George Washington: America’s Founding Father

Father. General. President. Discover the events that shaped America's first great leader.

No cherry trees were harmed in the making of this video.

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[gungriffen]

A man who is given absolute power but turns it down is worthy of Legend.

[keithtestaverde]

Fun fact: Washington was also impossible to kill. The man in his lifetime had tuberculosis, dysentery, pneumonia, malaria, smallpox, and diphtheria which were usually lethal at the time. The discomfort from dysentery made him sit taller on his horse. He trotted 30 yards away from the British at Princeton and had to be pulled away. It was so cold crossing the Delaware that the river was mostly frozen and 2 soldiers who crossed were found frozen on the road next morning. He had 2 horses shot out from under him at Pittsburgh, and discovered after the battle that he had 4 bullet holes in his coat. The man is a legend.

[deek]

Despite his faults I still feel that Washington is morally superior to most people who would be in his time. He willingly gave up his power when many people wanted to make him king, and he even figured out a workaround so that his slaves could be freed after his death. The most annoying thing I find is that people look on the morality of past people through modern glasses, thinking if they lived back then that they would be morally superior to other people, not realizing that their morality is a product of hundreds of years of philosophical development on what it means to be moral.

[jeremykiahsobyk]

A thing I always admired about Washington was how he referred to his office as a servant's position, and how he referred to all elected officials as the servants of the people. Not leaders, we lead ourselves. Not those in charge, we rule ourselves. Our servants. Most politicians have utterly lost the thread of that narrative.

[maxacorn]

what i liked about washington was how he seemed so aware of how history would view him and the office of president after his time.

[thunderbird]

He was far from a perfect man. But he created the nation. And denied the opportunity to make himself a king. For that alone, he has my respect.

[ronsorage]

As with every founding father. Great Men arent always good men. Holding them to today's standards is also unrealistic. They did great things that give us what we have even today.

[ArakDBlade]

Washington the man is far more interesting than Washington the legend. His flaws make his accomplishments all the more impressive to me.

[PH-ngtr]

I’m not American but this man is awesome

[LegionOfEclaires]

Advisor: Your majesty, would you prefer a crown with blue gems or red ones?
Washington: I'm no king.
Advisor: But you overthrew our old king...
Washington: Yes but I'm going to form a republic and be a president.
Advisor: So a presidential crown?
Washington: No crown.

[captainjack]

Humble, honorable, and self-aware. The father of the United States!

[andrewsutherland]

When napoleon bonaparte was exiled out of France after his attempts at empire came to an end, he regrettably said, "they wanted me to be another Washington"

[troymacdonald]

George Washington was a master at not being perfect, but he carried the entire early states on his shoulders...

[xx-orqx]

"...what he was is uniquely American."
Well said Simon

[db]

I find it interesting that our "father" of this country did not like the idea of separate political partys. Probably saw then how much more chaos that would be.

[barbaracovey]

The one thing that Washington did that was considered amazing at the time, when his term of office was over, he left. He could’ve been a king but he chose not to. That wasn’t a thing back in the day, people that had power back then you know like Napoleon, didn’t give it up. It will be interesting to see if Simon mentions that fact in this retelling of history.🌲🌲🌲

[bigheadj.r.]

The man, the myth, the legend, George Washington.

[patrickwhatsittoyou]

The "No cherry trees were harmed in the making of this video" in your description got a good chuckle out of me. Well done, Simon.

[earlenewallace]

A President who didn't want to be a dictator. How refreshing.

[williamsanders]

He was, what I consider, to be a great man. I feel his well-recorded attempts to not become the center of the universe for the country, while still sacrificing so much to get to that point proves his greatness, that he truly believed in the righteousness of the cause, the idea of the United States of America.