British or American? George Washington and his identity (ePub)

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2013 in the subject History - America, grade: 5,00, Warsaw University (English Philology), course: V, language: English, abstract: This bachelor thesis examines George Washington and his identity and the questions whether he identified himself more as British or as American.

In studying the Founding Fathers one should take into consideration a political elite however a more open one than those holding sway in Europe. Moreover that elite had to interact with the people during the Revolution and in the periods of the Consideration and the Early Republic. Although they may have sought to direct the course of events and they had to respond the changes coming from below as well as the changes of opinions among the people, who were increasingly willing to express their own views, and follow their own way.

One of the most disturbing theme in the studies arising doubts on the disinterestedness of the Founding Fathers is highlighting clashes of ideals and interests between different levels of American society, which caused some "ordinary people" wondered whether the American victory in Revolution was a hollow triumph. For these reasons, reconsidering the Founding Fathers within their historical context depicts the evolution of American politics and democracy, complementing these groups previously excluded from historical studies.

Another point which cannot be ignored in discussion on the Founding Fathers is that they attempted to order the world however not by force, but with words by creating and adopting a series of documentation related to political foundation: institutions, declarations, bills of rights, treaties and laws. John Adams called this period "the age of revolutions and constitutions. The possibilities and limitations of ordering the world with words is the theme described in their writings. It was the issue which gave hope but frequently caused the frustration. In this circumstances re-examining the Founding Fathers helps to recover the possibilities and purposes of political thought and action.

Finally the Founding Fathers' reconsideration makes it necessary to review the complex story of their historical reputations, both as members of the group and as individuals as well as their legacies within two hundred years since the Revolution.