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George Washington Influence On American History

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George Washington once said, “Example, whether it be good or bad, has a powerful influence.” George Washington lived by this quote, especially when he became president. When he became the first president of the new country, the United States of America, he knew that he would be an example for all the future presidents, so he needed to be a respectable example, because he knew it would be a powerful influence on the history of our country. As a result of George Washington being the first president, being one of the founding fathers of the United States, and setting a prodigious example for future presidents, George Washington is a famous man. Some people, however, think George Washington should not have a prestigious place in history because …show more content…
On the other hand, George Washington should have a prestigious place in the history books because he was a wealthy man who became opposed to slavery, fought in many wars for the colonies and helped them become independent, and because he was selfless and set an excellent example for presidents in the future.
First of all, George Washington was a wealthy man who did own slaves, as all white, wealthy men did, but he became opposed to slavery before he died. On the opposing side, George Washington had 317 slaves at the time of is death in 1799, says mountvernon.org. However, there were reasons Washington had these slaves on his acreage, Mount Vernon; and in fact, he became opposed to slavery in his late years. To begin, historynet.com states, “At the age of 11, George Washington inherited 10 slaves from his father’s estate.” In the 1700’s in America, slavery seemed like a given. Nearly all white, wealthy men in America owned slaves back then. Washington inherited these slaves from his father when he died when young George was just eleven. He had grown up seeing slaves working on his acreage all the time, he truly just did not know any better. Next, mountvernon.org declares

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