What Makes George Washington A Good Leader

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George Washington Ashley Huffman History 102 Western Civilization II When I think of good political leaders I think of many different aspects. Honesty, ability to delegate, good communication with other leaders and the people they are leading, confidence, commitment, positive attitude, creativity, intuition, ability to inspire, a sense of humor, and faith in God. “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity…show more content…
The lack of money after his father died prevented him from studying in England (Mount Vernon 2014). He was very sensitive about his lack of education so he set upon his own pursuit of self-education. He was constantly looking for new texts on many subjects that ranged from military arts to agriculture and political topics (Mount Vernon 2014). At seventeen, George Washington learned to be a surveyor. Since it was such a new and important trade he learned the geometric principles necessary for surveying. In 1751 George Washington went to Barbados with his half-brother where he contracted smallpox. He was able to recover from the illness and inherited an immunity to smallpox. This was crucial in the American Revolution, when the country was threatened by the smallpox epidemic (Mount Vernon 2014). In 1761, George Washington inherited Mount Vernon. By the end of his life he had expanded his land holdings to 8,000 acres, with 3,000 acres under cultivation (Mount Vernon…show more content…
“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.” Matthew 24:6 (ESV 2001). He guided his army with republican principles and with the help of his spies, Washington deceived the British public and their military commanders (Halverson 2010). Washington rarely discussed his intentions after meetings with his officers which made gaining information for the British spies even harder. Washington pushed his intelligence officers to determine not only military intelligence and tactical information but also find information regarding the enemy’s fortifications and movements. He had them engage in counterintelligence by kidnapping valuable people, use false information, live among the enemy, and had them employ their own operatives outside his command (Halverson

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