sejgirl: Mt. Vernon

Since Aaron and I received a 72 (3 day weekend) for Columbus Day, we celebrated the holiday with a day trip to the home of the country's first president. The 8,000 acre plantation rests on the banks of the Potomac River. I visited before in 2003, and though it impacted me enough to want to go back, I now have a far greater appreciation for the man who once called this place home.

George Washington was undoubtedly a great leader who laid the foundation on which our nation lies today. However, if he had been given everything he had wanted and deserved early on in life, our history would have been very different. President Washington joined the British Army when he came of age. He successfully led his troops through the French and Indian War. However, he resigned when he was refused a full commission by England. How different would our country be if he had received the commission he wanted and deserved?

Washington loved his life as a farmer, yet as the British made life difficult with strict taxation, Washington became involved in politics and once again put on a uniform. This time for Virginia's militia. In time he would be head of all colonial forces, eventually leading his army through a ferocious blizzard, crossing the Delaware into New Jersey, and defeating the Hessian forces at Trenton.

There were many who wanted Washington to become a military dictator. Others wanted to crown him king. He refused such power and resigned his commission. Despite his reluctance, Washington was unanimously chosen to head the assembly that developed the Constitution, the foundation of American government. One of its provisions called for something known as a president, and immediately the delegates began whispering that there was only one man to consider for the position. Washington did not want the office, but worked to set precedents for this nation that have lived on for more than two centuries.