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After riding outside during very bad weather last Thursday and Friday, George Washington got sick on Saturday, December 14, 1799. An infection * gave him a sore throat. He also had a fever, and it was hard for him to breathe.
The President's friend Tobias Lear writes that the President grew calm late in the evening and checked his own pulse. Then he died peacefully in his bed. His wife Martha was with him, as well as some servants, doctors, and friends.
A large funeral is planned for Wednesday, December 18, including gun salutes and a procession.
* Modern medicine concludes that this was epiglottitis, a bacterial infection.
More than 200 years after his death, we still speak of George Washington's greatness. Why? What makes a person great?
- By age 23, Washington was renowned for his physical courage: he continued to fight in one battle despite having 4 bullets pierce his clothing and 2 horses shot out from under him.
- Washington risked his wealth, his reputation, and his life when he agreed to lead the fight against the British; had he failed, he would have been hung as a traitor!
- Washington learned to "act like a fox, not like a wolf. " He understood that to win the war against Britain, he had to outlast his enemy, not win every battle.
- Washington agreed to become the first President of the United States, when he could easily have been the first king.
- He was the only President to be elected unanimously, not once but twice!
- He was the only Founding Father to free his slaves when he died, although this was not effective until after Martha Washington's death.
Is there anyone alive today who you think is great and will be remembered by history? Defend your choice.
To modern people, it is easy to think that medicine in the colonies was unsafe. Many doctors at the time were self-trained. If he had lived today, George Washington could have been cured with antibiotics. But in 1799, could Washington have gotten better after the treatments he experienced?
During colonial times, no one knew how diseases were spread. One of the main theories focused on the need for a total balance of tension and fluids in the body. This delicate balance was essential to both physical and mental health. If there was too much or too little of any one fluid, a person could get sick. The doctors who tried to help George Washington used medical treatments that tried to balance the fluids.
Washington's doctors bled him several times. They may have thought that taking out extra blood would stop the swelling in Washington's throat. Unfortunately, they took out a lot of blood. That made it hard for George's body to fight the illness.
Doctors also made Washington gargle with vinegar, molasses, and butter. These were used to open up his throat. But his throat was too swollen and he had a lot of trouble swallowing. He almost choked a couple of times too.
Finally, doctors tried to make him vomit to take out any bad fluids. This can cause the body to lose too much water, and that can make someone sicker.
Even though Washington's doctors did a lot of things that modern doctors would not do, they tried very hard to help him. They used medical practices that were believed to be the most helpful. Washington knew that he was very ill. He died bravely.
When George Washington became the first President in 1783, he had only one tooth left in his mouth. As a boy, he had cracked walnut shells with his teeth. As a result, many of them fell out before he was 30! Over the years, Washington wore several sets of false teeth. There is no proof that he ever had wooden teeth.
His dentures were made of many things. They were often made from human teeth, animal teeth, and ivory. They were put together with wire and a spring. This allowed the dentures to open and close. Throughout his life, Washington had trouble speaking, chewing food, and smiling. The false teeth could be painful. They sometimes made Washington's cheeks and lips puff out. Fortunately, modern dentistry now allows painless smiles for even the greatest of walnut lovers!
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