162-487: The Fox–North coalition was a government in Great Britain that held office during 1783. As the name suggests, the ministry was a coalition of the groups supporting Charles James Fox and Lord North . The official head was William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland , who took office on 2 April 1783. Fox was a Whig by background, and North came from the nominal Tory Party ; however, both had fallen out with
324-481: A Hessian garrison at Trenton to hold western New Jersey and the east shore of the Delaware. Desperate for a victory, Washington and his generals devised a surprise attack on Trenton. The army was to cross the Delaware in three divisions: one led by Washington (2,400 troops), another by General James Ewing (700), and the third by Colonel John Cadwalader (1,500). The force was to then split, with Washington taking
486-751: A Treaty of Alliance with the Americans. Congress ratified the treaty in May, which amounted to a French declaration of war against Britain. In May 1778, Howe resigned and was replaced by Sir Henry Clinton . The British evacuated Philadelphia for New York that June and Washington summoned a war council of American and French generals. He chose a partial attack on the retreating British at the Battle of Monmouth . Generals Charles Lee and Lafayette moved with 4,000 men, without Washington's knowledge, and bungled their first attack on June 28. Washington relieved Lee and achieved
648-582: A federal holiday , various media depictions , geographical locations including the national capital , the State of Washington , stamps , and currency . In 1976, Washington was posthumously promoted to the rank of general of the Armies , the highest rank in the U.S. Army . Washington consistently ranks in both popular and scholarly polls as one of the greatest presidents in American history. George Washington
810-839: A list of resolutions for the Fairfax County committee, including a call to end the Atlantic slave trade , which were adopted. On August 1, Washington attended the First Virginia Convention . There, he was selected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress . As tensions rose in 1774, he helped train militias in Virginia and organized enforcement of the Continental Association boycott of British goods instituted by
972-578: A powdered wig ; instead he wore his hair curled, powdered, and tied in a queue in the fashion of the day . Though generally in good physical condition throughout his life, Washington frequently suffered from severe tooth decay and ultimately lost all his teeth but one. He had several sets of false teeth during his presidency. Contrary to common lore, these were not made of wood, but of metal, ivory, bone, animal teeth, and human teeth possibly obtained from slaves. These dental problems left him in constant pain, which he treated with laudanum . Washington
1134-437: A Madame de Quallens. Fox returned to Eton later that year, "attired in red-heeled shoes and Paris cut-velvet, adorned with a pigeon-wing hair style tinted with blue powder, and a newly acquired French accent", and was duly flogged by Dr. Barnard , the headmaster. Charles Fox was once known as a macaroni , despite him being a tad too overweight to look decent in his tight clothing. These three pursuits – gambling, womanising and
1296-741: A Southern invasion against Savannah , reinforced by 2,000 British and Loyalist troops. They repelled an attack by American patriots and French naval forces , which bolstered the British war effort. In June 1778, Iroquois warriors joined with Loyalist rangers led by Walter Butler and killed more than 200 frontiersmen, laying waste to the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania . In mid-1779, in response to this and other attacks on New England towns, Washington ordered General John Sullivan to lead an expedition to force
1458-687: A board of governors responsible to Parliament and more resistant to Crown patronage. It passed the Commons by 153 to 80, but, when the King made it clear that any peer who voted in favour of the bill would be considered a personal enemy of the Crown, the Lords divided against Fox by 95 to 76. George III now felt justified in dismissing Fox and North from government and in nominating Pitt the Younger in their place,
1620-454: A bout of mental illness. He had declared that Pitt was "a rascal" and Fox "his friend". The King was placed under restraint, and a rumour went round that Fox had poisoned him. Thus the opportunity revealed itself for the establishment of a regency under Fox's friend and ally, the Prince of Wales , which would take the reins of government out of the hands of the incapacitated George III and allow
1782-415: A bust of Fox and placed it between Cicero and Demosthenes in her collection. On 18 April, Fox spoke in the Commons – together with William Wilberforce , Pitt and Burke – in favour of a measure to abolish the slave trade , but – despite their combined rhetorical talents – the vote went against them by a majority of 75. On 6 May 1791, a tearful confrontation on the floor of the Commons finally shattered
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#17327658508131944-515: A chaotic ten-day evacuation aboard 120 ships. Soon after, Washington entered the city with 500 men, with explicit orders not to plunder the city. He refrained from exerting military authority in Boston, leaving civilian matters in the hands of local authorities. After the victory at Boston, Washington correctly guessed that the British would return to New York City , a Loyalist stronghold, and retaliate. He arrived there on April 13, 1776, and ordered
2106-522: A daughter of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond . Henry Fox (1705–1774) was an ally of Robert Walpole and rival of Pitt the Elder , and had amassed a considerable fortune by exploiting his position as Paymaster General of the Forces . Charles James Fox's elder brother Stephen (1745–1774) became the 2nd Baron Holland, and his younger brother Henry (1755–1811) had a distinguished military career. Fox
2268-592: A draw after an expansive battle. At nightfall, the British continued their retreat to New York, and Washington moved his army outside the city. Monmouth was Washington's last battle in the North. Washington became America's first spymaster by designing an espionage system against the British. In 1778, Major Benjamin Tallmadge formed the Culper Ring at Washington's direction to covertly collect information about
2430-565: A fierce rivalry that emerged between cabinet members Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton . During the French Revolution , he proclaimed a policy of neutrality while additionally sanctioning the Jay Treaty . He set enduring precedents for the office of president , including republicanism , a peaceful transfer of power , the use of the title " Mr. President ", and the two-term tradition . His 1796 farewell address became
2592-691: A final declaration of the result for over a year. In the meantime, Fox sat for the Scottish pocket borough of Tain or Northern Burghs , for which he was qualified by being made an unlikely burgess of Kirkwall in Orkney. The experience of these years was crucial in Fox's political formation. His suspicions had been confirmed. It seemed to him that George III had personally scuppered both the Rockingham-Shelburne and Fox-North governments, interfered in
2754-596: A final reconciliation. Fox continued to defend the French Revolution, even as its fruits began to collapse into war, repression and the Reign of Terror . Though there were few developments in France after 1792 that Fox could positively favour, Fox maintained that the old monarchical system still proved a greater threat to liberty than the new, degenerating experiment in France. Fox thought of revolutionary France as
2916-539: A hundred rules for social interaction styled Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation , copied from an English translation of a French book of manners. Washington often visited Mount Vernon and Belvoir , the plantation of William Fairfax , Lawrence's father-in-law. Fairfax became Washington's patron and surrogate father. In 1748, Washington spent a month with a team surveying Fairfax's Shenandoah Valley property. The following year, he received
3078-769: A hundred ships and thousands of troops, began arriving on Staten Island on July 2 to lay siege to the city. After the Declaration of Independence was unanimously adopted on July 4, Washington informed his troops on July 9 that Congress had declared the united colonies to be "free and independent states". Howe's troop strength totaled 32,000 regulars and Hessian auxiliaries , and Washington's consisted of 23,000, mostly raw recruits and militia. In August, Howe landed 20,000 troops at Gravesend, Brooklyn , and approached Washington's fortifications Opposing his generals, Washington chose to fight, based on inaccurate information that Howe's army had only 8,000-plus troops. In
3240-479: A hundred. As a respected military hero and large landowner, Washington held local offices and was elected to the Virginia provincial legislature, representing Frederick County in the House of Burgesses for seven years beginning in 1758. He first ran for the seat in 1755 but was soundly beaten by Hugh West. When he ran in 1758, Washington plied voters with beer, brandy, and other beverages. Despite being away serving on
3402-603: A long and eloquent speech to a packed House of Commons. Persecution always says, 'I know the consequences of your opinion better than you know them yourselves.' But the language of toleration was always amicable, liberal, and just: it confessed its doubts, and acknowledged its ignorance ... Persecution had always reasoned from cause to effect, from opinion to action, [that such an opinion would invariably lead to but one action], which proved generally erroneous; while toleration led us invariably to form just conclusions, by judging from actions and not from opinions. Pitt, in turn, came to
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#17327658508133564-590: A mile from Trenton, so Washington split his force into two columns, rallying his men: "Soldiers keep by your officers. For God's sake, keep by your officers." The two columns were separated at the Birmingham crossroads. General Greene's column took the upper Ferry Road, led by Washington, and General Sullivan's column advanced on River Road. The Americans marched in sleet and snowfall. Many were shoeless with bloodied feet, and two died of exposure. At sunrise, Washington, aided by Colonel Knox and artillery, led his men in
3726-533: A motion, asking that "The influence of the Crown has increased, is increasing, and ought to be diminished". It was passed by the Commons in a vote of 233 to 215. Fox thought that the motion is "glorious", saying on 24 April that: the question now was ... whether that beautiful fabric [i.e. the constitution] ... was to be maintained in that freedom ... for which blood had been spilt; or whether we were to submit to that system of despotism, which had so many advocates in this country. Fox, however, had not been present in
3888-604: A play at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. George III, also observing Fox's licentious private behaviour, took it to be presumption and judged that Fox could not be trusted to take anything seriously. After 1774, Fox began to reconsider his political position under the influence of Edmund Burke – who had sought out the promising young Whig and would become his mentor – and the unfolding events in America . He drifted from his rather non-ideological family-oriented politics into
4050-459: A preeminent statement on republicanism in which he wrote about the importance of national unity and the dangers that regionalism, partisanship, and foreign influence pose to it. As a planter of tobacco and wheat, Washington owned many slaves . He grew to oppose slavery near the end of his lifetime, and provided in his will for the manumission of his slaves. Washington's image is an icon of American culture . He has been memorialized by monuments,
4212-674: A proclamation , which promised freedom to slaves if they joined the British. Desperate for manpower by late 1777, Washington relented and overturned his ban. By the end of the war, around one-tenth of Washington's army were blacks. Following the British surrender, Washington sought to enforce terms of the preliminary Treaty of Paris (1783) by reclaiming slaves freed by the British and returning them to servitude. He arranged to make this request to Sir Guy Carleton on May 6, 1783. Instead, Carleton issued 3,000 freedom certificates and all former slaves in New York City were able to leave before
4374-590: A profound national crisis. Fox was not surprised when Pitt and the King brought Britain into the war as well and would afterwards blame the pair and their prodigal European subsidies for the long-drawn-out continuation of the French Revolutionary Wars . In 1795, he wrote to his nephew, Lord Holland : Peace is the wish of the French of Italy Spain Germany and all the world, and Great Britain alone
4536-621: A result of disease and lack of food, clothing, and shelter. The British were comfortably quartered in Philadelphia, paying for supplies in pounds sterling , while Washington struggled with a devalued American paper currency . The woodlands were soon exhausted of game. By February, Washington was facing lowered morale and increased desertions among his troops. An internal revolt by his officers, led by Major General Thomas Conway , prompted some members of Congress to consider removing Washington from command. Washington's supporters resisted, and
4698-453: A scheme of parliamentary reform before the Commons, proposing to rationalise somewhat the existing, decidedly unrepresentative, electoral system by eliminating thirty-six rotten boroughs and redistributing seats to represent London and the larger counties. Fox supported Pitt's reforms, despite apparent political expediency, but they were defeated by 248 to 174. Reform would not be considered seriously by Parliament for another decade. In 1787,
4860-474: A serious political error. In the Commons on 10 December, he declared that it was the right of the Prince of Wales to install himself as regent immediately. It is said that Pitt, upon hearing this, slapped his thigh in an uncharacteristic display of emotion and declared that he would "unwhig" Fox for the rest of his life. Fox's argument did indeed seem to contradict his lifelong championing of Parliament's rights over
5022-445: A small force of Virginians and Indian allies to ambush them. During the ambush , French forces were killed outright with muskets and hatchets, including French commander Joseph Coulon de Jumonville , who had been carrying a diplomatic message for the British. The French later found their countrymen dead and scalped, blaming Washington, who had retreated to Fort Necessity. The full Virginia Regiment joined Washington at Fort Necessity
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5184-551: A special envoy. He had sent Washington to demand French forces to vacate land that was claimed by the British. Washington was also appointed to make peace with the Iroquois Confederacy , and to gather further intelligence about the French forces. Washington met with Half-King Tanacharison , and other Iroquois chiefs, at Logstown , and gathered information about the numbers and locations of the French forts, as well as intelligence concerning individuals taken prisoner by
5346-606: A standoff. As Washington headed for Boston, word of his march preceded him, and he was greeted everywhere; gradually, he became a symbol of the Patriot cause. Upon Washington's arrival on July 2, 1775, two weeks after the Battle of Bunker Hill , he set up headquarters in Cambridge . When he went to inspect the army, he found undisciplined militia. After consultation, he initiated Benjamin Franklin 's suggested reforms: drilling
5508-502: A surprise attack on the unsuspecting Hessians and their commander, Colonel Johann Rall . The Hessians had 22 killed, including Colonel Rall, 83 wounded, and 850 captured with supplies. Washington retreated across the Delaware to Pennsylvania and returned to New Jersey on January 3, 1777, launching an attack on British regulars at Princeton , with 40 Americans killed or wounded and 273 British killed or captured. American Generals Hugh Mercer and John Cadwalader were being driven back by
5670-542: A surrender document in which he unwittingly took responsibility for "assassinating" Jumonville, later blaming the translator for not properly translating it. In the aftermath, Colonel James Innes took command of intercolonial forces, the Virginia Regiment was divided, and Washington was offered a captaincy in one of the newly formed regiments. He refused, however, as it would have been a demotion and instead resigned his commission. The "Jumonville affair" became
5832-610: A surveyor's license from the College of William & Mary . Even though Washington had not served the customary apprenticeship, Thomas Fairfax appointed him surveyor of Culpeper County, Virginia , where he took his oath of office on July 20, 1749. He subsequently familiarized himself with the frontier region, and though he resigned from the job in 1750, he continued to do surveys west of the Blue Ridge Mountains . By 1752, he had bought almost 1,500 acres (600 ha) in
5994-492: A tendency to vomit in public." Happily for George, the unpopular coalition would not outlast the year. The Treaty of Paris was signed on 3 September 1783, formally ending the American Revolutionary War . Fox proposed an East India Bill to place the government of the ailing and oppressive British East India Company , at that time in control of a considerable expanse of India, on a sounder footing with
6156-573: A way. After these defections, the Foxites could no longer constitute a credible parliamentary opposition, reduced, as they were, to some fifty MPs. Fox, however, still insisted on challenging the repressive wartime legislation introduced by Pitt in the 1790s that would become known as "Pitt's Terror". In 1792, Fox had seen through the only piece of substantial legislation in his career, the Libel Act 1792 ( 32 Geo. 3 . c. 60), which restored to juries
6318-610: Is easier to conceive, than to describe, the distress of this Family". He canceled all business activity and remained with Martha every night for three months. Washington played a central role before and during the American Revolution. His distrust of the British military had begun when he was passed over for promotion into the Regular Army in 1757. Opposed to taxes imposed by the British Parliament on
6480-595: Is thought to have rendered him sterile, though it is equally likely that "Martha may have sustained injury during the birth of Patsy, her final child, making additional births impossible." The couple lamented not having any children together. Despite this, the two raised Martha's children John Parke Custis (Jacky) and Martha Parke Custis (Patsy), and later Jacky's two youngest children Eleanor Parke Custis (Nelly) and George Washington Parke Custis (Washy), along with numerous nieces and nephews. The marriage gave Washington control over Martha's one-third dower interest in
6642-581: The American Revolutionary War . Fox became convinced, that George III was determined to challenge the authority of parliament and the balance of the constitution established in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 to achieve a continental-style tyranny. George III in return thought that Fox had "cast off every principle of common honour and honesty ... [a man who is] as contemptible as he is odious ... [and has an] aversion to all restraints." On 6 April 1780 John Dunning, 1st Baron Ashburton introduced
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6804-471: The Battle of Long Island , Howe assaulted Washington's flank and inflicted 1,500 Patriot casualties, the British suffering 400. Washington retreated, instructing General William Heath to acquire river craft. On August 30, General William Alexander held off the British and gave cover while the army crossed the East River under darkness to Manhattan without loss of life or materiel, although Alexander
6966-615: The Charles River froze over, Washington was eager to cross and storm Boston, but General Gates and others were opposed to untrained militia striking well-garrisoned fortifications. Instead, he agreed to secure the Dorchester Heights , 100 feet (30 m) above Boston, with Knox's artillery to try to force the British out. On March 9, under cover of darkness, Washington's troops bombarded British ships in Boston harbor. On March 17, 9,000 British troops and Loyalists began
7128-538: The Delaware River into Pennsylvania , where Major General Lee's replacement General John Sullivan joined him with 2,000 more troops. The future of the Continental Army was in doubt due to lack of supplies, a harsh winter, expiring enlistments, and desertions. Washington was disappointed that many New Jersey residents were Loyalists or skeptical about independence. Howe split up his army and posted
7290-521: The French Revolution of 1789, interpreting it as a late Continental imitation of Britain's Glorious Revolution of 1688. In response to the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July, he famously declared, "How much the greatest event it is that ever happened in the world! and how much the best!" In April 1791, Fox told the Commons that he "admired the new constitution of France, considered altogether, as
7452-641: The French Revolutionary Wars , but Fox went on to attack Pitt's wartime legislation and to defend the liberty of religious minorities and political radicals. After Pitt's death in January 1806, Fox served briefly as Foreign Secretary in the ' Ministry of All the Talents ' of William Grenville before he died on 13 September 1806, aged 57. Fox was born in London on 24 January 1749, the second surviving son of Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland , and Lady Caroline Lennox ,
7614-624: The Hudson River . Historians Nathaniel Philbrick and Ron Chernow noted possible reasons for Arnold's defection to be his anger at losing promotions to junior officers, or repeated slights from Congress. He was also deeply in debt, profiteering from the war, and disappointed by Washington's lack of support during his eventual court-martial . After repeated requests, Washington agreed to give Arnold command of West Point in August. On September 21, Arnold met André and gave him plans to take over
7776-541: The Hudson River . However, General Howe in British-occupied New York City blundered, taking his army south to Philadelphia rather than up the Hudson River to join Burgoyne near Albany . Washington and Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette rushed to Philadelphia to engage Howe. In the Battle of Brandywine , on September 11, 1777, Howe outmaneuvered Washington and marched unopposed into
7938-533: The Pennington Road and General Sullivan traveling south on the river's edge. Washington ordered a 60-mile search for Durham boats to transport his army, and the destruction of vessels that could be used by the British. He personally risked capture while staking out the Jersey shoreline alone leading up to the crossing. Washington crossed the Delaware on Christmas night, 1776. His men followed across
8100-668: The Virginia militia inspired George to seek a commission. Virginia's lieutenant governor, Robert Dinwiddie , appointed Washington as a major and commander of one of the four militia districts. The British and French were competing for control of the Ohio Valley : the British were constructing forts along the Ohio River, and the French between the Ohio River and Lake Erie . In October 1753, Dinwiddie appointed Washington as
8262-450: The lesser of two evils and emphasised the role of traditional despots in perverting the course of the revolution: he argued that Louis XVI and the French aristocracy had brought their fates upon themselves by abusing the constitution of 1791 and that the coalition of European autocrats , which was currently dispatching its armies against France's borders, had driven the revolutionary government to desperate and bloody measures by exciting
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#17327658508138424-572: The 1760s. Washington imported luxuries and other goods from England, paying for them by exporting tobacco. His profligate spending combined with low tobacco prices left him £1,800 in debt by 1764, prompting him to diversify his holdings. Washington's complete reliance on London tobacco buyer and merchant Robert Cary caused alarm for his own economic security. In 1765, because of erosion and other soil problems, he changed Mount Vernon's primary cash crop from tobacco to wheat and expanded operations to include corn flour milling and fishing. Washington soon
8586-446: The 18,000-acre (7,300 ha) Custis estate , and he managed the remaining two-thirds for Martha's children; the estate also included 84 slaves. As a result, he became one of the wealthiest men in Virginia, which increased his social standing. At Washington's urging, Governor Lord Botetourt fulfilled Dinwiddie's 1754 promise of land bounties to all-volunteer militia during the French and Indian War. In late 1770, Washington inspected
8748-408: The 27-year-old widow of wealthy plantation owner Daniel Parke Custis . The marriage took place at Martha's estate; she was intelligent, gracious, and experienced in managing a planter's estate, and the couple had a happy marriage. They moved to Mount Vernon, near Alexandria , where he lived as a planter of tobacco and wheat, and he emerged as a political figure. Washington's 1751 bout with smallpox
8910-661: The 300-strong Virginia Regiment , with orders to confront French forces at the Forks of the Ohio . Washington set out with half the regiment in April and soon learned a French force of 1,000 had begun construction of Fort Duquesne there. In May, having set up a defensive position at Great Meadows, he learned that the French had made camp seven miles (11 km) away; he decided to take the offensive. The French detachment proved to be only about 50 men, so Washington advanced on May 28 with
9072-634: The Acts were mostly repealed in 1770. Parliament sought to punish Massachusetts colonists for their role in the Boston Tea Party in 1774 by passing the Coercive Acts , which Washington saw as "an invasion of our rights and privileges". He said Americans must not submit to acts of tyranny since "custom and use shall make us as tame and abject slaves, as the blacks we rule over with such arbitrary sway". That July, he and George Mason drafted
9234-529: The British demand to vacate to the French commander Saint-Pierre , but the French refused to leave. Saint-Pierre gave Washington his official answer after a few days' delay, as well as food and winter clothing for his party's journey back to Virginia. Washington completed the precarious mission in 77 days, in difficult winter conditions, achieving a measure of distinction when his report was published in Virginia and London. In February 1754, Dinwiddie promoted Washington to lieutenant colonel and second-in-command of
9396-456: The British in New York. Washington had disregarded incidents of disloyalty by Benedict Arnold , who had distinguished himself in many campaigns, including his invasion of Quebec and the Battle of Saratoga . In 1780, Arnold began supplying British spymaster John André with sensitive information intended to compromise Washington and capture West Point , a key American defensive position on
9558-602: The British strategy of showing overwhelming force followed by offering generous terms, changing the course of the war. In February 1777, word of the American victories reached London, and the British realized the Patriots were in a position to demand unconditional independence. In July 1777, British General John Burgoyne led the Saratoga campaign south from Quebec through Lake Champlain and recaptured Fort Ticonderoga intending to divide New England , including control of
9720-579: The British when Mercer was mortally wounded. Washington arrived and led the men in a counterattack which advanced to within 30 yards (27 m) of the British line. Some British troops retreated after a brief stand, while others took refuge in Nassau Hall , which became the target of Colonel Alexander Hamilton 's cannons. Washington's troops charged, the British surrendered in less than an hour, and 194 soldiers laid down their arms. Howe retreated to New York City where his army remained inactive until early
9882-830: The Colonies without proper representation , he and other colonists were also angered by the Royal Proclamation of 1763 which banned American settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains and protected the British fur trade . Washington believed the Stamp Act 1765 was an "Act of Oppression" and celebrated its repeal the following year. In March 1766, Parliament passed the Declaratory Act asserting that Parliamentary law superseded colonial law. In
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#173276585081310044-420: The Commons that: We had no invasion to fear but an invasion of the constitution. In 1795, the King's carriage was assaulted in the street, providing an excuse for Pitt to introduce the infamous Two Acts: the Seditious Meetings Act 1795 , which prohibited unlicensed gatherings of over fifty people, and the Treasonable Practices Act , which greatly widened the legal definition of treason , making any assault on
10206-501: The Congress. The American Revolutionary War broke out on April 19, 1775, with the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Siege of Boston . Upon hearing the news, Washington was "sobered and dismayed", and he hastily departed Mount Vernon on May 4, 1775, to join the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia . On June 14, 1775, Congress created the Continental Army and John Adams nominated Washington as its commander-in-chief , mainly because of his military experience and
10368-486: The Crown. Pitt pointed out that the Prince of Wales had no more right to the throne than any other Briton, though he might well have a better claim to it as the King's firstborn son. It was Parliament's constitutional right to decide who the monarch could be. There was more than naked thirst for power in Fox's seemingly hypocritical Tory assertion. Fox believed that the King's illness was permanent, and therefore that George III was, constitutionally speaking, dead. To challenge
10530-413: The Forbes Expedition, he won the election with roughly 40 percent of the vote, defeating three opponents with the help of local supporters. Early in his legislative career, Washington rarely spoke or even attended legislative sessions. He would later become a prominent critic of Britain's taxation policy and mercantilist policies towards the American colonies and became more politically active starting in
10692-429: The French. Washington was nicknamed Conotocaurius by Tanacharison. The name, meaning "devourer of villages", had been given to his great-grandfather John Washington in the late 17th century by the Susquehannock . Washington's party reached the Ohio River in November 1753, and was intercepted by a French patrol. The party was escorted to Fort Le Boeuf , where Washington was received in a friendly manner. He delivered
10854-411: The Government's allegedly feeble response to the contemptuous printing and public distribution of copies of parliamentary debates. Behind these incidents lay his family's resentment towards Lord North for refusing to elevate the Holland barony to an earldom . But the fact that such a young man could seemingly treat ministerial office so lightly was noted at court . In 1773 he was taken advantage of by
11016-425: The House of parliament for the beginning of the Dunning debate, as he had been occupied in the adjoining eleventh-century Westminster Hall , serving as chairman of a mass public meeting before a large banner that read "Annual Parliaments and Equal Representation". This was the period when Fox, hardening against the influence of the British Crown, was embraced by the radical movement of the late eighteenth century. When
11178-544: The Iroquois by half. They became unable to survive the harsh winter of 1779–1780; some historians now describe the campaign as a genocide. Washington's troops went into quarters at Morristown, New Jersey for their worst winter of the war, with temperatures well below freezing. New York Harbor was frozen, snow covered the ground for weeks, and the troops again lacked provisions. In January 1780, Clinton assembled 12,500 troops and attacked Charles Town, South Carolina , defeating General Benjamin Lincoln . By June, they occupied
11340-410: The Iroquois out of New York by effecting "the total destruction and devastation" of their villages and taking their women and children hostage. The expedition systematically destroyed Iroquois villages and food stocks, and forced at least 5,036 Iroquois to flee to British Canada. The campaign directly killed a few hundred Iroquois, but according to historian Rhiannon Koehler, the net effect was to reduce
11502-416: The King appointed the youngest British prime minister to date at twenty-four years of age. Fox used his parliamentary majority to oppose Pitt's nomination, and every subsequent measure that he put before the House, until March 1784, when the King dissolved Parliament and, in the following 1784 British general election , Pitt was returned with a substantial majority. In Fox's own constituency of Westminster,
11664-424: The Lords too prepared to pass it, they learned that the King's health was improving and decided to postpone further action. The King soon regained lucidity in time to prevent the establishment of his son's regency and the elevation of Fox to the premiership , and, on 23 April, a service of thanksgiving was conducted at St Paul's in honour of George III's return to health. Fox's opportunity had passed. Fox welcomed
11826-420: The Prince of Wales's right to succeed him would be to challenge fundamental contemporary assumptions about property rights and primogeniture . Pitt, on the other hand, considered the King's madness temporary (or, at least, hoped that it would be), and thus saw the throne not as vacant but as merely temporarily unoccupied. While Fox drew up lists for his proposed Cabinet under the new Prince Regent, Pitt spun out
11988-1014: The South Carolina Piedmont . Clinton returned to New York and left 8,000 troops under the command of General Charles Cornwallis . Congress replaced Lincoln with Horatio Gates; after his defeat in the Battle of Camden , Gates was replaced by Nathanael Greene, Washington's initial choice, but the British had firm control of the South. Washington was reinvigorated, however, when Lafayette returned from France with more ships, men, and supplies, and 5,000 veteran French troops led by Marshal Rochambeau arrived at Newport, Rhode Island in July 1780. French naval forces then landed, led by Admiral de Grasse . Washington's army went into winter quarters at New Windsor, New York in December 1780; he urged Congress and state officials to expedite provisions so
12150-769: The United States. He resigned his commission in 1783 after the conclusion of the Revolutionary War. Washington played an indispensable role in the drafting of the Constitution, which replaced the Articles of Confederation in 1789. He was then twice elected president unanimously by the Electoral College in 1788 and 1792. As the first U.S. president, Washington implemented a strong, well-financed national government while remaining impartial in
12312-576: The Valley and owned 2,315 acres (937 ha). In 1751, Washington left mainland North America for the first and only time, when he accompanied Lawrence to Barbados , hoping the climate would cure his brother's tuberculosis. Washington contracted smallpox during that trip, which left his face slightly scarred. Lawrence died in 1752, and Washington leased Mount Vernon from his widow Anne; he inherited it outright after her death in 1761. Throughout his life Washington generally had good physical health and
12474-615: The Virginia Regiment in 1755. He was later elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses and was named a delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, which appointed him commander-in-chief of the Continental Army . Washington led American forces to a decisive victory over the British in the Revolutionary War , leading the British to sign the Treaty of Paris , which acknowledged the sovereignty and independence of
12636-462: The actions of the London mobs, showed strong opposition to the coalition and support for Pitt. In March 1784 a general election was called in which Pitt's government made massive gains, especially in constituencies decided by popular votes. Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled The Honourable from 1762, was a British Whig politician and statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of
12798-403: The actual exercise of power and spent almost the entirety of his political career in opposition , he became noted as an anti-slavery campaigner, a supporter of the French Revolution and a leading parliamentary advocate of religious tolerance and individual liberty. His friendship with his mentor, Burke, and his parliamentary credibility were both casualties of Fox's support for France during
12960-540: The advice of Generals Greene and Putnam to defend Fort Washington . They were unable to hold it; Washington abandoned the fort and ordered his army north to the White Plains . Howe's pursuit forced Washington to retreat across the Hudson River to Fort Lee to avoid encirclement. Howe landed his troops on Manhattan in November and captured Fort Washington , inflicting high casualties on the Americans. Washington
13122-570: The army would not "continue to struggle under the same difficulties they have hitherto endured". On March 1, 1781, Congress ratified the Articles of Confederation , but the government that took effect on March 2 did not have the power to levy taxes, and it loosely held the states together. General Clinton sent Benedict Arnold, now a British Brigadier General with 1,700 troops, to Virginia to capture Portsmouth and conduct raids on Patriot forces; Washington responded by sending Lafayette south to counter Arnold's efforts. Washington initially hoped to bring
13284-450: The army's supply lines by reorganizing the commissary department. By late February, supplies began arriving. Meanwhile, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben 's incessant drilling transformed Washington's recruits into a disciplined fighting force by the end of winter camp. For his services, Washington promoted Von Steuben to Major General and made him chief of staff. In early 1778, the French responded to Burgoyne's defeat and entered into
13446-490: The belief that a Virginian would better unite the colonies. He was unanimously elected by Congress the next day. Washington appeared before Congress in uniform and gave an acceptance speech on June 16, declining a salary, though he was later reimbursed expenses. Washington was commissioned on June 19 and officially appointed by Congress as "General & Commander in chief of the army of the United Colonies and of all
13608-427: The bill as his enemy. The bill was defeated on 17 December 1783 and the King immediately dismissed the coalition. It was succeeded by a government formed by William Pitt the Younger . After being dismissed, Fox and North tried to force Pitt from power through defeat in the House of Commons, but he refused to resign. The response of opinion in the country, evidenced by petitions, resolutions of borough corporations and
13770-514: The book and found it "in very bad taste" and "favouring Tory principles", but avoided pressing the matter for a while to preserve his relationship with Burke. The more radical Whigs, like Sheridan , broke with Burke more readily at this point. Fox instead turned his attention – despite the politically volatile situation – to repealing the Test and Corporation Acts, which restricted the liberties of Dissenters and Catholics. On 2 March 1790, Fox gave
13932-590: The cause of preventing its accomplishment, and this not for any point of honour or even interest, but merely lest there should be an example in the modern world of a great powerful Republic. Rather ironically, while Fox was being denounced by many in Britain as a Jacobin traitor, across the Channel he featured on a 1798 list of the Britons to be transported after a successful French invasion of Britain. According to
14094-402: The city was evacuated by the British in late November 1783. Early in 1775, in response to the growing rebellious movement, London sent British troops to occupy Boston , led by General Thomas Gage , commander of British forces in America. They set up fortifications, making the city impervious to attack. Local militias surrounded the city and effectively trapped the British troops, resulting in
14256-500: The coalition which contained both proponents and opponents of political reform. The British East India Company was in trouble; Fox proposed nationalising it, thus providing the government with a new source of appointments so that it could reward and maintain support. The East India Bill was introduced and passed in the Commons, but the King remained deeply opposed. He informed the House of Lords that he would regard any peer who voted for
14418-572: The combined forces of the Continental Army commanded by Washington, the French Army commanded by General Comte de Rochambeau, and the French Navy commanded by Admiral de Grasse. On August 19, the march to Yorktown led by Washington and Rochambeau began, which is known now as the " celebrated march ". Washington was in command of an army of 7,800 Frenchmen, 3,100 militia, and 8,000 Continentals. Inexperienced in siege warfare, he often deferred to
14580-736: The coming of the American War of Independence and the influence of the Whig Edmund Burke , Fox's opinions evolved into some of the most radical to be aired in the British Parliament of his era. Fox became a prominent and staunch opponent of King George III , whom he regarded as an aspiring tyrant. He supported the American Patriots and even dressed in the colours of George Washington 's army . Briefly serving as Britain's first Foreign Secretary during
14742-513: The commanders positioned under Arnold at key points around the fort to prevent any complicity. He assumed personal command at West Point and reorganized its defenses. André's trial for espionage ended in a death sentence, and Washington offered to return him to the British in exchange for Arnold, but Clinton refused. André was hanged on October 2, 1780, despite his request for a firing squad, to deter other spies. In late 1778, General Clinton shipped 3,000 troops from New York to Georgia and launched
14904-425: The constitution punishable by seven years' transportation. Fox spoke ten times in the debate on the acts. He argued that, according to the principles of the proposed legislation, Pitt should have been transported a decade before in 1785, when he had been advocating parliamentary reform. Fox warned the Commons that: George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14 , 1799)
15066-540: The construction of fortifications to thwart the expected British attack. He also ordered his occupying forces to treat civilians and their property with respect, to avoid the abuses Bostonians suffered at the hands of British troops. Howe transported his resupplied army, with the British fleet, from Halifax to New York City . George Germain , who ran the British war effort in England, believed it could be won with one "decisive blow". The British forces, including more than
15228-413: The contest was particularly fierce. An energetic campaign in his favour was run by Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire , allegedly a lover of Fox's who was said to have won at least one vote for him by kissing a shoemaker with a rather romantic idea of what constituted a bribe. In the end, Fox was re-elected by a very slender margin, but legal challenges encouraged, to an extent, by Pitt and the King prevented
15390-641: The current Constitution of the United States . Washington has thus become commonly known as the " Father of his Country ". Washington's first public office, from 1749 to 1750, was as surveyor of Culpeper County in the Colony of Virginia . In 1752, he received military training and was granted the rank of major in the Virginia Regiment . During the French and Indian War , Washington was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1754 and subsequently became head of
15552-650: The defence of the Acts as adopted by the wisdom of our ancestors to serve as a bulwark to the Church, whose constituency was so intimately connected with that of the state, that the safety of the one was always liable to be affected by any danger which might threaten the other. Burke, with fear of the radical upheaval in France foremost in his mind, took Pitt's side in the debate, dismissing Nonconformists as "men of factious and dangerous principles", to which Fox replied that Burke's "strange dereliction from his former principles ... filled him with grief and shame". Fox's motion
15714-416: The document, Fox was a "false patriot; having often insulted the French nation in his speeches, and particularly in 1786." According to one of his biographers, Fox's "loyalties were not national but were offered to people like himself at home or abroad". In 1805 Francis Horner wrote, "I could name to you gentlemen, with good coats on, and good sense in their own affairs, who believe that Fox...is actually in
15876-489: The engagement, he had two horses shot from under him, and his hat and coat were bullet-pierced. His conduct under fire redeemed his reputation among critics of his command in the Battle of Fort Necessity, but he was not included by the succeeding commander (Colonel Thomas Dunbar) in planning subsequent operations. The Virginia Regiment was reconstituted in August 1755, and Dinwiddie appointed Washington its commander, again with
16038-474: The fight to New York, drawing off British forces from Virginia and ending the war there, but Rochambeau advised him that Cornwallis in Virginia was the better target. De Grasse's fleet arrived off the Virginia coast, cutting off British retreat. Seeing the advantage, Washington made a feint towards Clinton in New York, then headed south to Virginia. The siege of Yorktown in October 1781 was a decisive victory by
16200-513: The floor. On another occasion, when Henry had promised his son that he could watch the demolition of a wall on his estate and found that it had already been destroyed, he ordered the workmen to rebuild the wall and demolish it again, with Charles watching. Given carte blanche to choose his own education, Fox in 1758 attended a fashionable Wandsworth school run by a Monsieur Pampellonne, followed by Eton College , where he began to develop his lifelong love of classical literature . In later life he
16362-608: The following month with news that he had been promoted to command of the regiment and colonel upon the regimental commander's death. The regiment was reinforced by an independent company of a hundred South Carolinians led by Captain James Mackay ; his royal commission outranked Washington's and a conflict of command ensued. On July 3, a French force attacked with 900 men, and the ensuing battle ended in Washington's surrender. Washington did not speak French, however, he signed
16524-485: The forces raised or to be raised by them". He was instructed to take charge of the Siege of Boston on June 22, 1775. Congress chose his primary staff officers, including Major General Artemas Ward , Adjutant General Horatio Gates , Major General Charles Lee , Major General Philip Schuyler , and Major General Nathanael Greene . Henry Knox , a young bookkeeper, impressed Adams and Washington with ordnance knowledge and
16686-546: The formal education his elder half-brothers received at Appleby Grammar School in England, but he did attend the Lower Church School in Hartfield . He learned mathematics, including trigonometry , and land surveying , and became a talented draftsman and mapmaker . By early adulthood, he was writing with "considerable force" and "precision". As a teenager, to practice his penmanship, Washington compiled over
16848-403: The garrison. While returning to British lines, André was captured by militia who discovered the plans; upon hearing the news of André's capture on September 24, while waiting to greet and have breakfast with Washington, Arnold immediately fled to HMS Vulture , the ship that had brought André to West Point, and escaped to New York. Upon being told about Arnold's treason, Washington recalled
17010-508: The government in the following two years than had been in all the preceding years of the eighteenth century. Fox spoke in opposition to the King's Speech on 13 December 1793, but was defeated in the subsequent division by 290 to 50. He argued against war measures like the stationing of Hessian troops in Britain, the employment of royalist French émigrés in the British army and, most of all, Pitt's suspension of habeas corpus in 1794. He told
17172-411: The government of Lord Shelburne . They combined their forces in the House of Commons to throw out Shelburne's ministry and then form a government of their own. King George III despised the government, and Fox in particular, but found that no other ministry could be formed at this stage despite several offers to William Pitt the Younger . Consequently, the King declined to provide the government with
17334-604: The great Parisian salons, meeting influential figures such as Voltaire , Edward Gibbon , the duc d'Orléans and the Marquis de Lafayette , and becoming the co-owner of a number of racehorses with the duc de Lauzun . For the 1768 general election, Henry Fox bought his son a seat in Parliament for the West Sussex constituency of Midhurst , though Charles was still nineteen and technically ineligible for Parliament. Fox
17496-731: The habit of dressing in buff and blue, the colours of the uniforms in Washington's army. Fox's friend, the Earl of Carlisle , observed that any setback for the British Government in America was "a great cause of amusement to Charles." Even after the Battle of Long Island in 1776, Fox stated that I hope that it will be a point of honour among us all to support the American pretensions in adversity as much as we did in their prosperity, and that we shall never desert those who have acted unsuccessfully upon Whig principles. On 31 October
17658-528: The happy co-operation of the early 1770s, the two men who had vilified one another throughout the American war together formed a coalition and forced their Government, with an overwhelming majority composed of North's Tories and Fox's opposition Whigs, on to the King. The Fox-North Coalition came to power on 2 April 1783, in spite of the King's resistance. It was the first time that George had been allowed no role in determining who should hold government office. On one occasion, Fox, who returned enthusiastically to
17820-538: The ice-obstructed river from McConkey's Ferry , with 40 men per vessel. The wind churned up the waters, and they were pelted with hail, but by 3:00 a.m. on December 26, they made it across with no losses. Knox was delayed, managing frightened horses and about 18 field guns on flat-bottomed ferries. Cadwalader and Ewing failed to cross due to the ice and heavy currents. Once Knox arrived, Washington proceeded to Trenton, rather than risk being spotted returning his army to Pennsylvania. The troops spotted Hessian positions
17982-416: The imposition of Fox and North, but refrained from doing so, mainly because of the thought of his succession by his son George, Prince of Wales , the notoriously extravagant womaniser, gambler and associate of Fox. Indeed, in many ways the King considered Fox his son's tutor in debauchery. "George III let it be widely broadcast that he held Fox principally responsible for the Prince's many failings, not least
18144-565: The incident which ignited the French and Indian War , later to become part of the Seven Years' War . In 1755, Washington served voluntarily as an aide to General Edward Braddock , who led a British expedition to expel the French from Fort Duquesne and the Ohio Country . On Washington's recommendation, Braddock split the army into one main column and a lightly equipped "flying column". Suffering from severe dysentery , Washington
18306-540: The lands in the Ohio and Great Kanawha regions, and he engaged surveyor William Crawford to subdivide it. Crawford allotted 23,200 acres (9,400 ha) to Washington; Washington told the veterans that their land was hilly and unsuitable for farming, and he agreed to purchase 20,147 acres (8,153 ha), leaving some feeling they had been duped. He also doubled the size of Mount Vernon to 6,500 acres (2,600 ha) and, by 1775, had increased its slave population by more than
18468-576: The late 1760s, the interference of the British Crown in American lucrative western land speculation spurred the American Revolution. Washington was a prosperous land speculator, and in 1767, he encouraged "adventures" to acquire backcountry western lands. Washington helped lead widespread protests against the Townshend Acts passed by Parliament in 1767, and he introduced a proposal in May 1769 which urged Virginians to boycott British goods;
18630-569: The late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-rival of the Tory politician William Pitt the Younger ; his father Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland , a leading Whig of his day, had similarly been the great rival of Pitt's famous father, William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham ("Pitt the Elder"). Fox rose to prominence in the House of Commons as a forceful and eloquent speaker with a notorious and colourful private life, though at that time with rather conservative and conventional opinions. However, with
18792-465: The legalistic debates over the constitutionality of and precedents for instituting a regency, as well as the actual process of drawing up a Regency Bill and navigating it through Parliament. He negotiated a number of restrictions on the powers of the Prince of Wales as regent (which would later provide the basis of the Regency Act of 1811 ), but the bill finally passed the Commons on 12 February. As
18954-573: The legislative process and now dissolved Parliament when its composition inconvenienced him. Pitt, a man of little property and no party, seemed to Fox a blatant tool of the Crown. However, the King and Pitt had great popular support, and many in the press and general population saw Fox as the trouble-maker challenging the composition of the constitution and the King's remaining powers. He was often caricatured as Oliver Cromwell and Guy Fawkes during this period, as well as Satan . One of Pitt's first major actions as prime minister was, in 1785, to put
19116-541: The love of things and fashions foreign – would become, once inculcated in his adolescence, notorious habits of Fox's later life. Fox entered Hertford College, Oxford , in October 1764. His tutor there was William Newcome . By the standards of aristocratic students, he worked hard while at Oxford, especially at mathematics. However, he was rather contemptuous of Oxford's "nonsenses". He left without graduating in spring 1766, to tour Europe with his family. He went on several further expeditions to Europe, becoming well known in
19278-528: The matter of Dagworthy; Loudoun humiliated Washington, refused him a royal commission and agreed only to relieve him of the responsibility of manning Fort Cumberland. In 1758, the Virginia Regiment was assigned to the British Forbes Expedition to capture Fort Duquesne. Washington disagreed with General John Forbes' tactics and chosen route. Forbes nevertheless made Washington a brevet brigadier general and gave him command of one of
19440-545: The matter was dropped after much deliberation. Once the plot was exposed, Conway wrote an apology to Washington, resigned, and returned to France. Washington made repeated petitions to Congress for provisions. He received a congressional delegation to check the Army's conditions and expressed the urgency of the situation, proclaiming: "Something must be done. Important alterations must be made." He recommended that Congress expedite supplies, and Congress agreed to strengthen and fund
19602-499: The ministry of the Marquess of Rockingham in 1782, he returned to the post in a coalition government with his old enemy, Lord North , in 1783. However, the King forced Fox and North out of government before the end of the year and replaced them with the 24-year-old Pitt the Younger . Fox spent the following 22 years facing Pitt and the government from the opposition benches of the House of Commons. Though Fox had little interest in
19764-627: The misrule of British India by Hastings and the East India Company more widely, then Fox's India Bill of 1784 – the point on which the Fox-North Coalition had been dismissed by the King – would be vindicated. The trial was also expedient for Fox in that it placed Pitt in an uncomfortable political position. The premier was forced to equivocate over the Hastings trial, because to oppose Hastings would have been to endanger
19926-530: The most dramatic political event of the decade came to pass in the form of the Impeachment of Warren Hastings , the Governor of Bengal until 1785, on charges of corruption and extortion. Fifteen of the eighteen Managers appointed to the trial were Foxites , one of them being Fox himself. Although the matter was really Burke's area of expertise, Fox was, at first, enthusiastic. If the trial could demonstrate
20088-606: The most stupendous and glorious edifice of liberty, which had been erected on the foundation of human integrity in any time or country." He was thus somewhat bemused by the reaction of his old Whig friend, Edmund Burke , to the dramatic events across the Channel . In his Reflections on the Revolution in France , Burke warned that the revolution was a violent rebellion against tradition and proper authority, motivated by Utopian , abstract ideas disconnected from reality, which would lead to anarchy and eventual dictatorship. Fox read
20250-484: The nation's capital at Philadelphia. A Patriot attack failed against the British at Germantown in October. In Upstate New York , the Patriots were led by General Horatio Gates . Concerned about Burgoyne's movements southward, Washington sent reinforcements north with Generals Benedict Arnold , his most aggressive field commander, and Benjamin Lincoln . On October 7, 1777, Burgoyne tried to take Bemis Heights but
20412-643: The next year. Washington took up winter headquarters in Jacob Arnold's Tavern in Morristown, New Jersey , while he received munition from the Hibernia mines . While in Morristown, Washington's troops disrupted British supply lines and expelled them from parts of New Jersey. During his stay in Morristown, Washington ordered the inoculation of Continental troops against smallpox. This went against
20574-501: The noble lord has lost – he has lost a whole continent. Fox, who occasionally corresponded with Thomas Jefferson and had met Benjamin Franklin in Paris, correctly predicted that Britain had little practical hope of subduing the colonies and interpreted the American cause approvingly as a struggle for liberty against the oppressive policies of a despotic and unaccountable executive. It was at this time that Fox and his supporters took up
20736-406: The normal tools of patronage , and it was forced to look elsewhere. The Treaty of Paris was signed during this government on 3 September 1783, formally ending the American Revolutionary War . The government also came under strain when, from the opposition, Pitt introduced a proposal for electoral reform to tackle bribery and rotten boroughs . The proposal did not pass, but caused tensions within
20898-545: The orbit of the Rockingham Whig party. During this period, Fox became possibly the most prominent and vituperative parliamentary critic of Lord North and the conduct of the American War . In 1775, he denounced North in the Commons as the blundering pilot who had brought the nation into its present difficulties ... Lord Chatham , the King of Prussia , nay, Alexander the Great , never gained more in one campaign than
21060-540: The pay of France". But Fox's radical position soon became too extreme for many of his followers, particularly old Whig friends like the Duke of Portland , Earl Fitzwilliam and the Earl of Carlisle . Around July 1794 their fear of France outgrew their resentment towards Pitt for his actions in 1784, and they crossed the floor to the Government benches. Fox could not believe that they "would disgrace" themselves in such
21222-639: The political establishment was spoiled. He was appointed to the Board of Admiralty by Lord North in February 1770, but on the 15th of the same month, he resigned due to his enthusiastic opposition to the government's Royal Marriages Act , the provisions of which – incidentally – cast doubt on the legitimacy of his parents' marriage. On 28 December 1772, North appointed him to the board of the Treasury ; in February 1774, Fox again surrendered his post, this time over
21384-490: The post of Foreign Secretary, ended an epistle to the King: "Whenever Your Majesty will be graciously pleased to condescend even to hint your inclinations upon any subject, that it will be the study of Your Majesty's Ministers to show how truly sensible they are of Your Majesty's goodness." The King replied: "No answer." George III seriously thought of abdicating at this time, after the comprehensive defeat of his American policy and
21546-492: The professionalism of the regiment as it grew from 300 to 1,000 men, and Virginia's frontier population suffered less than other colonies. Though he failed to realize a royal commission, he gained self-confidence, leadership skills, and knowledge of British military tactics. The destructive competition Washington witnessed among colonial politicians fostered his later support of a strong central government. On January 6, 1759, Washington, at age 26, married Martha Dandridge Custis ,
21708-424: The quarter-century friendship of Fox and Burke, as the latter dramatically crossed the floor of the House to sit down next to Pitt, taking the support of a good deal of the more conservative Whigs with him. Officially, and rather irrelevantly, this happened during a debate on the particulars of a bill for the government of Canada. Later, on his deathbed in 1797, Burke would have his wife turn Fox away rather than allow
21870-654: The rank of colonel. Washington clashed over seniority almost immediately, this time with John Dagworthy , another captain of superior royal rank, who commanded a detachment of Marylanders at the regiment's headquarters in Fort Cumberland . Washington, impatient for an offensive against Fort Duquesne, was convinced Braddock would have granted him a royal commission and pressed his case in February 1756 with Braddock's successor as Commander-in-Chief , William Shirley , and again in January 1757 with Shirley's successor, Lord Loudoun . Shirley ruled in Washington's favor only in
22032-620: The replacement of his "minion" Pitt with a Foxite ministry. Fox, however, was incommunicado in Italy as the crisis broke; he had resolved not to read any newspapers while he was abroad, except the racing reports. Three weeks passed before he returned to Britain on 25 November 1788, and then he was taken seriously ill (partly due to the stress of his rapid journey across Europe). He would not recover entirely until December 1789. He again absented himself to Bath from 27 January to 21 February 1789. When Fox did make it into Parliament, he seemed to make
22194-415: The right to decide what was and was not libellous, in addition to whether a defendant was guilty. E. P. Thompson thought it "Fox's greatest service to the common people, passed at the eleventh hour before the tide turned toward repression." Indeed, the act was passed by Parliament on 21 May, the same day as a royal proclamation against seditious writings was issued, and more libel cases would be brought by
22356-402: The same year, Fox responded to the King's address to Parliament with "one of his finest and most animated orations, and with severity to the answered person", so much so that, when he sat down, no member of the Government would attempt to reply. Fox shared a mutual antipathy with George III that profoundly shaped Fox's political career. George III was among the most enthusiastic prosecutors of
22518-515: The shocking Gordon riots exploded in London in June 1780, Fox, though deploring the violence of the crowd, declared that he would "much rather be governed by a mob than a standing army." Later, in July, Fox was returned for the populous and prestigious parliamentary constituency of Westminster , with around 12,000 electors, and acquired the title "Man of the People". When North finally resigned under
22680-713: The soldiers and imposing strict discipline. Washington ordered his officers to identify the skills of recruits to ensure military effectiveness, while removing incompetent officers. He petitioned Gage, his former superior, to release captured Patriot officers from prison and treat them humanely. In October 1775, King George III declared that the colonies were in open rebellion and relieved Gage of command for incompetence, replacing him with General William Howe . The Continental Army, reduced to only 9,600 men by January 1776 due to expiring short-term enlistments, had to be supplemented with militia. Soon, they were joined by Knox with heavy artillery captured from Fort Ticonderoga . When
22842-454: The strains of office and the disastrous American War in March 1782, after Earl Cornwallis surrendered at the Battle of Yorktown , and was gingerly replaced with the new ministry of the Marquess of Rockingham , Fox was appointed Foreign Secretary . But Rockingham, after finally acknowledging the independence of the former Thirteen Colonies , died unexpectedly on 1 July. Fox refused to serve in
23004-470: The successor administration of the Earl of Shelburne , splitting the Whig party; Fox's father had been convinced that Shelburne – a supporter of the elder Pitt – had thwarted his ministerial ambitions at the time of the Treaty of Paris in 1763 . Fox now found himself in common opposition to Shelburne with his old and bitter enemy, Lord North. Based on this single conjunction of interests and the fading memory of
23166-470: The support of the King and the East India Company, while to support him openly would have alienated country gentlemen and principled supporters like Wilberforce . As the trial's intricacies dragged on (it would be 1795 before Hastings was finally acquitted), Fox's interest waned and the burden of managing the trial devolved increasingly on Burke. In late October 1788, George III descended into
23328-427: The swindler Elizabeth Harriet Grieve . She had lent him £300 for which she got his name to use as a customer of her advice. Fox was promised that Grieve could arrange a marriage for him to a West Indian heiress named Miss Phipps. Fox was so taken in that he started to powder his eyebrows in order that he might appeal to her. Grieve was eventually sent to trial but the resulting scandal resulted in news stories, rhymes and
23490-443: The three brigades that would assault the fort. The French had abandoned the fort and the valley before the assault, however, and Washington only saw a friendly fire incident which left 14 dead and 26 injured. Frustrated, he resigned his commission soon afterwards and returned to Mount Vernon. Under Washington, the Virginia Regiment had defended 300 miles (480 km) of frontier against twenty Indian attacks in ten months. He increased
23652-705: The wishes of the Continental Congress who had issued a proclamation prohibiting it, but Washington feared the spread of smallpox in the army. The mass inoculation proved successful, with only isolated infections occurring and no regiments incapacitated by the disease. The British still controlled New York, and many Patriot soldiers did not re-enlist or deserted after the harsh winter campaign. Congress instituted greater rewards for re-enlisting and punishments for desertion to effect greater troop numbers. Strategically, Washington's victories at Trenton and Princeton were pivotal; they revived Patriot morale and quashed
23814-698: The world stage of 1791, war with Great Britain was threatened more with Spain and Russia than revolutionary France . Fox opposed the bellicose stances of Pitt's ministry in the Nootka Sound crisis and over the Russian occupation of the Turkish port of Ochakiv on the Black Sea . Fox contributed to the peaceful resolution of these entanglements and gained a new admirer in Catherine the Great , who bought
23976-635: Was a Founding Father of the United States , military officer, and farmer who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Second Continental Congress as commander of the Continental Army in 1775, Washington led Patriot forces to victory in the American Revolutionary War . He then served as president of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which drafted
24138-497: Was a talented equestrian, with Thomas Jefferson describing him as "the best horseman of his age". He collected thoroughbreds at Mount Vernon, his two favorite horses being Blueskin and Nelson . He enjoyed hunting foxes, deer, ducks, and other game. He was an excellent dancer and frequently attended the theater. He drank alcohol in moderation but was morally opposed to excessive drinking, smoking tobacco, gambling, and profanity. Lawrence Washington's service as adjutant general of
24300-762: Was born on February 22, 1732, at Popes Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia . He was the first of six children of Augustine and Mary Ball Washington . His father was a justice of the peace and a prominent public figure who had four additional children from his first marriage to Jane Butler. The family moved to Little Hunting Creek in 1734 before eventually settling in Ferry Farm near Fredericksburg, Virginia . When Augustine died in 1743, Washington inherited Ferry Farm and ten slaves; his older half-brother Lawrence inherited Little Hunting Creek and renamed it Mount Vernon . Washington did not have
24462-436: Was captured. Howe was emboldened by his Long Island victory and dispatched Washington as "George Washington, Esq." in futility to negotiate peace. Washington declined, demanding to be addressed with diplomatic protocol, as general and fellow belligerent, not as a "rebel", lest his men be hanged as such if captured. The Royal Navy bombarded the unstable earthworks on lower Manhattan Island. Despite misgivings, Washington heeded
24624-518: Was counted among the political and social elite in Virginia. From 1768 to 1775, he invited some 2,000 guests to Mount Vernon, mostly those whom he considered people of rank, and was known to be exceptionally cordial toward guests. Washington also took time for leisure with fox hunting, fishing, dances, theater, cards, backgammon, and billiards. Washington's stepdaughter Patsy suffered from epileptic attacks from age 12, and she died at Mount Vernon in 1773. The following day, he wrote to Burwell Bassett : "It
24786-545: Was defeated in the Commons by 294 votes to 105. Later, Fox successfully supported the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791 , extending the rights of British Catholics. He explained his stance to his Roman Catholic friend, Charles Butler , declaring: the best ground, and the only ground to be defended in all points is, that action , not principle is the object of law and legislation; with a person's principles no government has any right to interfere. On
24948-690: Was isolated from support by Howe. He was forced to retreat to Saratoga and ultimately surrendered after the Battles of Saratoga . As Washington suspected, Gates' victory emboldened his critics. Biographer John Alden maintains, "It was inevitable that the defeats of Washington's forces and the concurrent victory of the forces in upper New York should be compared." Admiration for Washington was waning, including little credit from John Adams. Washington and his Continental Army of 11,000 men went into winter quarters at Valley Forge north of Philadelphia in December 1777. There they lost between 2,000 and 3,000 men as
25110-418: Was left behind, and when he rejoined Braddock at Monongahela the French and their Indian allies ambushed the divided army. Two-thirds of the British force became casualties, including the mortally wounded Braddock. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Gage , Washington, still very ill, rallied the survivors and formed a rear guard, allowing the remnants of the force to disengage and retreat. During
25272-403: Was prominent in the campaign to punish the radical John Wilkes for challenging the Commons. "He thus opened his career by speaking in behalf of the Commons against the people and their elected representative." Consequently, both Fox and his brother Stephen were insulted and pelted with mud in the street by the pro-Wilkes London crowds. Between 1770 and 1774, Fox's seemingly promising career in
25434-492: Was responsible for delaying the retreat, though he blamed Congress and General Greene. Loyalists in New York City considered Howe a liberator and spread a rumor that Washington had set fire to the city. Patriot morale reached its lowest when Lee was captured. Now reduced to 5,400 troops, Washington's army retreated through New Jersey , and Howe broke off pursuit to set up winter quarters in New York. Washington crossed
25596-527: Was said to have always carried a copy of Horace in his coat pocket. He was taken out of school by his father in 1761 to attend the coronation of George III , who would become one of his most bitter enemies, and once more in 1763 to travel to the Continent (where he visited Paris and Spa ). On this trip Charles was given a substantial amount of money with which to learn to gamble by his father, who also arranged for him to lose his virginity, aged fourteen, to
25758-498: Was somewhat reserved in personality, but was known for having a strong presence. He made speeches and announcements when required, but he was not a noted orator nor debater. He was taller than most of his contemporaries; accounts of his height vary from 6 ft (1.83 m) to 6 ft 3.5 in (1.92 m) tall, he weighed between 210–220 pounds (95–100 kg) as an adult, and was known for his great strength. He had grey-blue eyes and long reddish-brown hair. He did not wear
25920-428: Was subsequently promoted to colonel and chief of artillery. Similarly, Washington was impressed by Alexander Hamilton 's intelligence and bravery. He would later promote him to colonel and appoint him his aide-de-camp . Washington initially banned the enlistment of blacks, both free and enslaved, into the Continental Army. The British saw an opportunity to divide the colonies, and the colonial governor of Virginia issued
26082-438: Was the darling of his father, who found Charles "infinitely engaging & clever & pretty" and, from the time that his son was three years old, apparently preferred his company at meals to that of anyone else. The stories of Charles's over-indulgence by his doting father are legendary. It was said that Charles once expressed a great desire to break his father's watch and was not restrained or punished when he duly smashed it on
26244-458: Was to address the House of Commons some 254 times between 1768 and 1774 and rapidly gathered a reputation as a superb orator, but he had not yet developed the radical opinions for which he would become famous. Thus, he spent much of his early years unwittingly manufacturing ammunition for his later critics and their accusations of hypocrisy. A supporter of the Grafton and North ministries, Fox
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