A rich history
Before the beautiful New York school was a campus, it was the most important military installation in the United States. The fort was established up by General Washington in the revolutionary war was perched overlooking the Hudson river, in case of British attack, where it was eventually betrayed by Benedict Arnold. In 1802 the school was officially made the United States Military Academy and graduated its first cadet, Joseph Gardner Swift. The school needed to turn out smart officers who had military experience prior to leading troops. The first graduating class included a 40 year old man with a family and a 10 year old boy. Over the years West Point, commonly called "The Point" has come along way becoming the finest institution for the building of young men and women into officers in the US Army. The school really became popular during the mid-1800's especially when The Point started turning out many of the great men from America's past. USMA turned out many famous civil war generals, which you may check out in our fun facts slide. As the years went by more and more the school became a symbol of America, and as the world approached the World Wars, West Point did its part in turning out officers and generals for the conflict (also in fun facts). Great presidents and leaders like Grant, Lee, Eisenhower, Bradley, MacArthur, and Patton were turned out when the US needed them most, thus solidifying the Point's place among the greatest teaching institutions in the US, not just academically but militarily as well. The school has had its ups and downs. When the school first started it allowed most people as the idea of a military school was new to the US people. But as the years went on the Point became the best place for any man to come and serve his country and become one of the most powerful in the country. It stayed this way until Vietnam and the country's youth decided to stop applying and West Point had trouble fillings its classes. Eventually things returned to the way they were before and classes were once again competitive and in 1976 women were officially allowed admission to the academy and the USMA has been coed ever since. The most recent conflicts in the middle east have produced many great leaders including the leader of Desert Storm Norman Schwarzkopf. The history of America's oldest military institution is long and storied, full of rich history just as can be seen in the old stone building on campus.