英文名言警句及口語50句，需要中英文譯
Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.——美國國父 華盛頓 .G.Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must undergo the fatigue of supporting it .想要收獲自由之果的人，必須承受維護(hù)自由的勞苦。
——英國作家潘恩Liberty is the only thing you cannot have unless you give it to others.自由就是這樣的東西，不給予別人你自己也無法得到。
—— 美國記者 懷特. W. A.Those who deny freedom to others hardly deserve it for themselves. 凡是不給別人自由的人，自己也無法得到。
——英國詩人蒲柏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. 自由同清白與美德一樣，只有在你享用它時，才感到滿足，一旦失去它們，你就會感到歡樂停止了。
——法國思想家 盧梭The history of liberty is a history of the limitation of government power.自由的歷史是限制政府權(quán)力的歷史。
——美國總統(tǒng)威爾遜.W。
None is of freedom or of life deserving unless he daily conquers it anew.只有每天再度戰(zhàn)勝生活并奪取自由的人，才配享受生活和自由。
——荷蘭人文主義者 伊拉斯漠The time of life is short to spend that shortness basely, it would e too long . 人生苦短，若虛度年華，則短暫的人生就太長了。
——莎士比亞. W.
美國華盛頓兒童博物館的格言我聽見就忘記了我看見就記住了我做了就理解了主要說明了在教育過程中應(yīng)
D說明了行動勝于語言，主動勝于被動。
英語原文是 I hear and I forget，I see and I remember，I do and I understand。
其實這段格言是老外從中國學(xué)到的，出自的 - “不聞不若聞之，聞之不若見之，見之不若知之，知之不若行之；學(xué)至于行之而止矣。
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十句英語名言警句（中英文都要）十篇英語日記（80字左右），急需
請高懸賞
英文格言名人名言
戰(zhàn)勝挫折的 英漢2009-02-26 16:22Adversity reveals genius; fortune conceals it. (, ancient Roman poet) 苦難顯才華，好運隱天資。
(古羅馬詩人 ) Almost any situation---good or bad ---is affected by the attitude we bring to. ( Annaus Seneca, Ancient Roman philosopher) 差不多任何一種處境——無論是好是壞——都受到我們對待處境的態(tài)度的影響。
(古羅馬哲學(xué)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) 雖然世界多苦難，但是苦難總是能戰(zhàn)勝的(作家 海倫·凱勒) 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) 水果不僅需要陽光，也需要涼夜。
寒冷的雨水能使其成熟。
人的性格陶冶不僅需要歡樂，也需要考驗和困難。
(作家 布萊克 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東西，但有一樣?xùn)|西不行，這就是在特定環(huán)境下選擇自己的生活態(tài)度的自由。
(德國小說家 弗蘭克 L) Every tragedy makes heroes of common people. (Normna Stephens, American writer) 每場悲劇都會在平凡的人中造就出英雄來。
(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，受污辱也活該。
(英國作家 科福德 F C) I find life an exciting business and most exciting when it is lived for others. (Helen Keller,Ameican writer) 我發(fā)現(xiàn)生活是令人激動的事情，尤其是為別人活著時。
(美國作家 海倫·凱勒) I wept when I was born, and every day shows why.(Jack London, American novelist) 我一生下來就開始哭泣，而每一天都表明我哭泣的原因。
(美國小說家 ) If you want to live your whole life free from pain 如果你想一生擺脫苦難 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 你就能坦然面對人生 Menander, Ancient Athenian playwriter 古雅典劇作家 米南德 In t world there is always danger for those who are afraid of it. (George Bernad Shaw, British dramastist) 對于害怕危險的人，這個世界上總是 危險的。
(英國劇作家 肖伯納 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) 說苦難能使人格得到升華，這是不確切的；幸福有時倒能做到這一點，而苦難常會使人心胸狹窄，產(chǎn)生復(fù)仇的心理。
(英國小說家 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) 讓我們建議處在危機之中的人：不要把精力如此集中地放在所涉入的危險和困難上，相反而要集中在機會上——因為危機中總是存在著機會。
(英國醫(yī)生 卡羅琳 S) Light troubles speak; great troubles keep silent. (Lucius Annaeus Seneneca, Ancient Roman Philosopher) 小困難，大聲叫嚷；大困難，悶聲不響。
(古羅馬哲學(xué)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) 災(zāi)難就像刀子，握住刀柄就可以為我們服務(wù)，拿住刀刃則會割破手。
(美國女詩人、批評家 洛威爾 J R) No one can degrade us except ourselves; that if we are worthy, no influence can defeat us. (B.T.Washington, American educator) 除了我們自己以外，沒有人能貶低我們。
如果我們堅強，就沒有什么不良影響能夠打敗我們。
(美國教育家 華盛頓 B T) No pain , no palm; no thorns , no throne ; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown. (William Penn, British admiral) 沒有播種，何來收獲；沒有辛勞，何來成功；沒有磨難，何來榮耀；沒有挫折，何來輝煌。
(英國海軍上將 佩恩 W) Optimists always picture themselves accomplishing their goals. (Lucius Anaeus Seneca, Ancient Roman philosopher) 樂觀主義者總是想象自己實現(xiàn)了目標(biāo)的情景。
(古羅馬哲學(xué)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) 或許你不能支配自己的工作，但你能夠使生活發(fā)生轉(zhuǎn)變。
(英國作家 麥金尼斯 A L) Prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth discover virtue. 順境時顯現(xiàn)惡習(xí)，逆境時凸現(xiàn)美德 Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation. (John Kennedy, American president) 從希望中得到歡樂，在苦難中保持堅韌。
(美國總統(tǒng) 肯尼迪 J) Sweet are the uses of adversity.(William Shakspeare,British Playwriter) 苦盡甘來。
(英國劇作家 莎士比亞 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“危機”分為兩個字，一個意味著危險，另外一個意味著機會。
(英國作家 布瑞杰) The misfortunes hardest to bear are those which never come.(James Russell Lowell, American Poetess and critic) 最難忍受的不幸是那些從未來臨的不幸。
(美國女詩人、評論家 洛威爾 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) 你越是為了解決問題而拼斗，你就越變得急躁——在錯誤的思路中陷得越深，也越難擺脫痛苦。
(英國醫(yī)生 卡羅琳 S) The tragedy of life is not so much what men suffer, but what they miss. (Thomas Carlyle, British essayist and historian) 生活的悲劇不在于人們受到多少苦，而在于人們錯過了什么。
(英國散文家、歷史學(xué)家 卡萊爾 T) The very remembrance of my former misfortune proves a new one to me. (Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish writer) 對于過去不幸的記憶，構(gòu)成了新不幸。
(西班牙作家 塞萬提斯 M) Tough--minded optimists approach problems with a can-do philosophy and emerge stronger from tragedies. (Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Ancient Roman Philosopher) 意志堅強的樂觀主義者用“世上無難事”人生觀來思考問題，越是遭受悲劇打擊，越是表現(xiàn)得堅強。
(古羅馬哲學(xué)家 西尼加 L A) Trouble is only opportunity in work clothes.(H.J.Kaier, American businessman) 困難只是穿上工作服的機遇。
(美國實業(yè)家 凱澤 H J) We have all sufficient strength to endure the misfortunes of others. (La Rochefoucauld, French writer) 我們都有足夠的力量來忍受別人的不幸。
(法國作家 拉羅什富科) We shall defend ourselves to the last breath of man and beast. (William II, King of England) 只要一息尚存，我們就要為保衛(wèi)自己而戰(zhàn)。
(英國皇帝 威廉二世)
關(guān)于嚴(yán)格教育的名言警句
1、少壯不努力，老大徒悲傷。
—— 漢樂府古辭《長歌行》 2、業(yè)精于勤，荒于嬉。
—— 韓 愈《進(jìn)學(xué)解》 3、一寸光陰一寸金，寸金難買寸光陰。
——《增廣賢文》 4、天行健，君子以自強不息。
——《周易?乾?象》 5、志不強者智不達(dá)。
——《墨子?修身》 6、青，取之于藍(lán)而青于藍(lán)；冰，水為之而寒于水。
——《荀子?勸學(xué)》 7、志當(dāng)存高遠(yuǎn)。
—— 諸葛亮《誡外生書》 8、丈夫志四海，萬里猶比鄰。
—— 曹 植《贈白馬王彪》 9、有志者事竟成。
——《后漢書?耿 列傳》 10、欲窮千里目，更上一層樓。
—— 王之渙《登鸛雀樓》 11、會當(dāng)凌絕頂，一覽眾山小。
—— 杜 甫《望岳》 12、歲寒，然后知松柏之后凋也。
——《論語?子罕》 13、天將降大任于是人也，必先苦其心志，勞其筋骨，餓其體膚，空乏其身，行拂亂其所為。
——《孟子?告子下》 14、鍥而舍之，朽木不折；鍥而不舍，金石可鏤。
——《荀子?勸學(xué)》 15、石可破也，而不可奪堅；丹可磨也，而不可奪赤。
《呂氏春秋?誠廉》 16、精誠所加，金石為開。
——《后漢書?光武十王列傳》 17、憂勞可以興國，逸豫可以亡身。
——《新五代史?伶官傳序》 18、古之立大事者，不惟有超世之才，亦必有堅忍不拔之志。
—— 蘇 軾《晁錯論》 19、路曼曼其修遠(yuǎn)兮，吾將上下而求索。
—— 屈 原《離騷》 20、位卑未敢忘憂國，事定猶須待蓋棺。
—— 陸 游《病起》 21、尺有所短；寸有所長。
物有所不足；智有所不明。
—— 屈 原《卜居》 22、若要功夫深，鐵杵磨成針。
—— 曹 學(xué)《蜀中廣記?上川南道彭山縣》 23、繩鋸木斷，水滴石穿。
—— 羅大經(jīng)《鶴林玉露》 24、日日行，不怕千萬里；常常做，不怕千萬事。
——《格言聯(lián)璧?處事》 25、恢弘志士之氣，不宜妄自菲薄。
—— 諸葛亮《出師表》 26、天下之事常成于困約，而敗于奢靡。
—— 陸 游 27、積土而為山，積水而為海。
——《荀子?儒效》 28、人非圣賢，孰能無過。
——《訓(xùn)俗遺規(guī)》 29、堅志而勇為，謂之剛。
剛，生人之德也。
——《練兵實紀(jì)?剛復(fù)害》 30、捐軀赴國難，視死忽如歸。
—— 曹 植《白馬篇》 31、天下興亡，匹夫有責(zé)。
—— 顧炎武 32、丈夫不報國，終為愚賤人。
—— 陳恭尹《射虎射石頭》 33、時危見臣節(jié)，世亂識忠良。
—— 鮑 照《代出自薊北門行》 34、茍利國家生死以，豈因禍福避趨之。
—— 林則徐《赴戎登程口占示家人》 35、不為外撼，不以物移，而后可以任天下之大事。
呂 坤《呻吟語?應(yīng)務(wù)》 36、真者，精誠之至也，不精不誠，不能動人。
——《莊子?漁夫》 37、勿以惡小而為之，勿以善小而不為。
惟賢惟德，能服于人。
劉 備 38、傲不可長，欲不可縱，樂不可極，志不可滿。
—— 魏 徵 39、不傲才以驕人，不以寵而作威。
—— 諸葛亮 40、人生的旅途，前途很遠(yuǎn)，也很暗。
然而不要怕，不怕的人的面前才有路。
—— 魯 迅 41、人生像攀登一座山，而找尋出路，卻是一種學(xué)習(xí)的過程，我們應(yīng)當(dāng)在這過程中，學(xué)習(xí)穩(wěn)定、冷靜，學(xué)習(xí)如何從慌亂中找到生機。
席慕蓉 42、我們活著不能與草木同腐，不能醉生夢死，枉度人生，要有所作為。
—— 方志敏 43、做人也要像蠟燭一樣，在有限的一生中有一分熱發(fā)一分光，給人以光明，給人以溫暖。
—— 蕭楚女 44、所謂天才，只不過是把別人喝咖啡的功夫都用在工作上了。
魯 迅 45、人類的希望像是一顆永恒的星，烏云掩不住它的光芒。
特別是在今天，和平不是一個理想，一個夢，它是萬人的愿望。
—— 巴 金 46、我們是國家的主人，應(yīng)該處處為國家著想。
—— 雷 鋒 47、我們愛我們的民族，這是我們自信心的源泉。
—— 周恩來 48、路是腳踏出來的，歷史是人寫出來的。
人的每一步行動都在書寫自己的歷史。
—— 吉鴻昌 49、春蠶到死絲方盡，人至期頤亦不休。
一息尚存須努力，留作青年好范疇。
—— 吳玉章 50、學(xué)習(xí)的敵人是自己的滿足，要認(rèn)真學(xué)習(xí)一點東西，必須從不自滿開始。
對自己，“學(xué)而不厭”，對人家，“誨人不倦”，我們應(yīng)取這種態(tài)度。
—— 51、錯誤和挫折教訓(xùn)了我們，使我們比較地聰明起來了，我們的情就辦得好一些。
任何政黨，任何個人，錯誤總是難免的，我們要求犯得少一點。
犯了錯誤則要求改正，改正得越迅速，越徹底，越好。
52、一分鐘一秒鐘自滿，在這一分一秒間就停止了自己吸收的生命和排泄的生命。
只有接受批評才能排泄精神的一切渣滓。
只有吸收他人的意見。
我才能添加精神上新的滋養(yǎng)品。
—— 徐特立 53、知識是從刻苦勞動中得來的，任何成就都是刻苦勞動的結(jié)果。
—— 宋慶齡 54、形成天才的決定因素應(yīng)該是勤奮。
……有幾分勤學(xué)苦練是成正比例的。
—— 郭沫若 55、自覺心是進(jìn)步之母，自賤心是墮落之源，故自覺心不可無，自賤心不可有。
—— 鄒韜奮 56、在勞力上勞心，是一切發(fā)明之母。
事事在勞力上勞心，變可得事物之真理。
—— 陶行知 57、入于污泥而不染、不受資產(chǎn)階級糖衣炮彈的侵蝕，是最難能可貴的革命品質(zhì)。
—— 周恩來 58、 一知半解的人，多不謙虛；見多識廣有本領(lǐng)的人，一定謙虛。
—— 謝覺哉 59、驕傲自滿是我們的一座可怕的陷阱；而且，這個陷阱是我們自己親手挖掘的。
—— 老 舍 60、九牛一毫莫自夸，驕傲自滿必翻車。
歷覽古今多少事，成由謙遜敗由奢。
—— 陳 毅 61、不管發(fā)生什么事，都請安靜且愉快地接受人生，勇敢地、大膽地，而且永遠(yuǎn)地微笑著。
—— 盧森堡 62、人要是懼怕痛苦，懼怕種種疾病，懼怕不測的事情，懼怕生命的危險和死亡，他就什么也不能忍受了。
—— 盧 梭 63、人的一生，總是難免有浮沉。
不會永遠(yuǎn)如旭日東升，也不會永遠(yuǎn)痛苦潦倒。
反復(fù)地一浮一沉，對于一個人來說，正是磨練。
因此，浮在上面的，的，不必驕傲；沉在底下的，更用不著悲觀。
必須以率直、謙虛的態(tài)度，樂觀進(jìn)取、向前邁進(jìn)。
—— 松下幸之助 64、人的一生可能燃燒也可能腐朽。
我不能腐朽，我愿意燃燒起來。
—— 奧斯特洛夫斯基 65、懶惰象生銹一樣，比操勞更能消耗身體；經(jīng)常用的鑰匙，總是亮閃閃的。
—— 富蘭克林 66、生命有如鐵砧，愈被敲打，愈能發(fā)出火花。
—— 伽利略 67、凡是掙扎過來的人都是真金不怕火煉的；任何幻滅都不能動搖他們的信仰：因為他們一開始就知道信仰之路和幸福之路全然不同，而他們是不能選 選擇的，只有往這條路走，別的都是死路。
這樣的自信不是一朝一夕所能養(yǎng)成的。
你絕不能以此期待那些十五歲左右的孩子。
在得到這個信念之之 前，先得受盡悲痛，流盡眼淚。
可是這樣是好的，應(yīng)該要這樣…… —— 羅曼?羅蘭 68、一個最困苦、最卑賤、最為命運所屈辱的人，只要還抱有希望，便無所怨懼。
—— 莎士比亞 69、患難可以試驗一個人的品格，非常的境遇方才可以顯出非常的氣節(jié)；風(fēng)平浪靜的海面，所有的船只都可以并驅(qū)競勝。
命運的鐵拳擊中要害的時候，候，只有大勇大智的人才能夠處之泰然；……—— 莎士比亞 70、當(dāng)一切似乎毫無希望時，我看著切石工人在他的石頭上，敲擊了上百次，而不見任何裂痕出現(xiàn)。
但在第一百零一次時，石頭被劈成兩半。
我體會到，到，并非那一擊，而是前面的敲打使它裂開。
賈柯?瑞斯 71、瓜是長大在營養(yǎng)肥料里的最甜，天才是長在惡性土壤中的最好。
—— 培 根 72、失去財產(chǎn)的人損失很大，失去朋友的人損失更大，失去勇氣的人則損失了一切。
—— 塞萬提斯 73、不要將過去看成是寂寞的，因為這是再也不會回頭的。
應(yīng)想辦法改善現(xiàn)在，因為那就是你，毫不畏懼地鼓起勇氣向著未來前進(jìn)。
—— 朗費羅 74、悲觀的人雖生猶死，樂觀的人永生不老。
—— 拜 倫 75、一個有堅強心志的人，財產(chǎn)可以被人掠奪，勇氣卻不會被人剝奪的。
—— 雨 果 76、信仰是偉大的情感，一種創(chuàng)造力量。
—— 高爾基 79、樂觀是一首激昂優(yōu)美的進(jìn)行曲，時刻鼓舞著你向事業(yè)的大路勇猛前進(jìn)。
—— 大仲馬 80、頑強的毅力可以征服世界上任何一座高峰
—— 狄更斯 81、壯志與毅力是事業(yè)的雙翼。
—— 德國諺語 82、生活就像海洋，只有意志堅強的人，才能到達(dá)彼岸。
—— 馬克思 83、黃金誠然是寶貴的，但是生氣蓬勃、勇敢的愛國者卻比黃金更為寶貴。
—— 林 肯 84、我們不得不飲食、睡眠、游玩、戀愛，也就是說，我們不得不接觸生活中最甜蜜的事情，不過我們必須不屈服于這些事物。
—— 居里夫人 85、涓滴之水終可磨損大石，不是由于它力量大，而是由于晝夜不舍的滴墜。
只有勤奮不懈的努力才能夠獲得那些技巧，因此，我們可以確切地說：說：不積跬步，無以致千里。
—— 貝多芬 86、一個人在科學(xué)探索的道路上，走過彎路，犯過錯誤，并不是壞事，更不是什么恥辱，要在實踐中勇于承認(rèn)和改正錯誤。
—— 愛因斯坦 87、人類學(xué)會走路，也得學(xué)會摔跤，而且只有經(jīng)過摔跤他才能學(xué)會走路。
—— 馬克思 88、我們的理想應(yīng)該是高尚的。
我們不能登上頂峰，但可以爬上半山腰，這總比待在平地上要好得多。
如果我們的內(nèi)心為愛的光輝所照亮，我們面前前 又有理想，那么就不會有戰(zhàn)勝不了的困難。
普列姆昌德 89、一個人在科學(xué)探索的道路上，走過彎路，犯過錯誤，并不是壞事，更不是什么恥辱，要在實踐中勇于承認(rèn)和改正錯誤。
—— 愛因斯坦 90、成功并不能用一個人達(dá)到什么地位來衡量，而是依據(jù)他在邁向成功的過程中，到底克服了多少困難和障礙。
—— 布克?華盛頓 91、理想是指路明燈。
沒有理想，就沒有堅定的方向，而沒有方向，就沒有生活。
—— 托爾斯泰 92、 成功，從失敗的土壤中頑強生出。
—— 德 國 93、別因為落入了一把牛毛就把一鍋奶油潑掉，別因為犯了一點錯誤就把一生的事業(yè)扔掉。
—— 蒙 古 94、危險、懷疑和否定之海，圍繞著人們小小的島嶼，而信念則鞭策人，使人勇敢面對未知的前途。
—— 泰戈爾 95、論命運如何，人生來就不是野蠻人，也不是乞討者。
人的四周充滿真正而高貴的財富—身體與心靈的財富。
—— 霍勒斯?曼 96、如果只有火才能喚醒沉睡的歐洲，那么我寧愿自己被燒死，讓從我的火刑堆上發(fā)出的光照亮這漫長的黑夜，打開那些緊閉的眼睛，將人類引進(jìn)光明 的的的真理的殿堂。
—— 布魯諾 97、走得最慢的人，只要他不喪失目標(biāo)，也比漫無目的地徘徊的人走得快。
—— 萊 辛 98、噴泉的高度不會超過它的源頭；一個人的事業(yè)也是這樣，他的成就絕不會超過自己的信念。
—— 林 肯 99、朝著一定目標(biāo)走去是“志”，一鼓作氣中途絕不停止是“氣”，兩者合起來就是“志氣”。
一切事業(yè)的成敗都取決于此。
—— 卡內(nèi)基 100、我無論做什么，始終在想著，只要我的精力允許我的話，我就要首先為我的祖國服務(wù)。
——《巴甫洛夫選集 》
勵志名言警句及作者
英文唯美勵志名言警句1.Evenwhenit'shardtomove,takesmallstepsforward.Becauseeverystepwillleadyoufartherawayfromwhereyouwereyesterday.即使前路艱難，也要跬步前進(jìn)。
因為每一步都能讓你比昨天前進(jìn)一點兒。
2.Realstrongmenarenotthosewithouttears,butthoserunningintears.真正的強者，不是沒有眼淚的人，而是含著眼淚奔跑的人。
3.Theysayapersonneedsjust3thingstobetrulyhappyinthisworld,someonetolove,somethingtodo,andsomethingtohopefor.4.Nomatterhowmuchyou'vedoneorhowsuccessfulyouhavebeen,there'salwaysmoretolearn,andalwaysmoretoachieve.無論你做了多少事、有多么成功，前面還有更多要做的、要學(xué)的、要去實現(xiàn)的。
5.Thegreatesttragedyoflifeisnotthatmenperish,butthattheyceasetolove.人生最大悲劇不是死亡，而是不再有愛。
6.一息若存，希望不滅。
Whilethereislifethereishope.7.MaybeI'mtoolatetobeyourfirst.Butrightnow,I'mpreparingmyselftobeyourlast.也許做你的第一個愛人太遲了，但是從現(xiàn)在開始，我要讓自己成為你最后一個愛人。
8.Letgoorbedragged.-ZenProverb要么放手，要么被拖住。
-禪語9.Youarebraverthanyoubelieve,strongerthanyouseem,andsmarterthanyouthink.你比你想象中更
誰能幫我用英語寫出一篇介紹美國總統(tǒng)華盛頓的文章
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.
