so he ultimately declared that the US would remain neutral.
Unfortunately, it seemed Washington was doomed to make poor decisions—especially in the view of one man.
Luis Cadena, Wikimedia Commons
41. He Didn’t Agree With Him
Not only did America seem to turn its back on its former allies, but with the Jay Treaty that George Washington had ratified in 1794, the US was becoming more chummy with the British. As the treaty would open up trade with Britain, Jefferson feared this would only upset France—and could even set the stage for another widespread conflict.
Soon enough, Washington would have much more to worry about than Jefferson’s criticisms.
Charles Willson Peale, Wikimedia Commons
42. They Turned On Him
Washington only continued on to a second term because of all the praise and affirmation he received during his first, but this wasn’t the case anymore. His number of opponents grew and became much more vocal, criticizing him as an ineffective leader at best and a greedy, self-serving one at worst.
He knew he couldn’t continue, but he needed the right person to help him say goodbye.
Christian Gullager, Wikimedia Commons
43. He Revised It All
By this point, George Washington had a reputation for his powerful speeches, and after deciding that this second term would be his last, he knew he would have to go out with a bang. As his retirement drew near, he enlisted James Madison to write his farewell address. However, the result wasn’t exactly to his liking, so he instead brought in Hamilton, who completely rewrote almost all of the address before Washington finally approved it.
Sadly, this wouldn’t be the last time he said goodbye before the turn of the century.
Alonzo Chappel, Wikimedia Commons
44. He Came Down With Something
After officially retiring from office in March 1797, Washington returned to Mount Vernon to live out the rest of his life as a businessman—but this wouldn’t be for long. One day, two years later, he spent nearly five hours out in the freezing rain inspecting the farms on his plantation before heading inside for dinner. To make matters worse, he didn’t change out of his soaking clothes for the rest of the evening, causing him to develop a sore throat.
Unfortunately, it was soon clear that this was much worse than the common cold.
Joseph Wright, Wikimedia Commons
45. They Called For Help
At first, George Washington believed his sore throat was nothing to worry about, but as he awoke the next day, his condition had become so severe that he could hardly breathe. Following the common treatment of bloodletting, he had his estate overseer extract almost a whole pint of his blood. However, his family didn’t believe this was adequate, and they called on three different doctors to come and help him.
They tried everything they could think of to treat him—but it wasn’t enough.
Kurz & Allison., Wikimedia Commons
46. They Weren’t Helping
Washington’s doctors rushed to Mount Vernon with the utmost urgency, hoping to treat whatever illness he was suffering from, but their course of action wasn’t too different from his own. Draining him of about five more pints of blood, they soon discovered that it wasn’t doing anything to alleviate his symptoms. One of the doctors suggested a tracheotomy, but this idea was immediately overruled as the other two didn’t know how to perform it.
Realizing that his end was drawing near, Washington still had a few things to take care of.
Junius Brutus Stearns, Wikimedia Commons
47. He Gave Him Instructions
While it had certainly come out of the blue, Washington greeted his end with the same courage he showed in life, but he was nervous about one thing. The prospect of accidentally being buried alive terrified him, so he left orders for his staff to wait three days before laying him to rest. Finally, on the night of December 14, 1799, he took his last breath, mere moments after speaking his final words to Martha—“Tis well”.
At the time, Washington’s illness was somewhat of a mystery—but not anymore.
James Peale / After Charles Willson Peale, Wikimedia Commons
48. They Figured It Out
While there is no way to know for sure what illness ultimately took Washington’s life, scholars in the centuries since have come up with several ideas. The most widely believed theory is that he developed a particularly nasty case of epiglottitis, and while his doctors thought they were helping him, their treatments likely only made his suffering worse.
Despite all the qualities many applauded him for, he was hardly as perfect as some chose to see him.
Giuseppe Perovani, Wikimedia Commons
49. He Didn’t Do Enough
Among his greatest attributes, it’s important to recognize that for many, Washington played the part of a villain. One of the biggest criticisms against him is that, beyond owning slaves himself, he also allowed slavery to flourish under his leadership. While some assert that he called for its abolition on several occasions, this was little more than an opinion he developed later in life without any real actions to back it up.
Nonetheless, he remains one of the most iconic figures in American history—if not the most iconic.
John Trumbull, Wikimedia Commons
50. He Was Immortalized
Although he was never the pinnacle of humanity that many believed him to be, and his career as an army commander was far from flawless, George Washington remains the most recognizable American leader in history. Keeping his legacy alive, the US has honored him through the names of several major landmarks, as well as both the state of Washington and the nation’s capital.
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