Line #45 UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/george_washington.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:The PerpetualFrowner on the $1 bill, which was probably a good thing.]]
3
4	->''"First in War.''\
5	''First in Peace.''\
6	''First in the Hearts of his Countrymen."''
7	-->--'''Henry Lee III''''s eulogy for Washington at his funeral.
8
9	George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799[[labelnote:†]]{Both dates are from the Gregorian calendar, used in the U.S. for most of his life. However, he was born under the old Julian calendar, which Britain and its colonies used until 1752. His birth date in that calendar was February 11, 1731; Britain then started each new year on March 25. The change to the Gregorian calendar also saw the start of the new year change to January 1.}[[/labelnote]]) was the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and the first President of UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates under the Constitution, beginning in 1789 and finishing in 1797, for which he is known as the "Father of His Country". As the first president, he set the precedent (heh heh) for the office. He was succeeded by his vice president, UsefulNotes/JohnAdams.
10
11	There were a number of people who (sorta) led the country as specified under the Articles of Confederation, but those are generally glossed over when most Americans think about history, [[AuthorityInNameOnly mainly because the national government under the Articles was a total joke with little actual power, and the president simply presided over the Congress without wielding any executive authority]]. He was the only president that wasn't from a political party; in fact, he hated the idea of political parties so much that in his Farewell Address, he warned Americans against the dangers that they could cause. Needless to say, [[AesopAmnesia that was one piece of advice that went unheeded by the American people]].
12
13	He was commander of the American forces during UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution, as chosen by the Continental Congress. Before that, he was a Lieutenant Colonel and later Colonel during the French-and-Indian War. Before ''that'' he was the head of a small diplomatic mission to try and get the French to evacuate their forts, which ''started'' the French-Indian War by bungling every conceivable aspect of the mission horribly. He was captured by the French after losing the Battle of Fort Necessity, but he was soon set free.
14
15	Highlights from his command during the Revolution include the Battle of Trenton (where he led a group of American soldiers across the frozen Delaware River to slaughter a bunch of Hessian mercenaries in the middle of the night on Christmas of 1776) and his encampment at Valley Forge (where his troops rested for the bitter winter of 1777-1778 - many of them died and all suffered terribly, but Washington is remembered as being very noble about the whole thing).
16
17	Ironically, modern assessment describes him as an average general. Washington never had a formal military education and, in some respects, it shows. His strategies were often overcomplicated with too many moving parts, leading to something almost invariably not going to plan. In the American Revolution he lost more battles than he won, not to mention how he began the American component of the Seven Years War, and prior to the Revolution his largest command had been a single regiment. That being said, he did mastermind a few of the Continental Army's greatest victories, such as the back-to-back battles of Trenton and Princeton, the takings of Boston and Yorktown, and even some of his defeats (such as Germantown) were near-victories. When things did go wrong, he was an actual genius at getting his forces out of a jam in good fighting order and keeping his army intact. He also had an incredible ability to inspire devotion and loyalty in his men, for an example see that time when he defeated a pay mutiny all by himself by simply appealing to the men's patriotism (see below). Washington's admirers also are swift to point out that no American general ever had to lead an army of soldiers that had no concept of uniform drill, with many not even seeing the need for it. True, citizen soldiers have made up the bulk of U.S. forces in most major wars, and have always been in need of training in the beginning, but Washington alone had to fight against the fairy tale that untrained militia could hope to stand their ground or maneuver-under-fire against professional soldiers (the first few battles of the Revolutionary War did seem to support this fantasy). No American general since has ever had to argue with the civilian leadership on the importance of long term enlistments, uniform codes of drill, the need for a functioning logistics system for food, clothes and ordnance, and proper modern military equipment. This tends to put Washington's unimpressive battle record in a light all its own- difficult to truly compare with other generals.
18
19	After America's victory in 1783, Washington resigned his commission and went back to private life, leading King George III to claim that he would be "the greatest man in the world" if he actually went through with it. He was instrumental in persuading Army officers not to carry out a planned mutiny over their lack of pay. When he was unable to persuade them because of the disgrace or the fact that mutinying would not get them their pay, he tried to read a letter to them to persuade them. He had to [[GlassesOfAging pull out his glasses]] to do so, and the officers realized that his health was failing, and so refrained in order to avoid distressing him. Even better, according to legend, he said "Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray but almost blind in the service of my country" while doing so. Many of the men present were reportedly driven to tears. These events were instrumental in presenting him as an American {{Cincinnatus}}.
20
21	The original Articles of Confederation did not work well. As such, a new Constitution was written in 1787 (with Washington serving as the president of the Constitutional Convention), and Washington was unanimously elected President in 1788 and again in 1792. He remains, to this day, the ''only'' man ''ever'' to be elected American President by unanimous vote.[[note]]James Monroe, the fifth president, would also have been elected unanimously, but one elector changed his vote in order to not step on Washington's legacy.[[/note]] His runner-up, John Adams, served as Vice President because that's how things worked back then. This achievement must be qualified however. For one thing, Washington was running unopposed, and for another, the suffrage was far more limited than it would be for his successors. But nonetheless Washington would have likely won even without these qualifications since he was one of the most famous people in the world in the [=1780s=] and [=1790s=], a global celebrity renowned not only in America, but also in England and Europe. Washington's quiet retirement wasn't quite so peaceful precisely because he was plagued by a never-ending stream of visitors and fans who wanted to meet the great hero of the American Revolution, and these visits were draining his coffers, since as a host he had to accommodate his guests and play nice to them, as per the aristocratic customs of the global intelligentsia. The fallout over the Articles of Confederation also made Washington feel that a more stable form of institutions needed to be put in place, so as to preserve stability for the nation, and also to better protect his considerably large estate and great wealth (until the [[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump 45th President of the United States]], Washington was the richest man to hold the office of President).
22
23	It's been argued, by Creator/GoreVidal among others, that Washington, while putting a public face as a reluctant non-partisan statesman, did privately seek the office of Presidency as an office to guard and protect his property and interests, and as a sinecure to find a better public role with which he could manage his fame, and the expenses that it brought him. Though it has also been noted he privately feared the abuse of the position, well privy to many historic republics which came under the grip of a despot. This is one reason why the title of "President" was even chosen. At the time, it was a very humble title and usually applied to quaint positions like the president of gardening clubs or horse breeders associations.
24
25	As president, he used a cabinet system of Secretaries (which wasn't mentioned in the Constitution) to oversee and advise him on certain issues, knowing that it would be borderline-impossible for one man to keep check of everything by himself. The tradition has been carried on by all of the succeeding presidents. Washington as President was very keen for putting himself above the fray, and largely presided over the debate of his cabinet and fellow colleagues. This served him well since it prevented his name from being associated with policies that could make him controversial and polarizing to other figures.
26
27	Washington was quite keen, for both personal reasons and for historical reasons, to be the symbol of all Americans, and he was quite conscious of his status as the Hero of the American Revolution, and to preserve that, he often let his subordinates conduct policies as they saw fit. Washington devoted a lot of attention to what we would call "image politics". He was quite keen that portraits don't present him with his ugly teeth, and publicly he would wear heavy make-up to better preserve his appearance. He was also, for a man of his time, widely traveled. He would travel across the USA to all the states existing at the time, which was the Republican equivalent of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Entry the royal progress]]. At one point, he conducted a grand tour of all the states in the Union. You can find a plaque or exhibit claiming "Washington slept here" at just about every city and inn along the Atlantic coast--especially in Virginia. This impressed upon American citizens the idea and image of the President, not merely as an official and Head of State but as an active politician elected by the people.
28
29	Privately, he did support the economic policies of UsefulNotes/AlexanderHamilton, who was his chief-of-staff during the Revolutionary War and his Secretary of the Treasury as President; these policies included the federal government assuming the debt the states gathered as colonies and under the Article of Confederation and the creation of a national bank. He also stopped the Whiskey Rebellion without using the national army (he instead used state militias) and without firing a single shot. On the foreign policy front, he announced that America would not get involved in UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution and all of its resulting conflicts (resulting in a policy of American neutrality in European affairs that lasted for over a century) and oversaw improved relations with Great Britain through peaceful means and the signing of very good trade treaties. He admitted Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee to the Union, the first states that were not former colonies. During his presidency, the District of Columbia (created between Virginia and Maryland) was chosen as the permanent seat of the federal government, though he didn't live long enough to see that happen (he passed just ten and a half months before John Adams became the first President to move in, and a little over a year before the District of Columbia was formally established).
30
31	Today he's remembered for his warning of the dangers of partisanship in his closing Presidential address, but one must remember that such a stance was not really available or possible to other political figures of his generation, or to those who came after. In the context of the time, it was a thinly veiled TakeThat on UsefulNotes/ThomasJefferson and his political campaigns. (Washington had had a personal falling-out with Jefferson because Jefferson had one of his lackeys put a political attack in a newspaper, and then told Washington that the ad was not his. Washington -- a brilliant spymaster and all around [[TheSocialExpert social expert]] -- knew that this was a lie).
32
33	He served two terms (refusing a third, ''despite'' popular demand specifically to avoid staying in office too long and potentially setting a precedent), then retired to live on his plantation at Mount Vernon. This set a tradition for a "maximum of two terms in office" for Presidents, which was kept until UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt was elected President ''four'' times in a row, after which the Constitution was amended to make the two-term thing an actual rule.[[note]]Fun fact, technically it says that a person can only get ''elected'' President twice. There's nothing to stop a scheme where someone keeps getting elected ''Vice'' President to Presidents who spontaneously decide to resign on their first day in office...[[/note]]
34
35	Washington was notable in that he's one of four presidents to never have had biological children-[[note]]UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson was never legally married to his wife so it would have been unseemly for them to have had kids but they raised one of his nephews, UsefulNotes/JamesKPolk was sterilized by a surgery, and UsefulNotes/JamesBuchanan was a bachelor whom most historians believe was gay. UsefulNotes/WarrenHarding was believed to have been the fifth, due to never having any children with his wife, until DNA testing in 2015 proved that he had a child from an extramarital affair.[[/note]] Mrs. Washington was widowed by her first husband at 25 and left with four young kids (two died in childhood, however). He raised the children as his own after their marriage as well as two of their grandkids. Most research supports the idea that he was sterilized after contracting smallpox in Barbados in 1751.
36
37	[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7iVsdRbhnc He was the closest thing Americans have to a real-life superhero.]] While he might or might not have been Batman, Washington was definitely Bruce Wayne: His extensive real estate holdings made him the wealthiest man in Virginia, possibly in all North America. A man known as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parson_Weems Parson Weems]] wrote many stories about Washington, including the famous one that as a child, Washington chopped down his father's prize cherry tree, but, being unable to tell a lie, promptly confessed to it.
38
39	Another (equally apocryphal) story says that he was able to throw a silver dollar across the Potomac River. Other rumors include tidbits like how his teeth were made of wood [[note]]In real life, Washington had infamously bad teeth; by the time he became president, he only had one tooth of his own left in his mouth. Washington had a set of dentures made from ivory and real human teeth (purchased from his slaves), but the dentures did not fit too well and they were responsible for his strangely "pinched" expression in his portraits.[[/note]], and he was a Christian who prayed every day -- though neither would have been unusual at the time. Washington's religious views are atypically reclusive for his time, as he was very private on the matter. Conflicting evidence supports the idea he was either a Deist or Anglican Christian. He did take the new American republic's stance of religious freedom seriously, espousing about tolerance and personally vouching protection of practice for Muslims and Jews.
40
41	The American capital, Washington, D.C., is named for him, as is the state of Washington on the opposite side of the country (it gets confusing sometimes). No less than 30 counties, 27 cities and villages, ''241'' townships, and numerous parks, streets, and public schools throughout the United States are named for him.
42
43	The man was ImmuneToBullets. Really. George Washington was the only officer to emerge un-wounded from the ambush of General Braddock's Army in 1755. He had two horses shot out from under him and afterwards discovered several bullet holes in his clothes. Later in the French and Indian War he managed to emerge unharmed from a friendly fire incident in which he'd ''ridden between'' the lines of firing soldiers knocking muskets out of line with his sword. There was one time a British sniper caught him unarmed, at close range, with only one guard. Washington just turned and went the other way, and the sniper couldn't bring himself to shoot a man who could so calmly face death. A tribal leader who led the attack on Braddock's column is quoted to have said that Washington "is the particular favorite of Heaven, and who can never die in battle."; eerie as all heck. Given how he died in real life (by slowly choking to death, probably either of diphtheria, strep throat, or a tonsillar abscess) he might have preferred a quick bullet.
44
45	Still, he did enjoy the battlefield life; he once wrote to his brother of one of his battles saying "I heard the bullets whistle and, believe me, there is something charming to the sound of bullets." The contents of the letter made it all the way back to England where an unimpressed King George II, the last British monarch to lead troops in battle, reportedly remarked that Washington's attitude would change if he'd heard a few more.
46
47	Washington had also established [[TheSpymaster his own spy ring]] during the Revolution and even used double agents to help him in his Battle of Trenton. Washington has also become a bit more popular due to Kenneth C. Davis' ''Don't Know Much About History'', in which he paints a picture of Washington as "the plain-spoken frontiersman, not the marbleized demigod" of Weems' stories. In particular, Davis recounts an anecdote told by General Henry "Ox" Knox. In Washington's boat on the night of the Trenton crossing, Knox was 6'3" and 280lbs, making him a large man even by modern standards. As Washington got into the boat, he nudged Knox with his boot and said "Shift that fat ass, Harry. But slowly, or you'll swamp the damned boat."
48
49	By [[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Public_Law_94-479 U.S. law,]] Washington is permanently senior to all US military officers, current, former, or future. Which means that if John J. Pershing were to be formally awarded a six-star General (General of the Armies) rank, Washington would be posthumously promoted to a new 7-star rank.
50
51	Washington was a slaveowner, something [[HistoricalHeroUpgrade almost always glossed over in older fiction]]. In his early life, he [[ValuesDissonance had no moral issue with slavery]] - as he grew older, his views did change. One of the aspects showing his changed views was that whilst he was a soberingly typical in expecting hard work from his slaves, he did not consider blacks intellectually inferior to whites. And this difference between him and other slaverowners likely contributed to the changes later in life.
52
53	During the Revolution, Washington's writings both in the war and after show he came to realize the hypocrisy of fighting for freedom whilst people were enslaved. He came to believe slavery was wrong and supported its abolition, but still did not free his own slaves until he died, as a stipulation in his will.[[note]]The stipulation was that all of the slaves he legally owned except William Lee (see below) were to be freed upon the death of his wife, Martha. She ended up manumitting within a year, because she was acutely aware that her life was the only thing standing between them and their freedom.[[/note]] He also put forth for the old and infirm slaves to be given pensions and the young be taught a craft to support themselves in freedom.
54
55	This wasn't ''entirely'' due to [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocrisy]]; Washington held a paternalistic belief that people of African descent were better off enslaved in the Americas vs. living in Africa, because they were 'provided for' and not getting themselves into trouble. Circumstances from his marriage[[note]]In sum, Martha Washington and her children and grandchildren by her first husband inherited that husband's slaves and plantations, with the children's shares in trust. Washington oversaw the trust, and was able to use the resources as he saw fit, but was not given legal ownership.[[/note]] meant he was legally barred from freeing more than half of the slaves on his Mount Vernon property, as he was not their legal owner, and he was unwilling to separate them from their families among the slaves that he could free.
56
57	One slave he did free directly was his personal manservant, William "Billy" Lee, citing loyal service during the Revolutionary War and years of friendship. A constant presence in Washington's life before, during, and after the Revolution, William Lee was potentially being the closest person to Washington outside of his wife, Martha. It was mutual enough that George was willing to go against Virginia Law at the time banning slave marriage to allow William to live with his wife. Numerous historians have noted that the decades of friendship showing him the undeniable humanity in William almost undoubtedly played a role in changing Washington's views on slavery, explaining his abhorrence to the practice and [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone implied self loathing]] he developed in his last days.
58
59	Sadly, Washington's expressed hope that slavery would die off on its own, as it did seem to be on its way out at the time, wouldn't come to pass. His concerns on how slavery could potentially rip the nation apart if unresolved proved terribly [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar prophetic]]. The vice president of the Confederacy directly cited Washington's hope for abolition and comradery between races was foolish and misplaced, all whilst the Confederacy was all too happy to co-opt his image for their own propaganda purposes to sell themselves as a "Second Revolution".
60
61	----
62
63	!!Tropes as portrayed in fiction:
64	%%
65	%%As with all pages about any real life person, please do not add any personal tropes that aren't portrayed in fiction. This list is for tropes about him as portrayed in fiction only.
66	%%
67	* BigGood: Considered by many Americans to be TheLeader of the Revolution and the man who saved the United States from inevitable defeat. As such, nearly every fictional depiction of Washington will portray him as a Christ-like savior for the Patriot cause of independence.
68	* CannotTellALie: The {{Trope Nam\|ers}}ing cherry tree story... is actually an example of [[WillNotTellALie another trope entirely]].
69	* {{Cincinnatus}}: One of the things mostly brought up to demonstrate his honesty in portrayals is how he was reluctant to accept the Presidency, served out his two terms mostly because the fledgling country needed a strong leader, and retired to go live on his farm at the end of it all.
70	* FieryRedhead: Popular media always portray him with white hair, due to the Athenaeum Portrait, which was the base of the $1 bill, being the main source of reference, but in real life and in his youth, the first president of the United States was a redhead, and he powdered his own hair instead of wearing a wig.
71	* FourStarBadass: Easily the second most important thing portrayed about him after being the first President of the United States is that he received a commission as a General and was appointed as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. That said, several years after the war ended (and the Continental Army disbanded), President John Adams commissioned Washington as a Lieutenant General and appointed him Commander of the United States Army, which at the time was relatively small and had no four-star generals. While some modern portrayals attempt to paint him as a GeneralFailure, due to him (on paper) losing more battles than he won, he was an expert at getting his troops out mostly intact while forcing the British to [[PyrrhicVictory eat the losses they suffered "defeating" him]].
72	%%* TheHero
73	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Every February, President's Day is celebrated, and many commercials put up his likeness and/or UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln to sell products. He shows up more than Abe in commercials year-round because his face is on the dollar bill. Also appeared in commercials in 1997 to promote the Sacagawea dollar coin.
74	%%* IdealHero
75	* MemeticBadass: ''The'' archetypal example for the United States. Pretty much given such a legendary status as the biggest FourStarBadass and BadassBureaucrat ever to exist in the United States, to the point so many on the field of politics believe that if he were alive today, United States problems would disappear in a single term. Even during his lifetime people were already praising his genius as comparable to the best continental Europe had during the time, and a popular debate after his death was often if he could beat UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte in a war. As with UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan, pretty much every fictional work on UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution relies on his memetic image, often to the point of HistoricalBadassUpgrade. This even extends to the US military itself: He's still the ''highest ranking soldier in the US military'', with 6 stars. And to make sure of it, everyone in the US military are '''legally forbidden''' from outranking his 6-stars. A good example is Creator/StevenSpielberg's biopic of ''Film/{{Lincoln}}'' where a fellow MemeticBadass invokes his example:
76	--> '''Abraham Lincoln:''' The whole world knows that nothing will make an Englishman shit quicker than the sight of George Washington.
77	* ReluctantRuler: Lampshaded in the TV series ''Series/SleepyHollow'', when Ichabod--in reference to Washington's humility--notes that it's always a good idea to give power only to those who ''least'' desire it, rather than those who do. It was the code of political honor at the time for politicians to invoke this, and everyone made a show about how much they didn't want political office, and it's debated by historians how much of this was public image and how much Washington was really reluctant.
78	* ShirtlessScene: Horatio Greenough's statue of him in a toga.
79	* TheSocialExpert: How Creator/GoreVidal portrays him in his ''Burr'' where the title character, despite being critical of Washington, can't help but admire his brilliant and skillful management of people and personnel. Historians are starting to see Washington as this, noting that as a spymaster and master of espionage, he was certainly skilled at identifying and sizing up people and that served him well in politics.
80	* WillNotTellALie: The story goes that when he was young, Washington chopped down his father's favorite cherry tree and afterwards confessed because he could not bring himself to lie. However, the story goes like that because it is just that: a story. Parson Weems made up the anecdote to glorify Washington's well-known real life honesty. In reality, he was an expert in misinformation, realizing that keeping the British on the wrong foot would be vital to his army's success.
81	* WolverinePublicity: He tends to get this in any discussion of American history and the American Revolution. A fact which John Adams himself complained about at the time. He was extremely important for American, and global, history, but it must be noted that Washington had very little role in the Boston Tea Party and the early parts of the Revolution and he only came on the scene as a behind-the-scenes colonial property-owning landholder. As Commander in Chief, he was actually a fairly mediocre general who never really won any battles and he had little participation on the decisive American victories (such as Saratoga, which is what convinced France to back the Colonists). Washington was [[TheSpymaster a far more effective spymaster than a general]]. He had no involvement in authoring the Declaration of Independence and is not included among its signatories (he was busy in the field), very little say in the writing of the Constitution and its debate (Madison, Adams and Hamilton were far more relevant), and as President, he more or less tried to be above-the-fray and rarely interfered in any of the debates or proposed his own policies.
82
83	----
84
85	!!Washington in fiction:
86
87	[[foldercontrol]]
88
89	[[folder:Art]]
90	* ''Art/TheApotheosisOfWashington'' is religious fresco in the style of the Art/SistineChapel which depicts Washington becoming a god. It adorns the ceiling of the Capitol Building and shows Washington sitting in-between Victory and Liberty while dressed in a regal purple.
91	[[/folder]]
92
93	[[folder:Comic Books]]
94	* The first Marvel NOW storyline of ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'' features all deceased US Presidents [[ZombieApocalypse coming back as zombies and going on rampages]], with Washington as their clear leader. During the story's climax, he personally leads an attack on DC, serving as the FinalBoss that Wade has to fight.
95	[[/folder]]
96
97	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
98	* ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'': Snoopy every so often talked (or pretended to talk) to the then-general during the Valley Forge winter. Being the World Famous Patriot didn't prevent Snoopy from tossing in some AnachronismStew, including at one point offering to let Washington drive a Zamboni at a proposed ice-skating rink.
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Film]]
102	* ''Film/TheCrossing'', a 2000 made-for-TV movie about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Crossing of the Delaware]], starring Jeff Daniels. Makes a concerted effort to show Washington as a human being, along with just how desperate the first year of the Revolution was.
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:Literature]]
106	* Creator/ManlyWadeWellman's Literature/SilverJohn story "Vandy, Vandy" features an appearance not of the actual Washington's ghost, but the evil-smiting myth-encrusted figure described above.
107	* In one of the Literature/{{Animorphs}}' many time travel adventures, at one point they're sent back to the Revolutionary War, just as Washington's about to cross the Delaware. Marco steals George's spare boots because his feet are cold. [[spoiler: His friend Jake later gets shot in the head, prompting the first major timeline divergence in the series.]]
108	* Highly ambiguous character in the ''Literature/{{Illuminatus}}'' trilogy.
109	* Appears in Thomas Pynchon's Mason & Dixon. As a fellow surveyor he talks shop with the protagonists before they set out to draw their Line. Then, Pynchon being Pynchon, the three of them test out Mt. Vernon's latest hemp crop, leading to dancing on the porch while Martha fetches in the munchies.
110	* Quite a few pages are dedicated to his exploits in ''Literature/TheLostSymbol''.
111	* A Cahill from the Tomas branch in ''Literature/The39Clues''.
112	* In James Fenimore Cooper's 1820 novel ''The Spy'', a romance thriller based during the Revolution, the identity of the Rebel spymaster is revealed at novel's end to be George Washington. Washington was a so-so general but an absolute master of counterintelligence. He got the British to swallow some real whoppers, so much for never telling a lie.
113	* In ''Literature/RipVanWinkle'', the titular character wakes up 20 years later and discovers that one of the changes has George Washington's image replacing that of King George III.
114	* Creator/DavidDrake's ''Literature/TheCitizenSeries'' is essentially a retelling of George Washington's early career InSpace, with Allen Allenson playing the role.
115	* Creator/GoreVidal's novel ''Burr'' deals, via the viewpoint of Colonel Aaron Burr, the winner of the Hamilton-Burr duel, with the history of the American revolution and the entire generation of the Founding Fathers. Burr in his memoirs is quite critical of Washington as a general, however he has more positive regard for Washington as a politician and leader, pointing out his shrewdness, his skills as TheChessmaster and his leadership which brought American governance to life.
116	* Washington's execution is the PointOfDivergence in the alternate-history/Libertarian fantasy comic book ''The Probability Broach''. The author claims that Washington's handling of the Whiskey Rebellion was the beginnings of over-reaching federal power in America. The man who got Washington convicted is then elected President, and promptly disbands any federal infrastructure, creating the "North American Confederacy."
117	* In ''Literature/TheTwoGeorges'' by Creator/HarryTurtledove, Washington is responsible for a different point of divergence ... it's his leadership of a diplomatic mission to Britain that heads off the Revolution in the first place, keeping America a loyal and valued part of the British Empire. The book's title comes from a painting of George Washington and George III together, each surrounded by his associates.
118	* In ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'', he is said to be a son of Athena.
119	* The children's novel ''George Washington's Socks'' by Elvira Woodruff involves two children going back in time in an old wooden rowboat to the night of the Delaware crossing. A great example of exploring the harsher details of history, very true in its depiction of Washington as good but quite human, and rather funny too. (And yes, the socks do come up at the end of the adventure.)
120	* In the short story "Literature/HeWalkedAroundTheHorses" by Creator/HBeamPiper, Washington was killed in the Battle of Doylestown in an AlternateUniverse in which AmericaIsStillAColony.
121	* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': According to the author, back during the French and Indian War, young George Washington [[spoiler:wielded the holy blade ''Esperacchius'']] around the same time he encountered several wizards who would grow up to be on the Senior Council in the modern day.
122	* In the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' novel ''The Savage Trade'' (which serves as a kind of sequel to the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "The Savage Curtain"), the Excalbian who oversaw the good vs evil fight (named Yarnek, which was not spoken during the episode) appears in the form of George Washington, amongst multiple other historical figures. Despite his initial hostility towards the Excalbians for what they put the ''Enterprise'' through, Kirk finds himself warming up to Washington-Yarnek, who behaves exactly as Kirk would expect. (It helps that the alien had a HeelRealization and is now among several refugees fleeing the very bloodsports they had helped engineer.)
123	[[/folder]]
124
125	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
126	* In the ''Series/MastersOfHorror'' episode "[[Recap/MastersOfHorrorS2E12TheWashingtonians The Washingtonians]]", Washington and his descendants are revealed to be cannibals, though it's more of a "campy and ridiculous" sort of horror than a real scary one. (Note that the real Washington was probably sterile.)
127	* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother''. According to Barney Stinson. George and Creator/BenjaminFranklin were friends with Barnabus Stinson (Barney's ancestor) who wrote "The Bro Code". George and Ben also once did a "Devil's Threeway".
128	* ''Series/DeadliestWarrior'' has George Washington go up against UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte. [[spoiler:George barely manages to win over Napoleon in a squad vs. squad confrontation. The panel of experts in the aftermath note he likely would have lost if it was army vs. army.]]
129	* Portrayed by Creator/DavidMorse in HBO's ''Series/JohnAdams''.
130	* In the live action segment of ''Series/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow'', Mario and Luigi decided to turn their home into a boarding house and tried to lure potential guests with a sign reading "George Washington Slept Here". Washington came back to haunt them for that lie. In the animated one, they helped a Washington {{Expy}} to defeat Koopa, who was dressed like a British soldier.
131	* Played by Creator/IanKahn in ''Series/{{Turn}}'', as a recurring character in series 1 and then a regular in series 2. The series 2 episode "Valley Forge" notably gives some focus to his relationships with his deceased older brother Lawrence and his slave/manservant Will Lee.
132	* Washington is a PosthumousCharacter in ''Series/SleepyHollow''. In addition to fighting the Revolutionary War, Washington directed the efforts of the supernatural war going on behind the scenes. In the present day, Ichabod Crane (who was Washington's agent and giant {{fanboy}}) keeps finding things Washington left behind to help him.
133	* In ''Series/SonsOfLiberty'', he's played by Jason O'Mara, and in the final scene turns the Declaration of Independence into a RousingSpeech as his men prepare to defend against General Thomas Gage's attack on New York Harbor.
134	* A Season 2 episode of ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' sees the Legends having to save Washington from being assassinated by a [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashed]] Rip Hunter.
135	* ''Series/{{Sliders}}'': In the AlternateUniverse featured in "[[Recap/SlidersS01E05PrinceOfWails Prince of Wails]]", [[AmericaIsStillAColony the British Empire defeated the rebellious American colonies]]. Washington was hanged as a traitor in 1779.
136	* ''Series/{{Voyagers}}'': In "Merry Christmas, Bogg", the American colonists are losing the Revolution as Admiral George Washington is fighting with the British. Phineas Bogg and Jeffrey Jones travel back in time to Mount Vernon in 1846 and convince Washington not to join the Royal Navy in order to set history on its proper course.
137	[[/folder]]
138
139	[[folder:Music]]
140	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7iVsdRbhnc Washington, Washington, six-foot-eight, weighs a fucking ton...]]
141	[[/folder]]
142
143	[[folder:Theatre]]
144	* Portrayed as TheEeyore in the musical ''Theatre/SeventeenSeventySix'', where he [[TheGhost never appears]] but his letters from the front line are a constant discouragement to the Continental Congress.
145	-->'''Thomas [=McKean=]:''' "Surely we have managed to promote the gloomiest man on this continent to the head of our troops."
146	* In ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'', a Broadway musical about the life of Alexander Hamilton, Washington is portrayed by Creator/ChristopherJackson (an African American). One of the major plotlines involves Washington's fatherly relationship with Hamilton, and how the latter's life went downhill after the man retired.
147	[[/folder]]
148
149	[[folder:Video Games]]
150	* ''Videogame/AgeOfEmpiresIII'' has him as a campaign hero in the campaigns about John Black and Nathaniel Black.
151	* ''VideoGame/DayOfTheTentacle'' has him lounging about with the founding fathers.
152	* In ''VideoGame/NightmareNed'', he shows up as a talking quarter when the Tooth Fairy is about to rip out his teeth, saying that even without teeth he became president.
153	* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'':
154	** Washington's role in the series has been hinted at as early on as ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'', where he is shown in the glyph puzzles to have possessed a Piece of Eden. [[spoiler:Following the hallucination he experiences in ''The Tyranny of King Washington'' showing how he would become a mad tyrant under its influence, he begs Connor to take it and throw it into the sea. His last scene shows him outraged at the very suggestion that he become a monarch with absolute power.]]
155	** Washington is a major character in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'' and an ally of protagonist Connor Kenway. There is also an AlternateUniverse DLC titled "The Tyranny of King Washington", which explores the possibility of what if Washington did in fact become the King of America.
156	** Washington also has a cameo in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRogue'' during his courtship of Martha Dandridge. One of the few times in fiction to depict Washington with his red hair. His half-brother Lawrence has a more prominent role as a Templar that wants to keep George out of the SecretWar.
157	* In ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'' he's revered to saint like levels, along with Creator/BenjaminFranklin and UsefulNotes/ThomasJefferson.
158	* Washington appears in ''VideoGame/TheCouncil'' where he's the head of the American branch of the secret society Louis and his mother belong to.
159	* He’s the representative for America in ''[[VideoGame/{{Civilization}} Civilization V]]''.
160	[[/folder]]
161
162	[[folder:Webcomic]]
163	* ''Webcomic/HarkAVagrant'': [[http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=372 "Founding Fathers (In a Mall)"]]
164	-->''[[Creator/BenjaminFranklin Mr. Franklin]] you do tarry long among these garments! I will join the wretched souls in the "rest area". 'Tis not unlike the Valley Forge, in truth.''
165	[[/folder]]
166
167	[[folder:Web Video]]
168	* He spits verses against [[{{Film/Braveheart}} William Wallace]] in ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory''.
169	* WebVideo/TheMonumentMythos has someone who appears to be the genuine George Washington alive in the present day, after having fallen into the Delaware River and frozen. [[spoiler: As of ''LIBERTYLURKERS'', this claim is muddied, given the reveal that the entity contained within the Statue of Liberty ''is'' Washington, post exposure to the Special Trees' dimension.]]
170	* ''WebAnimation/CoxAndCombesWashington'' is a song depicting him as a MemeticBadass who wrestles bears, shoots lasers from his eyes, rides a horse made of crystal, and saves children (but not the British children).
171	[[/folder]]
172
173	[[folder:Western Animation]]
174	* The cartoon ''WesternAnimation/TimeSquad'' always portrayed Washington as TheCape whenever he appeared... except for the episode that opened with him going on a psychotic rampage in the Squad's space station. (It was an UnwinnableTrainingSimulation, simulating what would happen if they dropped TheMasquerade for him.)
175	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' depicts him as a maniac with an axe with an uncontrollable urge to chop wood (because why else would he chop down his father's prized cherry tree, then immediately confess?).
176	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Histeria}}'' depicts him as talking like UsefulNotes/BobHope (both were famous for making speeches to the troops).
177	* Dan's target of the week in ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'' "George Washington". He believes that George Washington chopped down a palm tree that wrecked his car, since an axe with the initials G.W. carved into handle was still stuck in the tree. Chris and Elise try to convince Dan that Washington couldn't have done it since a) the cherry tree thing is a myth and b) he's been dead for over two centuries. Dan believes that Washington's ghost wrecked his car, and travels to Washington's home to commit vandalism as payback. [[spoiler:The ending confirms Dan's theory.]]
178	* In the episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' "Lisa the Iconoclast", he appears to Lisa as a vision to scold her when she considers giving up her effort to expose Jebidiah Springfield as a fraud. ("We had quitters during the Revolution, too," says Washington. "We called them 'Kentuckians'.") He also appears in [[TheCameo a cameo]], along with UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein and Creator/WilliamShakespeare, in one "Treehouse of Horror" episode as a zombie, but has no speaking role.
179	* Stalemated UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln on ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch.''
180	* ''WesternAnimation/WoodyWoodpecker'' once told his nephew and his niece Washington was trying to hit one of Woody's ancestors when he took down the cherry tree.
181	* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' had Mandark turn the George Washington portion of Mount Rushmore into a giant golem/mecha; Dexter responds by animating the Lincoln Memorial. The "golems" stop fighting when they realize they have a lot in common and walk off arms-over-shoulders to have a friendly conversation.
182	* He appears in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/XavierRiddleAndTheSecretMuseum'', where he teaches Yadina about being a good leader.
183	* Washington's [[BrainInAJar preserved head in a jar]] appears occasionally on ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''.
184	* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Noveltoons}}'' short "The Little Cut-up" dramatizes the cherry tree incident, with a young Washington bringing some WoodlandCreatures to his estate after he chopped down the tree they were living in; the cherry tree was meant for a beavers' dam.
185	[[/folder]]
186
187	[[folder:Other]]
188	* Bob Newhart did a StandupComedy routine about a soldier in Washington's army complaining, as soldiers always have and always will. It starts with the sound of tramping feet and the words:
189	-->You hear what Nutty George did last night? The dollar across the Potomac -- they didn't tell you about that? Had us up till three in the morning looking for the damned thing.
190	* David Morse also voices Washington at the Hall of Presidents at [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Walt Disney World]].
191	* According to the immense [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apotheosis_of_Washington fresco]] on the ceiling of UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates Capitol Building, he [[AGodAmI became a god]].
192	[[/folder]]

Context UsefulNotes / GeorgeWashington