George Washington was the first president of the United States, a leading general in the American Revolution, and is often called the “Father of His Country” for his central role in founding the nation. He served two terms as president from 1789 to 1797 and then voluntarily gave up power, establishing a powerful precedent for peaceful transfers of authority.

Early life

  • George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia, to Augustine and Mary Ball Washington.
  • He grew up in a Virginia planter family and spent much of his youth near the Rappahannock River at Ferry Farm.

Soldier and war leader

  • As a young officer, Washington’s 1754 skirmish with French forces at Jumonville Glen helped ignite the French and Indian War, part of the global Seven Years’ War.
  • During the American Revolution, he served as commander in chief of the Continental Army, leading Patriot forces to ultimate victory over Britain, including the decisive 1781 campaign at Yorktown.

First president and precedents

  • Washington was unanimously elected the first U.S. president by the Electoral College in 1788 and again in 1792, reflecting his immense national prestige.
  • As president he helped create key institutions, including a cabinet of advisors, asserted executive authority over diplomacy and domestic unrest (such as the Whiskey Rebellion), and proclaimed neutrality in European wars.

Constitution and nation-building

  • Before becoming president, Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which drafted the current U.S. Constitution and reshaped the national government.
  • His leadership encouraged support for a stronger federal government, and his reputation helped secure public trust in the new constitutional system.

Slavery and legacy

  • Washington was a lifelong enslaver, inheriting enslaved people as a young man and expanding Mount Vernon into a large plantation where hundreds of enslaved people lived and worked by the end of his life.
  • In his will, he ordered that the 123 people he personally owned be freed after his wife’s death, a decision that complicates but does not erase his deep involvement in slavery.

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