Patrick Welsh
US History I
Mid Term essay
January 25, 2012 George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Ben Franklin all played a very important and significant role in US history. George Washington was the General of the Continental Army, our first President and he had a larger than life persona about him. Thomas Jefferson beautifully crafted the Declaration of Independence; he contributed in his term as our 3rd President and was one of the great American Enlightenment thinkers. Ben Franklin contributed everything he had to give to America, he was Ambassador to the French during the Revolutionary War, is considered to be one of the first real Americans because his idea of Colonial Unity and creation of the Albany Plan. Washington, Jefferson and Franklin, three different people that without them our country might not be here today. George Washington to the American people was something more. He was the winning General in the Revolutionary war. The Continental Army was made up of colonist who had guns and he had to command these troops against a well-trained British Army. He pulled off stunning wins at the Battle of Trenton and Princeton. Without him commanding these troops and keeping them all together made the difference that no one else could have done because they weren’t George Washington. Everyone listened to him without question, that’s something you can’t buy. Also as the first President of the United States he set precedents and set an example for people to fill this office after him. He set up the Presidential Cabinet and he understood what it meant to be a leader. Through later life he carried himself in a different way. He was bigger than life person. Everyone just listened to him, as the Articles of Confederation were failing; the Generals in the country were planning a coo or a military takeover of the country to establish their own working government and they wanted George Washington to lead this. They were asking him to become a dictator with ultimate power but instead of taking the offer he just stated how disappointed he was in his Generals and couldn’t believe this. After Washington left the coo was called off. Washington’s word was golden, if he said he wouldn’t let something happen everyone believed him as President not everyone agreed to what he was doing but because he was George Washington people over looked it. He kept this country neutral in its first years of existence; he was a great leader and one of our best Presidents. He left his mark on US history. Thomas Jefferson was a quiet man but he was a magnificent writer and a brilliant man. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. It’s a brilliant piece of writing and it’s what got this country officially going. He stated in the Declaration of Independence Ideas of a “Social Contract” where people would give up some of their rights so the government could protect and serve them and if they did not do this the people had to right to overthrow the government and replace with one that worked. Also it consisted of the idea that people were born with some rights that should never be taken away from you. He was also one of the Great American Enlightenment thinker’s that understood many things. He and others understood that a society could be better if you looked at things logically and understood what was going things could be more peaceful and more orderly. He also took the office as President of the United States making him number three on the list. He
