250 Years Declaration of Independence: The rise of George Washington
Den USA steht in diesem Jahr ein großes Jubiläum ins Haus: 250 Jahre Unabhängigkeitserklärung. Anlässlich dieses bedeutsamen Jahrestags gibt es in der Read On jeden Monat einen Artikel, der die Geschehnisse, die zur Gründung der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika führten, genauer beleuchtet. In der aktuellen Ausgabe der Read On wird das Leben George Washingtons nachgezeichnet. Lesen Sie im Artikel, wie einer der Gründerväter der USA mit seinen Truppen den Amerikanischen Unabhängigkeitskrieg gewann und zum ersten Präsident der USA wurde.
The rise of George Washington
He might have been a king, but all he wanted for the USA was peace, prosperity, and democracy.
By John Bilstein
1 From his sad role in starting the French and Indian War (1754–1763) to his decisive victory against Britain at Yorktown in 1881, the thoughts and actions of George Washington are part of America’s national DNA.
2 Born on February 22, 1732, George was the son of Augustine Washington, a rich Virginia planter, and his second wife, Mary Ball.
3 When Augustine died in 1743, his eldest son Lawrence became George’s guardian. Lawrence was married to Nancy, daughter of Lord Fairfax. This great British aristocrat was the biggest landowner in all of Virginia. It is there that young George learned how to move easily in polite society.
4 At age 17, George got his first taste of untamed America while working as a surveyor for Lord Fairfax. Some of his real-life adventure stories from that time were even published in England.
5 However, he only became truly famous after 1753, when Robert Dinwiddie, then Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, asked Washington to deliver a message to a French outpost in the Ohio Valley, asking them to leave the area.
6 When the French refused to move out, Major Washington returned with 150 British soldiers and basically started the French and Indian War (1754–1763). This campaign taught him many skills that later helped him and his men survive – and win – the American War of Independence.
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Den vollständigen Artikel lesen Sie in der aktuellen Ausgabe der Read On.
Vocabulary
0–2 rise Aufstieg — prosperity Wohlstand — French and Indian War Siebenjähriger Krieg in Nordamerika — decisive victory entschiedener Sieg — action Handlung — planter Plantagenbesitzer(in)
3–5 guardian Vormund — polite society feine Gesellschaft — to get one’s first taste of s.th. (fig) einen ersten Eindruck von etw. bekommen — untamed ungebändigt — surveyor Landvermesser(in) — Lieutenant Governor Vizegouverneur(in) — outpost Außenposten
6 basically im Grunde — campaign Feldzug — to survive s.th. etw. überleben — American War of Independence Amerikan. Unabhängigkeitskrieg
Bild: Wikimedia Commons
