Ambition

Although Washington was a humble man, he had great ambition from the time he was a child. Washington wanted to be an educated gentleman and was sorely disappointed when the death of his father when he was only eleven removed the possibility for him to go to a proper school. Washington would be self-taught and an intelligent man who could hold his own with the most educated people of his time. However, Washington's lack of a formal education would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Washington wanted a military career because he saw that as the best way to become a respected gentleman. Washington's mother stopped him from joining the navy, but he would later join the army and begin a career that would eventually lead him to lead the Continental Army and to the presidency. Washington also fell in love with the land around his...