Little Known Facts About George Washington

George Washington the first President of the United States was a very enigmatic person. There are many fascinating anecdotes about the great man

The story of how George Washington, cut down a cherry tree with his new axe, is well known. The incident never happened. It was a story concocted by Washington's biographer, Parson Mason Weems, years after his death. As a young man, Washington was confronted by death many times. He suffered and survived dreadful diseases like malaria, smallpox, pleurisy and dysentery. He nearly drowned when he accidentally fell of the raft into the icy river while returning from an expedition to the French Fort le Boeuf. In 1775, bullets grazed his coat, but he was unhurt.

Some anecdotes bring out the character of Washington very well. During the election campaign, there was a bitter war of words. A man called Payne felt that Washington had crossed the line by insulting him. He decided to settle the matter with the help of a hickory stick. The following day, Washington set up an interview with Payne. Payne expected that Washington would seek revenge. However, Washington apologized for insulting him and shook his hand. As the general of the Continental army, Washington was willing to forfeit his salary. He only wanted to be compensated for his expenses. Not only did this win more admirers, but also made sound economic sense. His salary was a meager $500 a month while his total war expenses for eight years added to $447,220!

His attitude on slavery seemed to have undergone transformation, as he grew older. There are two anecdotes that bear out this fact. The capital was shifted from New York to Philadelphia. The President yearned for the food made by his slave Hercules. Therefore, he had Hercules come to stay with him. Now, according to the Pennsylvania slavery law, slaves could be considered free if they stayed there for more than six months. Washington would dodge this by sending Hercules to Mount Vernon every six months. He would then return after some weeks. Thus, Washington ensured that he did not lose his slave. However, just before the end of Washington's term, Hercules disappeared and was never found. In his will, he freed all the 124 slaves belonging to him. He was the only slave-owning president to have done this. The emancipation did not actually take place, however, because he had said in his will that it could happen only after the death of wife, if she so wished. His wife Martha died without setting any slave free.

Other trivia about Washington: He did not attend college, the only American President not to do so. His birthday is celebrated on February 22, though he was born on February 11. His inaugural speech is the shortest in American History. It was only133 words long.