Lesson 2

1. Famous People. Traditions.

• Reading and speaking.

You are going to read about famous people of the USA.

Pre-reading task.

1). Check the meaning of these words in your dictionary. Reading

GEORGE WASHINGTON

What is the native State of George Washington? Who was a trusted friend of George Washington? Did Americans try to impeach President Washington?

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, on his family estate at Pope's Creek, Virginia. His father Augustine was from the family that migrated from England in 1658. He was a well-to-do planter and died when George was 11.Washington was brought up by his half-brother, Lawrence, whom he idolized and who functioned as a surrogate father. George's mother, Mary /Ball/ Washington was a native of Virginia.

Washington grew on a plantation in Virginia and received a simple education at the parish church. At 15, George knew what he wanted in life - to be rich and respected. His problem was that he had no land. His brother Lawrence had inherited the family plantation when their father died. First, George learnt to be a surveyor. That career was a dead end, though. He would be working for the rich, not joining the ranks.

Washington decided to become an officer of the British army. He later explored frontier lands in Western Virginia. In 1751 Washington made his only journey from American shores when he accompa­nied Lawrence, who was seriously ill with TB, to Barbados for his health. There George became ill with smallpox which immunized him to a disease that later devastated his forces in the Revolution. Soon after he returned to his estate. Mount Vernon, in 1752, Lawrence died. George inherited a share of Lawrence's land and was commissioned in 1753 a major. He was put in charge of training militia in southern Virginia. He began to study histories of wars and books on military tactics. In 1753 he volunteered for a vital mis­sion.

Washington carried .a message to the French in Ohio warning them to pull back their forces. On this dangerous mission, young Washington narrowly escaped death. After 2 months of hard travel across 1,600 km of rugged land in winter he almost froze to death crossing an ice clogged river. The French offi­cers invited him to dine with them. The French did not hide the fleet to bring into the Ohio valley when spring came. Washington rushed back to Virginia with the news. As a reward, the governor promoted him to lieutenant colonel in the militia.

In 1754 the French and Indian War began. At 22, lieutenant colonel Washington led 150 soldiers to carry out the governor's order to build the new fort. On the way, Washington heard that the French had already built the fort, but he continued on. At the point he made one of the few mistakes of his military ca­reer. He attacked a small French force, even though France and Britain were not at war. In a brief battle, Washington troops scattered the French. It was an easy victory. Washington wrote in a letter home:" I heard the bullets whistle. There is something charming in the sound." The Virginians put up a stockade and called it Fort Necessity. A strong force of French troops and Indians surrounded the fort. In the first day of

fighting, the French killed a third of Washington's soldiers. Trapped and outnumbered, the Virginians sur­rounded. Later Washington and his men were released and rode back to Virginia. The clash at the Fort Ne­cessity was the first battle of the French and Indian War. Washington was welcomed as a hero

In 1755 he was appointed colonel and entrusted with the defense of Virginia's western frontier. In his journal he wrote:" I had four bullets through my coat and two horses shot under me." In 1758 he be­came a country gentleman and successful businessman. On January 6, 1759 he married Martha, 27, a widow with 4 children. She provided 17,000 acres and 300 slaves to his own estate of 5,000 acres and 49 slaves. She also gave him a happy domestic life. There were no children of her second marriage, but she was a dotting mother to her children who were treated as his own by Washington.

From 1759 to 1774 Washington served as a member of Virginia's House of Burgesses. As leader in opposition to British policy, he was a delegate to the first Continental Congress /1774-75/. With the out­break of the Revolutionary War in 1775 George Washington was named as commander in chief of the Continental army. He left Philadelphia for Boston. Before he reached Boston, American forces fought a fierce Battle of Bunker Hill there. All the summer and fall he struggled to make an army out of soldiers from different colonies. By January 1776, the Continental Army surrounded the British in Boston. In March 1776, the British troops left Boston for Halifax, Canada. .

While Washington was training one Army outside Boston, two other American Armies moved north into Canada. The British troops were reorganized in Halifax and then sailed to New York City. Washington expected this move. He marched from Boston to New York. The British had 34,000 troops and 10,000 sailors. Washington had only 20,000 troops and no navy. Washington divided his troops be­cause he did not know where the British would land. In August 1776 his troops were attacked and 1,400 Americans were killed. Washington retreated north. By December 1776, Washington and his troops were very discouraged. Soldiers left the army. So Washington decided on a bold move. On Christmas night the Americans surprised the troops of Trenton and took most of them prisoner.

The British sent General Cornwallis to recapture the city. On January 2, 1777 Cornwallis saw the lights of Washington's campfires. But Washington fooled Cornwallis. He left his fires burning and marched behind British lines to attack Princeton. There, he won another victory. The victories gave'the army new hope and confidence.

In July 1777, the British sailed from New York and marched toward Philadelphia. Washington tried to stop them. At the Battle of Brandywine, the Americans were defeated. In September Washington against attacked the redcoats but the Americans again met defeat. Washington retreated to set winter quar­ters. /On October 17,777 American army of Gen. Gates surrounded the British. The entire army surren­dered to Americans at the village of Saratoga. I

Cold winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge was a severe test of Washington's leadership. He wrote daily to Congress to send supplies and new recruits. Americans sent food and clothing. Help also came from overseas. In 1777, the Marquis de Lafayette, a French Noble, brought many soldiers to America. He fought at Brandywine and became a trusted friend of George Washington. Two Polish officers helped the Americans. They were Tadeusz Kosciusko and Casimir Pulaski. F. Steuben from Prussia improved disci­pline in the American army. In 1778 free blacks and slaves were allowed to serve in the Continental army. The army grew stronger.

In 1778 fighting moved into the South. In December, British troops seized Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina. «/ have almost seized to hope" wrote Washington. In 1780, one of his most talented generals Benedict Arnold joined the British.

In 1781 Lafayette made British General Cornwallis pull his troops to Yorktown.'Cornwallis felt safe at Yorktown because he counted on the British navy. But a French fleet drove the British ships out. French troops had just landed from France and joined General Washington in New York. Together they marched into Virginia, boxing in the British Army. Cornwallis surrendered on October 17,1781.

. Peace talks began in Paris in 1782. Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris on April 15, 1783.When peace came, Washington bid farewell to his soldiers and retired to his home in Mount Vernon, Virginia as the hero and symbol of the new nation. Life was pleasantly calm and his wife's grandchildren filled the measure of his interest.

In 1789, George Washington was elected the first President of the U.S. The President truly domi­nated the executive branch. He converted his popularity into major laws. In 1793 Washington was re-elected again. His second term was to be more difficult than the first. He met wit all his secretaries simul-

taneously and the institution known as Cabinet /14/ was born. After treaty wit Britain, some newspapers called for Washington's impeachment but the Senate approved the treaty. In 1794 he put down the Whisky Rebellion. Against farmers in western Pennsylvania who refused to pay federal taxes on whisky, he dis­patched troops and placed himself at their head.

Declining to serve the third term, Washington issued his Farewell Address in 1796 warning against "permanent alliances" with foreign powers. Washington retired to Mount Vernon, where he died on De­cember 14, 1799. Mrs. Washington survived her husband 2 years, dying on May 22, 1802, at Mount Vernon, where she was buried.