The Washington Moment (II)

乔治·华盛顿作为美国的创始人和第一任总统而为美国人民永远纪念，其诞辰二月二十二日成为联邦各州的法定假日。届时各州都将举行盛大宴会、舞会等庆祝活动。美国人在这一天还喜欢吃樱桃馅饼、玩纸制小斧，这是为纪念华盛顿小时候用斧子砍坏樱桃树后向其父诚实认错、不说谎的美德。华盛顿纪念碑更是人们这一天的最佳去处。

It took many years to build the Washington Monument. America almost got a very different memorial to George Washington instead of the present one. ConGREss decided to pay for a statue of George Washington on a horse. The lawmakers did this even before the signing of the treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War. The statue was to show how General Washington led American troops to victory against England. However, he said he did not want the nation to spend money for the statue.

A group called the Washington National Monument Society started raising money for a memorial in 1883. Officials placed the first stone of the monument on July 4, 1848.

The Roman Catholic8 Church leader Pope Pius the Ninth gave a piece of marble from Rome for the monument. But the stone was stolen a few years later. People suspected that an American group called the Know Nothings stole the stone. Among other things, the group opposed the Roman Catholic Church.

After that, the public almost stopped giving money for the structure. Many people believed it never would be finished. Then ConGREss started to help pay for the monument. But, again, the Know Nothings intervened9. They raided the Washington National Monument Society office. They claimed the monument was their property.

Finally, in 1876, ConGREss voted to pay for building the Washington Monument. On December 6, 1884, the monument was finished. It opened to the public four years later.

The Washington Monument is just one of many ways Americans have honored their first president. The northwest state of Washington is named for him. So are many cities, schools and streets in the United States. Thousands of children have been named George or Washington.

George Washington was born in 1732. His family lived in Westmoreland County, Virginia10. George attended school for only about seven or eight years. He wanted to become a sailor. However, his mother would not permit this. So George became an explorer. At age twenty he became an officer in the colonial army.

In 1753, the colonies11 still belonged to Britain. Major12 George Washington carried a message from British colonial officials to French forces. At the time, French forces occupied the Ohio River Valley. The message ordered them to withdraw. It was a dangerous duty, and George Washington completed it well.

George Washington continued to gain responsibility in the army. However, as time passed, he became angry with the way England governed the American colonies. Taxes were high. And the colonies had no representation in the British Parliament.

The war against Britain began in 1775. The Americans named George Washington commander13 of the Revolutionary armies.

Many of his soldiers were untrained. They were poorly equipped. During one winter of the Revolutionary War, his troops almost froze to death. But General Washington led these Americans to victory. The last British troops left America in 1783.

After the war, George Washington strongly influenced the writing of the new Constitution. Then, in 1789, the first American Electoral College14 met. It named him the first president of the United States. Three years later, he wanted to retire. He planned to live with his wife Martha at their home in Virginia, Mount Vernon. But others appealed to him to run for president again. The ballots15 were counted in 1893, and he was re-elected.

George Washington gave the nation a good start. He helped prevent the country from becoming a dictatorship. He prevented it from being ruled by a king. He helped establish freedom of religion.

George Washington was not perfect. He kept slaves at Mount Vernon. However, he freed all his slaves during his lifetime. He also urged the nation to end slavery in the future.

A sentence written on the wall in the Washington Monument expresses the way many Americans feel about George Washington. It says he was “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”

Notes：

8. Catholic  adj. 天主教的

9. intervene  vi.干涉, 干预

10. Virginia  n. 弗吉尼亚州

11. colony  n.殖民地

12. major  n. [美] 陆军少校

13. commander   n.司令官，指挥员

14. Electoral College总统选举团

15. ballot  n.选票