Was George Washington a good leader?

Question

What are the reasons supporting your opinion?

I believe he was. he was a strong, loyal, and dedicated man. He fought for what he believed in and did not back down. Also, without his initiative in war, the USA would not even be here the way it is today. We would be under the power of a monarchy like all those other countries are today. *just my opinion*

Answer 1

Yes, he was a great leader and a good general. He was not the best tactician ever by any means but, he was the perfect leader. He refused to back down or give up. He also would not make his men to do what he was not willing to do himself. He was strong, loyal and had a very strong moral compass which. There were several mutinies in the army and he could have dealt with it very heavy-handedly but, he chose to make an example out of a VERY few and spare/forgive the rest. This quite possibly saved the army and the revolution. It was also very classy ect that he refused the offer to be King. Not many men would have done that.

Answer 2

Very few, if any, other people could have kept that army together and won battles at the same. He took a bunch of farmers and formed them into a legitimate army.

Answer 3

Yes, for all the reasons given above.

In my opinion, his refusal to be named "KING" was the topping off of a long, personally and financially draining struggle.

Roosevelt and Washington cannot be compared that specifically. They were 200 years apart, give or take, with VERY different "problems" to work through. Both were exceptional.

Answer 4

He was better then Roosevelt !

Answer 5

Yes

Answer 6

I fully agree with you.  I also think it was loyal of him to not be king when he was asked to, because he didn't want to be too controlling or powerful.  Without him, our nation probably wouldn't be anything near what it is today.

Answer 7

Not just good, but excellent!

Answer 8

Washington wasn't the only reason we one the war but yes he was a good leader.  He didn't expect his men to do things that he wasn't willing to do himself.  He was also willing to change the "rules" of war and retreat when he needed to.

He was smart and found a good staff that he could trust, and they trusted him.  But like I said it wasn't just him.  There were a lot of heros that existed in the Revolution, and a lot that people aren't aware of.

I think the thing that I respect most about Washington is that he had the chance to become a monarch, but said no.  He had fought to get out from the tyranny of a king and didn't want to become one himself.  He also knew about Julius Ceasar, who was also a great military leader, and didn't want to meet thet same fate.

If you have access to the History channel there's a show called "Liberty's Kids" where it shows all sides of the Revolution.  It's a really good show and it has a lot of history.  I'll be honest I'm kind of hooked on it.

Answer 9

I agree. One of the best in history, no matter what your criteria.

Well, I think the American Revolution would have succeeded anyway, but he sure made it a lot surer bet!

PS: A few people below have noted that he refused a crown; he also refused to run for a third term as President, setting a tradition that was followed until FDR.