why was george washington important?
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Why was George Washington important?. Objectives. In this activity you will: Learn the importance of George Washington. Discuss how he compares to other presidents. Why was George Washington important?. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
© HarperCollins Publishers 2010
Significance
Why was George Washington important?
© HarperCollins Publishers 2010
Significance
Objectives
In this activity you will:
Learn the importance of George Washington.
Discuss how he compares to other presidents.
© HarperCollins Publishers 2010
Significance
Why was George Washington important?
Did they have an important impact on historical events?Were they successful?Did their actions have a long-term impact on the world?How did their actions compare to the actions and impact of other historical individuals?
When judging the importance of an historical figure,
as historians we should consider questions such as
the following:
© HarperCollins Publishers 2010
Significance
Why was George Washington important?
Firstly, we need to be clear
on what Washington did.
Read through the following
two slides to learn about
Washington, and write a
paragraph explaining why
you think he was important.
© HarperCollins Publishers 2010
Significance
Why was George Washington important?
George Washington led colonial rebels to victory during the
American War of independence between the years 1775-1783.
He successfully kept the army together during the bitter winter
of 1776-1777. Without him, the American army may have
disintegrated.
During the war, he helped to keep the Thirteen Colonies united.
He was the first President of the USA between 1789-1797.
He helped to shape the American Constitution, which still
exists today.
He helped to shape the powers of an American President.
© HarperCollins Publishers 2010
Significance
Why was George Washington important?
Washington served a second term as President when he wanted
to retire. Again he acted as a force for unity between the different
colonies.
In 1794, he signed the Jay Treaty with Britain, which re-established
trading links. Many Americans criticised him for signing this treaty.
He refused to serve a third term as President and he advised that
America should not be drawn into European Affairs.
By the end of the 19th century and into the 20th century, America
became one of the most powerful countries in the world.
© HarperCollins Publishers 2010
Significance
Why was George Washington important?
Completing the following tasks will help you to decide the
relative importance of George Washington as compared to
other American presidents.
Using the internet and help from your class teacher, find out when
these men were President of the USA.
Arrange them in the correct chronological order.
Now try to find between one and four different reasons why these
presidents have been considered to be important.
Write a paragraph explaining whether George Washington was
more or less important then the other presidents.
© HarperCollins Publishers 2010
Significance
American Presidents
George Washington Bill Clinton Ronald Reagan
John F Kennedy General Eisenhower Harry Truman
Franklin D Roosevelt George Bush Jr. Lyndon B Johnson
Woodrow Wilson Abraham Lincoln Barack Obama
© HarperCollins Publishers 2010
Significance
Remember
When judging the importance of an historical figure, as
historians we should consider questions such as the
following:
Did they have an important impact on historical events?
Were they successful?
Did their actions have a long-term impact on the world?
How did their actions compare to the actions and
impact of other historical individuals?