George Washington should be included in this book of most influential people in the history of the world because he established the very foundations of the United States. Without Washington, this country would not have become as great as it did or for this matter it might not be what it is today. We could all be still living under the control of Britain. He was an excellent role model because he never gave up; he kept trying when most men would have abandoned the ideal of a free country.
Washington's military life got started on a bad note. It all can be traced back to his brother Lawrence. When Lawrence married into the Fairfax family, he saw talent in his younger brother and let him join with him in surveying the Fairfax establishment in the Shenandoah Valley. When he turned seventeen, Washington went into the surveying business of his own ("1789-1797"). The following year, Washington's brother Lawrence contracted tuberculosis; Washington tried all that he could do to cure him but to no avail and he died. Before Lawrence died, he was the commander of the local Virginia militia. When he died, the militia was left with no commander. Seeing that it was Washington's job to take over where his brother left off, he asked for the job and was awarded the position of commander without any military background. This began the foundation of Washington's military legacy.
Washington took a leadership role in the battles between England and France before he got involved in U.S. polities. There were constant battles between England and France because they both had territory right next to each other in the U.S. When France move in too far in England's Ohio territory, Washington volunteered to go and deliver the message that France has moved in too far. France declined the message, and Washington critiqued the enemy and threw up a fortification in Great Meadows, Pennsylvania called Fort Necessity ("George Washington").
