George Washington: A Quiet American Hero
When George Washington was a boy, he liked to make
up his own sayings. “Lean not on anyone" was one of them. As he grew older, a strong sense of self-reliance and responsibility—to his family, his soldiers, and his country) shaped Washington’s character. it gave him a quiet strength that helped him direct the course of our nation.
Washington grew up on his family’s Virginia plantation.
As a young man, he decided to learn a trade as a land
Surveyor. George Washington was only sixteen years old when he set out on his first surveying expedition. Sleeping outdoors and hunting for his food made the teenager more mature. This maturity and sense of responsibility were the perfect qualities for a military leader.
Seven years later, Washington was already a colonel
commanding Virginia's colonial troops. At six feet two inches tall, he was a forceful leader who inspired his men to defend the colony’s 350—mile western frontier.
in 1775, Washington's leadership was called upon one
more time. The Second Continental Congress named him commander in chief of the army. From 1775 to 1785 his strength helped his soldiers overcome many problems. Washington’s troops didn’t have enough supplies, and many soldiers deserted. The men suffered horribly during the bitterly cold winter at Valley Forge. 
After Washingtorfs death, Thomas Jefferson said about the leader, “His integrity was most pure, his justice the most inflexible I have ever known." Without this quiet
American hero, with his strong sense of responsibility, our nation's early history would have been very different