On April 30, 1789, George Washington, standing¹ on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York, took his oath of office as the first President of the United States. "As the first of every thing, in our situation will serve to establish a Precedent," he wrote James Madison, "it is devoutly² wished on my part, that these precedents³ may be fixed⁴ on true principles."

1789年4月30日，乔治•华盛顿站在纽约华尔街联邦大厅的阳台上，宣誓担任美国的第一任总统。“每一件事的开始都将会建立一个先例，正如当下我们所做的事情”，他在给杰姆斯•麦迪逊的信中写道，“我虔诚地希望，这些先例是建立在正确的原则的基础上的。”

Born in 1732 into a Virginia planter family, he learned the morals, manners, and body of knowledge requisite⁵ for an 18th century Virginia gentleman.

乔治•华盛顿于1732出世在弗吉尼亚州的一个种植园家庭，他学习了道德、礼仪和作为一位十八世纪弗吉尼亚绅士所必需的知识。

He pursued two intertwined interests: military arts and western expansion. At 16 he helped survey Shenandoah lands for Thomas, Lord Fairfax. Commissioned a lieutenant⁶ colonel in 1754, he fought the first skirmishes of what grew into the French and Indian War. The next year, as an aide to Gen. Edward Braddock, he escaped injury although four bullets ripped his coat and two horses were shot from under him.

他有两个相互交织、联系密切的兴趣：军事和西方殖民扩张。16岁时他帮助托马斯•费尔法克斯勋爵考察雪兰多陆地，于1754被任命为中校，他参加过一次小规模的战争，那场战争后来演变成印法战争。第二年，作为爱德华将军的一名助手，虽然四颗子弹曾穿过他的外套，他胯下的两匹马被击中，但他有幸没受伤。

From 1759 to the outbreak of the American Revolution, Washington managed his lands around Mount Vernon and served in the Virginia House of Burgesses. Married to a widow, Martha Dandridge Custis, he devoted⁷ himself to a busy and happy life. But like his fellow planters, Washington felt himself exploited by British merchants and hampered⁸ by British regulations. As the quarrel with the mother country grew acute, he moderately but firmly voiced his resistance to the restrictions⁹.

从1759到美国独立战争爆发，华盛顿在芒特弗农管理自己的庄园，并在弗吉尼亚州的下议院任职。在娶了寡妇玛莎·丹德里奇·柯蒂斯后，他全身心投入到忙碌而快乐的生活当中。但是和他的种植园同胞一样，华盛顿感到自己被英国商人剥削着，被英国的法规限制着。随着英国和美国的矛盾越来越尖锐，他用温和而坚定的方式表达他对那些条规的抵制。

When the Second Continental¹⁰ Congress assembled in Philadelphia in May 1775, Washington, one of the Virginia delegates, was elected Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. On July 3, 1775, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, he took command of his ill-trained troops and embarked¹¹ upon a war that was to last six grueling years.

当1775年5月第二次大陆会议在费城召开时，作为弗吉尼亚州的代表之一，华盛顿被选为大陆军的总司令。1775年7月3日，在马萨诸塞州的剑桥，他带领一支缺乏训练的军队开始了长达六年的艰苦战斗。

He realized early that the best strategy was to harass¹² the British. He reported to Congress, "we should on all Occasions avoid a general Action, or put anything to the Risque, unless compelled by a necessity, into which we ought never to be drawn¹³." Ensuing battles saw him fall back slowly, then strike unexpectedly. Finally in 1781 with the aid of French allies--he forced the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.

他早就意识到，最好的战略就是反击英国。他向国会报告，“除非迫不得已，我们应该在所有场合避免一般的行动，或者把所有事情推向愚蠢的边缘，我们不应该被牵制。”在随后的战斗中他采取慢慢撤退，然后出其不意地袭击的战斗策略。最后，1781年在法国盟友的援助下——约克镇康华里的英国士兵被迫投降。

Washington longed to retire to his fields at Mount Vernon. But he soon realized that the Nation under its Articles of Confederation was not functioning well, so he became a prime mover in the steps leading to the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787. When the new Constitution was ratified¹⁴, the Electoral College unanimously elected Washington President.

华盛顿渴望退休后回到芒特弗农庄园，但他很快认识到邦联条款并不合理，所以他成了1787在费城举行的制宪会议的首要推动者。当新的宪法被批准通过后，选举团一致选举华盛顿为总统。

He did not infringe¹⁵ upon the policy making powers that he felt the Constitution gave Congress. But the determination of foreign policy became preponderantly a Presidential concern. When the French Revolution led to a major war between France and England, Washington refused to accept entirely¹⁶ the recommendations of either his Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, who was pro-French, or his Secretary of the Treasury¹⁷ Alexander Hamilton, who was pro-British. Rather, he insisted upon a neutral course until the United States could grow stronger.

华盛顿渴望退休后回到芒特弗农庄园。但他很快认识到邦联条款并不合理，所以他成了1787在费城举行的宪法会议的首要推动者。当新的宪法被批准通过后，选举团一致选举华盛顿为总统。

To his disappointment, two parties were developing by the end of his first term. Wearied of politics, feeling old, he retired¹⁸ at the end of his second. In his Farewell Address, he urged his countrymen to forswear excessive party spirit and geographical¹⁹ distinctions. In foreign affairs, he warned against long-term alliances.

令他失望的是，在他第一任期结束的时候，英法两国都在不断发展壮大发展。厌倦了政治，也感觉自己体力不支，他在第二任期结束的时候选择了退休。在他的告别演说中，他敦促他的同胞们摒弃过度的党性和地域差别。在外交事务中，他反对长期的联盟。

Washington enjoyed less than three years of retirement²⁰ at Mount Vernon, for he died of a throat infection December 14, 1799. For months the Nation mourned him.

华盛顿在弗农山庄享受了不到三年的退休生活，他于1799年12月14日死于喉咙感染。全国人民哀悼了他数月。