Washington

Hall in Wall Street, Washington took the oath of office, and pledged himself to govern the people according to the Constitution they had just made. He reverently bent and kissed the Bible, and became the first President of the United States. From the street, from doors and windows, and from the housetops, the people cried out: "Long live George Washington, President of the United president States!"

takes the

oath as first

His new office was almost as hard a task as the Revolution had been. He was now in charge of the affairs of the country. He had to see to it that laws were made to protect the rights of every one. Then he had to see that these laws were carried out.

He could not guide

himself by what another president had done, for there had been none before him.

WASHINGTON'S GRAND ENTRY INTO NEW YORK CITY, 1789

From a chromo-lithograph after an original drawing by Alphonse Bigot

But Washington directed the new ship of state so that it suffered no harm. When it looked as though we should have another war

with England, he wisely preserved peace. So well were the people satisfied that they made him presi

dent a second time.

When they offered

him the office for

a third term he refused. Thousands gathered to see him leave the capital. As he gave them his final farewell, tears rolled down his cheeks, and men cried like children.

He was glad to get back to Mount Vernon, for he had grown old and weary in serving his country. He spent his remaining years among the scenes he loved so well. Death There he died in 1799, mourned as a father by the whole people.

SUGGESTIONS INTENDED TO HELP THE PUPIL

The Leading Facts. I. Washington was born on the Potomac, spent his early days on the Rappahannock, and went to school at Fredericksburg. 2. He learned many things outside of school, such as horseback riding, fox hunting, and how to find his way in the deep forests. 3. He became a surveyor in the Shenandoah for Lord Fairfax. 4. Governor Dinwiddie sent Washington to order the French to leave the Ohio. 5. Washington joined Braddock's campaign against the French, and in the battle tried to save the army. 6. Washington married young Mrs. Martha Custis, and was elected to the House of Burgesses. 7. Heard Patrick Henry's fiery speech, went to first Continental Congress, and the second Congress made him commander over the Continental army.

in 1799

8. Washington drove the British out of Boston, outwitted them around New York, retreated across the Jerseys, and then beat them at Trenton and Princeton. 9. He fought at Brandywine, suffered at Valley Forge, penned the British up in New York, and finally captured Cornwallis at Yorktown. 10. Washington gave up his command and retired to Mount Vernon, but was called to be the first president of the new republic.

Study Questions. I. Who was Washington's father and where did he meet Washington's mother? 2. What was a plantation and why so large? 3. What things did Washington love to do besides study? 4. Why did George make a good captain? 5. Picture the yearly ship from London at Mount Vernon. 6. Who was Lord Fairfax and what did he engage Washington to do? 7. What did Washington do at Greenway Court? 8. Why was Washington chosen for the mission to the French, and what was the result? 9. What were the preliminary events before the great war? 10. Picture Braddock's defeat. II. How old was Washington when he first visited Boston? 12. How did he become so rich? 13. What news did Washington bring back to Mount Vernon in 1765? 14. Who went to Congress with George Washington, and how did a member speak of him? 15. What did he learn at Congress? 16. Picture the scene in the second Congress. 17. Describe the trip to Boston. 18. What task did he set before himself, and how did he accomplish it? 19. How did Washington outwit Howe? 20. Who was Nathan Hale?

What discouraged the Americans? 22. Picture the surprise and capture of the Hessians. 23. How did Washington outwit Cornwallis? 24. What effect did these victories have? 25. What sort of a time did the soldiers spend at Valley Forge? 26. Who was Steuben, and what did he do? 27. How did Lafayette aid Washington? 28. Picture the surrounding and capture of Cornwallis. 29. What changes had the war made in Virginia? 30. In what way did Congress honor Lafayette? 31. Picture Washington's journey to New York.

Suggested Readings. WASHINGTON: Cooke, Stories of the Old Dominion, 94-139; Blaisdell and Ball, Hero Stories from American History, 62–76, 123-155; Hart, Camps and Firesides of the Revolution, 239-255, 261-266, 307-309; Glascock, Stories

of Columbia, 101-113; Baldwin, Four Great Americans, 9-68; Hart, How our Grandfathers Lived, 45-47; Mabie, Heroes Every Child Should Know, 274-288; Hawthorne, Grandfather's Chair, 186-191; Magell, Stories from Virginia History, 56-78, 79-94; Brooks, True Story of Lafayette; Wister, The Seven Ages of Washington; Mace, George Washington: A Virginia Cavalier.

THE MAN WHO HELPED WIN INDEPENDENCE
BY WINNING THE HEARTS OF FRENCH-
MEN FOR AMERICA

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, THE WISEST AMERICAN OF HIS

TIME

colonial

77. Benjamin Franklin, the Boy Printer. When Franklin was born in Boston (1706) there were men Born in still living who had seen John Winthrop, the first governor times of Massachusetts, and Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island.

The

Franklin's father was a poor but hard-working man. He made soap and candles. Benjamin's nine brothers had learned trades, but his parents had decided that he scholar should be the "scholar of the family." At eight he went of the to school to prepare for college and was soon at the head family of his class.

But it was hard to feed and clothe a family of seventeen, and Benjamin was sent to another school where he could fit himself for business. But he did poorly in arith- Put to metic, and at ten was taken out of school and put to work with his father.

work

In the port of Boston Franklin saw the ships and sailors Longs of all nations, and longed to go to sea, but his father took for the him to visit the shops, where he saw men busy at work sea with all kinds of tools. Although Benjamin liked to

How he improved his

language

work with tools, he liked to read better, and spent all his little earnings in buying books. He borrowed books when he could not buy them.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

Finally Franklin's parents decided that since he loved books so well he might be a printer, and put him to learn the trade with an older brother. Benjamin was to serve his brother for his board and clothes until he was twenty-one. He worked hard at his trade, and read more books than before. He improved his own lan

From the original portrait by Joseph Siffrein guage by writing out in his own words what he had

Boston

read, and then comparing his account with the author's. He now offered to take half the money that his board cost, and board himself. His brother agreed to this plan, and Benjamin saved money and bought more books.

He longed to write something for his brother's paper. He did so, and put it at night under the door, but he did not dare sign his name to what he had written. His brother showed it to his friends. They praised it, and it was printed. It was fun for Benjamin to hear people guessing that the writer must be some great man in Bosbrother's ton. Franklin wrote several other articles, and called them the "Dogood Papers," but his brother was angry when he learned who wrote them.

Writes

for his

paper

Franklin was now only seventeen, but because of his