In 1774, Lemuel became a free man, and at the age of 21, one of the first decisions he made was to enlist as a "Minuteman" in the local militia. Unknown to most Americans, more than 5,000 African soldiers, both slave and free, fought voluntarily in the American Revolutionary War.
Washington believed that it was necessary to strike a delicate balance between making the presidency powerful enough to function effectively in a national government, while also avoiding any image of establishing a monarchy or dictatorship.
