Sterling Biographies: George Washington Discussion Questions
1.As a young man, George Washington wanted to join the British navy. His fearful mother prevented him from joining. Do you think the American Revolution would have turned out differently if Washington’s mother had allowed him to go to sea?
2.George Washington had adventures in the wilderness as a surveyor and as a soldier in the French and Indian War. Did his early military training in the wilderness affect how the Revolutionary War was fought?
3.During the Revolutionary War, Washington refused to punish the colonists who were loyal to the British government. Did that change how those colonists felt about the new American government and the war?
4.How did George Washington use rumors and spycraft during the American Revolution? Did it bring about a faster end to the war?
5.After the war, Washington went home to Mount Vernon and planned to stay there for the rest of his life. But a few years later he agreed to attend the Constitutional Convention. What drew him back into politics?
6.Washington was the only American president who didn’t belong to a political party. Did that affect how he chose his chief advisors?
7.George Washington had doubts about slavery early on, and he began to believe that slavery was wrong. But he did nothing to bring an end to slavery during his presidency. Why?