George Washington Case

Being indispensable has lofty connotations. Some might say that it is the highest prestige and most generous compliment. A statement that includes one’s indispensability lends itself to be scrutinized by skeptics and researched by historians. By boldly concluding that George Washington was absolutely necessary, essential, and irreplaceable, James Flexner proposed an interesting question: Could the young republic of the United States have survived with similar success had Washington not been the original executor? Throughout his political career, Washington continued to prove himself to be one of the most courageous, knowledgeable, qualified, and mature leaders in U.S., if not world, history. If the definition of indispensable is irreplaceable, than George Washington was truly an indispensable man.

The main quality that Washington possessed that made him and his term in office so distinct and essential to the early republic was his powerful mentality that he was going to make the new government work, no matter what. He was not interested in personal gain and was not motivated by a selfish agenda. He never saw the position as a soapbox for his own views, but rather a podium for the Constitution. Washington purposefully surrounded himself with some of the best minds that this country had to offer.

George Washington was the commander in chief of the Continental army during the American Revolution, and later the first president of the United States. He symbolized qualities of discipline, nobleness, military orthodoxy, and persistence in hard times that his contemporaries particularly valued as marks of complete political leadership.

Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia, the eldest son of Augustine Washington, a Virginia planter, and Mary Ball Washington. 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 right, was marked by clarity and force. Tall, strong, and fond of action, he was an awesome horseman and enjoyed the 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 west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He was related to the Fairfax family by marriage. His journey led him to take a lifelong interest in the development of western lands. In the summer of 1749 he was given the job of official surveyor for Culpeper County, and during the next two years he made many surveys for landowners on the Virginia frontier. In 1753 he was given the job of adjutant of one of the districts into which Virginia was divided, with the rank of major.

Washington played an important role in the struggles preceding the