15 Interesting Facts about George Washington
Exploring the history of the presidency of the United Sates of America while
conducting an intelligent conversation about the most influential presidents, it
is impossible to not mention George Washington's name. Washington was the first
U.S. President to serve with his first term immediately following the
Revolutionary War. Not only was he one of the greatest
Presidents, but he was also a very intriguing and fascinating person. Looking at
all of the political accomplishments of such a great historical figure, it is
extremely interesting to learn the dynamic facets of his life that shaped him as
a man as well as a President. You may just discover something you did not know
about George Washington and unique aspects of this truly inspirational,
historical figure's life.
Here are fifteen interesting facts about George Washington that will
entertain as well as educate you, leaving you with a firm grasp of who he truly
was.
15) Distilled His Own Alcohol
As the young nation was growing, there was a sizeable demand for alcohol. After
breaking all trade and ties with Britain, the colonies needed to make all of
their own liquor. Individuals like Washington took it upon themselves to make
liquor not only for their own consumption, but to supply the colonies' thirst
for liquor. Washington became a very successful distributor, and producing and distributing alcohol
that
contributed a large portion of his wealth.
Among the liquors produced at his Mount Vernon distillery were peach brandy,
apple brandy and rye whiskey. The Mt. Vernon distillery used all of the latest
technology to create a product that was far superior to the countryside
stills that currently dominated the supply of alcohol. The success of making a great
product is only part of what made Washington a great distributor. He was also
good at creating and maintaining business relationships.
Grist Mill at Mount Vernon
By Kadin2048,
via Wikimedia Commons
The distillery has long since been shut down, but it was recently restored
for tourists to check out Washington's distilling operation. Mt. Vernon is a
popular historical site and visitors are welcome to take a tour of the restored
distillery.
Mount Vernon Estate, Virginia
By baldeaglebluff,
via Wikimedia Commons
It is a walk back in time to see what was considered to be high tech during
Washington's era. The amount produced at the distillery was very small in comparison
with the alcohol production standards of today.
14) Publicly Referred to as General Washington
Those who knew Washington spoke at length of his fantastic leadership skills.
This is primarily what led to his assignment as commander of the Continental
Army at the age of 44. Washington was entrusted to fight against the British to
win freedom from tyranny, and what ultimately led to the formation of the United
States of America. He proved to be very effective at his post because the army
was able to devise tactics and strategy that were necessary for securing an American
victory. The colonies accomplished something that many thought couldn't be done,
beating one of the most powerful military forces on the planet.
British Surrender by General John Burgoyne at Saratoga -
October 17, 1777
It was because of his ability to lead his troops into battle that Washington
was seen as the only real contender for the first President of the
United States. Outside of the military, he was always referred to as general. Even his
wife would call him "general" publicly. There's no information about what she
may have called him in private.
Washington with Martha (far right seated) and Children
Any evidence of what Martha may of called him at home was lost when the
correspondence letters between the two were burned. Washington’s wife did not
want to have the letters to remind her of how much she missed her late husband. Any endearments Washington and his wife may of used on one another were
destroyed with the letters.
13) Loved Eating Hoe Cakes
One of Washington’s favorite foods was actually a breakfast food. He loved to
eat hoe cakes. The more common way to cook this simple food is on the stove top
and
fried in butter, but the way they received their name is of interest. Hoe cakes
are named because of the original method of cooking them, which is on the back of a scovil hoe.
It is likely that Washington grew up eating these since he grew up on a farm,
and the ingredients and the methods for making them were always readily
available.
Scovil Hoe - Tool Used for Making Traditional Hoe Cakes
The traditional hoe cake is a pancake made out of cornmeal. After being fried
in butter, these very simply pancakes were served with butter and honey. The use
of corn was gaining popularity during Washington's lifetime due to the introduction
of the crop from the Indians, and the ability to grow corn in almost all areas
of the country.
Traditional Hoe Cakes - Washington's Favorite Food
Hoe cakes are still cooked and enjoyed to this day, but they have been mostly
replaced by pancakes. The lighter and sweeter alternative is preferred because
they are easier to digest and are not quite as dense. When Washington was eating
them, a hardy breakfast was necessary to have all the strength needed to work
the fields, tending to the everyday chores on a family farm.
12) Did Not Have Wooden Teeth
One of the favorite ways to characteristically portray Washington was as a man
who had wooden dentures -ouch! slivers in the mouth? While it is true that
Washington did have his teeth removed, he did not have replacements made out of wood. Washington had all of his teeth removed after
suffering from excruciating oral pain for many years. To replace his teeth,
Washington had a silver plate made filled with a mixture of
animal and human teeth. It was because of the animal teeth worn as dentures,
that Washington was
nicknamed “old muttonhead”.
Gilbert Stuart's Portrait of George Washington - 1797
The human teeth that made up Washington’s plate came from his slaves. As a
slave owner, there was no requirement to pay the slaves anything for their
teeth, but he did anyway. Slaves volunteered to have their teeth removed to earn
money. Sales receipts that survived serve as proof that Washington
compensated his slaves for their "services". Most slave owners during
Washington's time probably wouldn't of paid their slaves. It is very likely
slave owners would of forcibly taken them without any regard for their slaves'
health or the extreme pain associated with a dental extraction. Washington
instead brokered a business deal with his slaves where they willingly
participated in the construction of his dentures.
Washington's "Teeth"
As you might imagine, the teeth were ill-fitting having come from a
hodgepodge of animals and different human jaws. The silver plate was heavy and
the cosmetic appearance wasn't all that attractive. Without pulling his original
teeth and getting a set of these early dentures, his teeth would have rotted in his mouth and
possibly led to further health complications.
11) Washington’s Birthdate is Incorrect
 When
the colonies switched over to the Gregorian calendar, all of the dates were
moved back by eleven days. This is a result from transitioning out of the Julian
calendar in 1752. Under the old calendar, Washington’s birthdate fell on
February 22, 1732. If you are thinking that this date is still his birthdate,
then you are correct! Washington refused the idea of changing his birthdate just
to follow the
new calendar system. He liked the symmetry of his birthdate and kept it.
That rest of the country switched over to the new calendar and began
modifying dates. No one ever questioned Washington keeping his original birthdate
because he was respected a great deal by the military, and eventually became the
first President of the U.S.
"Give us our Eleven Days" - Slogan Used to Protest the
Switch - by William Hogarth
10) The First President Had Other Firsts
Other than being the first President of the United States, there are
significant details of his presidency that made Washington stick out from the
rest of American Presidents. Among the impressive facts is that in his first
term, Washington was never even elected. He was appointed by the new government
to take on the newly created position. He was not even sure whether or not he wanted to
become President. The rest of the government did not give him much of a choice.
Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze - 1851
Because Washington was so well respected and because of the inexperience of
voting for a President, there was no real opposition to Washington being the
first President. He is the only President to ever receive all of the electoral
votes, and he received this honor for both of his elections.
Freemason Initiation
Some like to make a big deal out of the fact that Washington was a Mason. In
fact, he was the first Masonic President of the United States, but he certainly
was not the last. The Freemasons have been accused of being an elitist group of
individuals bent on controlling the destiny of the United States. In fact, the
group welcomes working class Americans as well as those in positions of
authority equally. It just happens that many Presidents over the years have been
Freemasons.
9) Warned of the Dangers of a Two Party System
Since Washington was not a politician but rather a General, it was easy for
him to see the danger of splitting the leaders of the nation into two political
parties. The Republican Party and the Federalist Party were being developed at the time Washington was in
office and represent the first parties. Later the Republican Party split into
the Jacksonian faction, which later became the modern Democratic Party in the
1830s, and ultimately became the Whig Party. Early in the U.S. the parties tended
to break into factions and reassemble under different names. Today the two
dominant parties are the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The fear for Washington was that bickering between
the two parties would create differences that could not be easily resolved. This
was mostly due
to fears of elected officials voting along party lines with very little variation. This
would cause the government to fail to accomplish its goals because of party issues,
and could possibly grind all of congress to a screeching halt.
He warned that should party lines be drawn, it could lead to a system in
which nothing gets done and the American people would suffer. He believed in
this so strongly that his last words as the President of the United States were
“beware of the two-party system!”
George Washington at Mount Vernon
This is seen in modern politics in which bills cannot pass into law, because
politicians representing whichever party is currently in the minority are the
ones who are introducing the bill. Often opposing members of political parties
will kill the others' bills before they can get any traction in the legislature.
If one party dominates the house, the senate, and even the presidency,
it is clear that government will not be working correctly. If one party
dominates every branch of elected government, then the two-party system was just as
dangerous as Washington warned. Laws are not passed on their merit as they should be. Congress begins
to worry more about how they will look to the rest of their constituents than if
voting for a particular bill may be the right thing to do. Sometimes members of
congress vote a particular way just to make sure they get re-elected. Today there are multiple parties,
but the Democratic and Republican Party still dominate U.S. politics. Washington D.C.
as well as state governments are filled with more bickering than ever, and many
citizens now look at their country's government as a big joke. Washington was
correct and saw this coming more than 200 years ago.
8) Marijuana Was Grown at Home
Those who enjoy smoking marijuana like to point out that Washington grew
marijuana at his home. This happens to be true, but not for the reasons some would
wish for. Marijuana was not used as a recreational drug for quite some time. At the time Washington was growing it, he was using it to produce hemp
and to encourage soil stabilization.
Hemp was widely used for a variety of purposes during the early years of the United
States. In fact, many historical documents for the United States were written on
paper made partially out of hemp. The Declaration of Independence was written on a combination of hemp and flax in the original drafts,
while the final draft was written on vellum made from sheepskin. Even today it is still
popular to talk about the use of hemp.
The root structure of marijuana was essential to creating rich soil with lots
of aeration. Because marijuana grows quickly and takes hold, it was used for
stabilizing soil widely in the United States. What growing marijuana did to the
soil was perfect for growing all kinds of plants. Once harvested, the hemp was
used to make rope, clothing and paper.
7) Not a Talker
The majority of politicians enjoy talking, and often it seems if some
politicians like to talk just to hear their own voice. This is an important
distinction when talking about Washington, because he
was defiantly not a politician. Washington felt obligated to take the office of President,
in order to get the country on the right path early on in its inception. He was
not interested in swaying people to his political slants, because he did not
have any to sway people towards.
Portrait of Washington by William "Billy" Lee - 1780
As evidence of how little he enjoyed talking, his second inauguration speech
was the shortest in American history. At 135 words, the speech was over almost
as soon as it started. Washington kept his words simple, marking the last time
in history that a leader of any nation would make an effort to keep things
simple as simple as possible.
Washington's Inauguration
Washington let his staff do most of the talking for him. The lack of such
things as television, the radio or the Internet made it easier for Washington to
communicate sparingly.
He did not have to speak to the public other than who was right in front of him,
and his appearances were very limited engagements. He preferred the
written word and the elegance of being able to express his thoughts through that
form of print media.
6) Liked Writing Letters
Speaking of Washington’s enjoyment of writing, he is also known for having
written more letters than any other President in history. To be fair, without
any other method of communication available, letters were the de facto method
for communicating across long distances. It was secure, you could express
yourself in the way you chose, and it was a perfect way to preserve the
information being conveyed.
Washington's Letter to Mohammed ben Abdallah Thanking for
the Signature of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship - 1787
All told, Washington wrote more than 20,000 letters. He wrote letters not
just to those in the government, but to those in the military as well as his
personal acquaintances. All of the letters are still preserved as a part of the
history of the United States government. It is interesting to look back at the
kind of writing that he was doing as President.
Washington's Letter to General Smallwood During
Revolutionary War - 1782
Modern day Presidents only write letters when they are needed, and hardly
ever write the letters themselves. Using auto signing and email have become the
most common way to send letters to people. Of course, the invention of the phone
made it possible to have extensive conversations with people throughout the
world, as well as within the United States. There may never be another
President who will challenge Washington for the most letters written while in
office.
5) Did Not Want to Be Paid
 When appointed as President, congress allocated a payment of $25,000 to the
entire Executive Branch. This was the money that was supposed to cover the money
needed for expenses, cabinet members and staff. Washington refused to receive
payment for being President of the United States. Even with his willingness to
forego receiving a paycheck, it was not enough to assure that everything could
be paid. In many instances, Washington ended up paying the difference out of his
own money to keep the government running.
The $25,000 was a lot of money at the time, but once everyone was paid and
expenses were dealt with, there was not much left. This is interesting to think
about because the current White House staff comprises more employees than there
were government employees throughout the entire United States of America during
Washington's presidency.
Portrait of Washington by Charles Peale - 1776
All Washington asked for in return for his service as President was
to be compensated for his expenses. Even though he minimized these expenses as
much as possible, the burgeoning government was still unable to reimburse
Washington fully. What a surprise right? Not too much as changed since
Washington's time as far as how the federal government does business. Some of the expenses have still, to this day, never been
reimbursed. Washington did not mind very much as he had the money to spare.
4) Least Educated President in History
For such a highly revered U.S. President, it is hard for many to believe that Washington never even attended college. Washington attended school formally
for only eight years. He dropped out of school at the age of 15 to pursue a
career as a surveyor. It was because of the fact that Washington was extremely
good at math, that he was able to become a surveyor at 16 without any formal
education.
This is not to say that Washington did not receive any more education during
his
life. Thanks to his father and brother, he was able to receive an education
sufficient enough to understand how the world worked and his place in it. Those
who went on to go to college still looked to Washington for advice when running
the country.
General George Washington Resigning his Commission.
Becoming a Civilian in Order to Govern the U.S. as a Democracy - 1783
Part of the education that Washington received on how to be a great leader
was from the time he spent as a soldier. He entered the Continental Army and was
advanced in the ranks rather quickly. It was because of his ability to advance
in the ranks that he was able to be named as the commander of the same army at
the age of 44.
3) Fired the First Shot of the French Indian War
It is infrequent that a large conflict can be attributed to the firing of a
single shot. However, Washington is known for being the soldier who fired the
first shot in the French Indian War. He was only 22 at the time he was in charge
of the Virginia Regiment. The appointment of Washington to be in charge of the unit
was made by Robert Dinwiddie. It was Washington’s job to deliver letters to the
French telling them to give up their stations.
George Washington During French and Indian War
By Junius Brutus Stearns,
via Wikimedia Commons
The French in Ohio denied the request saying they were not going to leave. On
May 27, 1754 Washington led a group of Virginian soldiers to the French camp at
Chestnut Ridge. It was here that the Virginians surrounded and took the camp.
The resulting events of aggression between the sides culminated in the
escalation of all out war. While it was not Washington per se who fired the
shot, it was his group of soldiers who were there and fired the first shots. The
identity of the individual who actually fired the shot is unknown, but it can be
narrowed to a small group of soldiers of which Washington was a part of.
2) Established
the Two-Term Presidency Rule
Washington served 8.5 years as President, but it was his decision to limit the
office of United States President to only two terms. It is well known that
Washington was happy to leave after only the first term, but he was unanimously
voted back into office. In fact, if he were okay with it, he would have been
elected into the position of king by his constituents. He was so loved by the
American people that many did not want to imagine the country being led by
anyone else. Washington was a true patriot and much of the success of the
Revolutionary War could be attributed to his conviction of duty as General, and
the people for awhile seemed to only want him leading the country.
Washington at the Signing of U.S. Constitution
Washington realized the danger in creating a new form of government, in this
case a democracy, with exactly
the same problems as the old form of government (having a monarch.) He decided that after the second term
that he would no longer be able to serve as President. He reasoned it to the
opposition by stating it was necessary to do this because if it was not done, it
would give too much power to one individual for too long a period of time - much
like a King. Since the whole idea of the division of power was to limit the
strength of any one branch, it was also necessary to limit the power of the
President.
1) Biggest President in U.S. History
While the majority of Presidents have been thin, there have been some
presidents that were rather rotund. Even though not every President was svelte,
there was no President in history that has ever been as big or as strong as
Washington. As one of the foremost soldiers of the era and a farmer before that,
Washington had immense strength. At 200 pounds, he was an intimidating figure to
all those who encountered him. Stories exist of Washington opening walnuts with
nothing more than using his thumb and forefinger.
Washington Statue at Federal Hall, Wall Street
The intimidating physical figure Washington possessed made him even more of a
natural-born military leader. He was feared on the battlefield and commanded a
presence with those who knew him. During the Revolutionary War, Washington was
extremely feared not only by British soldiers but by civilians back in England.
While there are no specific accounts of physical encounters, but given the
brutal nature of warfare at the time it is realistic that he was a force to be
reckoned with.
Final Words
Washington was so much more than just an interesting man. As the first President
and one of the most commanding individuals of his era, it is easy to see why he
is a figure that many people want to know more about. Sure, he was the guy who
added “So Help Me God” to the Presidential Oath and he started the tradition of
calling the President by "Mr. President," but he was also a man of seeming
unlimited potential. He excelled in everything he did and truly believed in the
quality of life the nation could provide if only it was formed in the right way.
His willingness to step aside and his humility made him a man unlike any other
man in power that has come after him. Modern politics will likely never have
another President like Washington, even though many politicians aspire to be as
great as him. It is important to remember, at least for modern politicians, that
Washington was not a politician. Maybe if our leaders would embrace public
service without all of their political games and manipulations just like
Washington did, our country would be in much better shape than the mess it is
today.
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