George Washington was born February 11, 1732 (a calendar change during Washington's lifetime moved the date to February 22) in a farm house located where Popes Creek meets the Potomac in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the first child born to Augustine Washington and Mary Ball. Augustine Washington owned and operated a moderately successful tobacco plantation at Little Hunting Creek along the Potomac. George spent his childhood on a small farm on the Rappahannock. His education never passed beyond that of the elementary basics. The plan to send George to study in England, as his two older half-brothers (Augustine's children by his first marriage) had done, became unattainable when Augustine died when George was just eleven years old. George quit his studies altogether at the age of sixteen and went to work as a surveyor. In the wake of his father's death, George found a close friend and father figure in his older half-brother Lawrence. Lawrence had served in the "American Regiment" of the British Army in 1739, and fought against Spain at Cartagena. Lawrence's war tales excited George and sparked his first interests in the military. Being the oldest son, Lawrence inherited Little Hunting Creek upon Augustine's death, renaming it Mt. Vernon. Lawrence married Anne Fairfax, the daughter of an influential English nobleman, Colonel William Fairfax. As a boy, George spent a good deal of time visiting his brother at Mt. Vernon and, as a result, became a welcome regular at the Fairfax estate. In 1747 Thomas Lord Fairfax arrived from England to survey his vast estate. A surveying party was sent out, and George was permitted to go along to keep George Fairfax company. This trip left a deep impression on the young Washington. For the first time he experienced what it was like to try and survive the hardships of the wilderness. For three years after his return Washington pursued a career as a surveyor, all the while training himself in skills that he would need as a military officer. In 1751 George's career as a surveyor was interrupted when Lawrence became ill. Lawrence went on a trip to Barbados in the hopes that the warmer climate would cure him of his illness, and George accompanied him. This was the first and only time George would venture outside the colonies. The trip did not cure Lawrence as was hoped, and he died in 1752. George became the purveyor of his brother's will and found himself too busy to return to his surveying work.
After Lawrence's death, George sought the adjutant-general position that his brother had occupied. As a favor to Lawrence, Lieutenant-Governor Robert Dinwiddie appointed George adjutant-general with the rank of major in charge of one of four military district in the State of Virginia. Washington was immediately sent to the Ohio Valley with the mission of delivering a warning message to French traders encroaching on what the British claimed was their territory. When Dinwiddie learned that the French had not only declined to recognize England's right to the Ohio Valley, but were also building a fort and fortifying it with troops, he sent Washington out to protect an English effort to build a fort in that same valley. Washington arrived at the English fort to learn that a force of over one thousand French had already been there, but left without attacking. The superior French force had escorted the English settlers back to the trail that led to Virginia and then left. Washington went into the Valley in search of the French and there he set up a small fortress of his own, "Fort Necessity." Once settled, he found a small group of French troops nearby and attacked. The French, caught off guard, were easily defeated. Among the dead was a French Colonel named Jumonville. A much larger French force retaliated against Fort Necessity, and Washington was defeated. In surrendering Washington signed paper that called the killing of Jumonville an "assassination." It is not known whether Washington signed the paper knowingly, being relieved at achieving a favorable surrender which allowed him to return to Virginia unharmed, or did so as a result of bad translation. This was Washington's first taste of battle. It was also the first skirmish of the Seven Year's War, or the beginning of the French and Indian War, as the American campaign is known. Back in Virginia, Washington was received as a hero for his attack on the French. In England, however, he was despised for provoking a costly war and admitting to the assassination of a French diplomat. As a result, King George ordered that no provincial officer should hold a rank above captain. Washington resigned his commission in protest.
King George sent an army under General Edward Braddock to fight the French. Braddock sought Washington's council, but could not offer him a suitable rank because of the royal decree. Washington agreed to fight as a volunteer aide with no rank. Though Braddock was aware of Washington's expertise with the American terrain, he refused to listen to Washington's pleas to have the men fight Native American style rather than in formation. As a result, the English were slaughtered when they tried to attack the French Fort Duquese, and General Braddock was killed in the battle. When Washington led the retreat back to Virginia, he was again received as a hero. By this time the ban on provincial officers had been lifted, and Washington was promoted to Commander in Chief of the Virginia forces. As Commander in Chief Washington fought under General Forbes of the Royal Army. On November 25, 1758 Forbes and Washington captured Fort Duquese, thereby ending the American campaign of the war. Washington retired to Mount Vernon where he lived the next 16 years as a private businessman.
On January 6, 1759 George Washington married Mrs. Martha Dandridge Curtis, a widow he had met during the war. The couple had no children together, but raised Martha's daughter and son which she had had by way of her first marriage. Martha's daughter Patsy died while still a teenager in 1773, and her son John died after starting a family of his own in 1781. After John's death, Martha and George assumed custody of their son's two young children.
In 1774 Washington was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress. By this time he had come to believe that independence from England was essential to ensure the economic future of the colonies. He supported all measures taken by Congress to free themselves of England's reign, but he was by no means a leader of the revolutionary movement.
When the Second Continental Congress convened in May of 1775, fighting had already begun at Lexington and Concord. When Washington wore his military uniform to Congress it was seen as a symbol that Virginia was ready, if necessary, to take up arms against England. In looking for a way to unite the colonies behind the cause, John Adams seized upon the idea of electing Washington Commander in Chief of the Continental forces. Washington's strong presence, diplomatic skill, popularity, youth, and experience in the French and Indian War made him the perfect candidate. Washington accepted the nomination on June 16,1775. Two weeks later, Washington left Philadelphia for Cambridge, Massachusetts where he was to take command of the Continental Army. In Cambridge, Washington found an army made up of mostly New England recruits who were ill-supplied, undisciplined, and out-right hostile to being put under the command of a Virginian. Washington's frugality and dedication to hard work, evident in the fact that he refused to accept a salary and in his efficiency in organizing the camp, coupled with his faithfulness to his troops, evident in the fact that he rarely left their side even though he had more favorable accommodations open to him, soon earned him the respect of his troops.
During the war, Washington's strategy was to make trouble for the British army wherever and whenever it tried to move beyond the perimeters it already occupied. Washington hoped that the expense of fighting such a war from across the sea would prove far too costly for England. He believed that while he could not defeat the British in an open field of battle, he could beat them in the forest by fighting as the Native Americans did, with surprise attacks and troops that did not move in formation. England, however, was more patient than Washington had originally counted on. Many of the enlisted men had signed contracts for a one-year term. When most of the troops walked out on New Years Day 1776, the British could have put a quick end to the rebellion if they had attacked, but they did not. The British wanted the rebels to see how ridiculous their plight was and give up peacefully. So convinced were the British that the rebels would give up, that when Washington had the newly designed American flag flown for the first time over Cambridge, the British thought it was a flag of surrender.
On the twilight of March 3, 1776 Washington moved his troops to Dorchester Neck which overlooked the British-occupied city of Boston. At Dorchester the rebels began the construction of two massive strongholds. The British saw the movement, but did not do anything as they figured that it would be sometime before the strongholds were operable. Amazingly the strongholds were completed overnight, and on the morning of March 4 the American troops began to shower Boston with cannon fire. Simultaneously, Washington moved troops in across the Boston Harbor to attack on the opposite side. Unable to take out the cannons on the hill, and not too fond of the prospect of staying where they could easily be picked off, the British fled.
In August, the British began a campaign on Long Island. By December 1776 Washington's army had been pushed back all the way to the other side of the Delaware. With New Years coming and the contracts of the enlisted men once again expiring, Washington planned to retake Trenton on Christmas Day. Washington wanted to not only catch the British by surprise while he still had some man power, but also wanted a victory to increase morale in order to secure new recruits. Washington's surprise attack worked. Caught completely unaware, the British could not get into formation and did not know how to fight any other way. Washington retook Trenton on Christmas Day 1776.
As Washington retook New Jersey, he came under fire from his own supporters for his treatment of Loyalists. Any colonist found guilty of helping the British had only to take an oath to the United States to absolve themselves. If a Loyalist refused to take such an oath, he was merely escorted to the nearest British territory. The rebels were angry that traitors should be treated with such dignity. Congress was angry that the oath was to the non-existent nation of the United States, and not to New Jersey. Washington continued the practice in spite of opposition, for he felt that the rough treatment of Loyalists would breed resentment and possible armed opposition.
The war ended for the most part with the surrendering of General Cornwallis at Battle of Yorktown in 1781. The British were expecting a rebel attack on the island of Manhattan, which the British had occupied since 1776. Washington gave evidence of leading a movement through New Jersey in order to reinforce the British expectation of a New York attack, while at the same time pushed his forces south to join the French General Lafayette fighting the bulk of the British forces stationed in Virginia. General Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia on October 17, 1781. The Treaty of Paris, which put an official end to the American Revolutionary War, was signed on September 3, 1783.
After Yorktown, Continental soldiers became increasingly dissatisfied with their lack of compensation. The paper money which Congress had paid them with under the Articles of Confederation was practically worthless. In May of 1782 General Washington declined the proposal of one his subordinate officers that he be crowned king. A more serious threat to the future of the new nation occurred in March of 1783 when Washington's subordinate officers gathered for a secret meeting in Newburgh, New York. The disgruntled officers were planning to overthrow Congress and set up their own military government. Washington caught wind of the meeting and showed up unexpectedly to deliver a plea against the plan. The officers were completely unwilling to listen until Washington tried to read a speech he had prepared for the occasion. Unable to read the page, Washington excused himself while he donned a pair of eye glasses, apologized for his stumbling, and explained that he had grown old and poor of eyesight in service of his country. The sight of the embarrassed and vulnerable General won the attention and sympathies of the assembly of officers. Washington delivered his speech, and out of respect for their leader, the officers abandoned the plan of a military coup.
After the war Washington retired to Mount Vernon were he lived a quiet life until 1787 when he attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia as a representative of Virginia. Congress had requested Washington's presence at the convention to lend the new government legitimacy. Washington was unanimously elected presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention. In this capacity he said little, but simply listened to all debates with an air of impartiality. George Washington signed the new Constitution on September 17, 1787. He was unanimously elected the new nation's first President early in 1789. George Washington became the first President of the United States on April 30, 1789 in an inauguration ceremony at Federal Hall in the temporary capital in New York.
Washington's first act as President was to sign into law a tax on imports to raise revenue for the new federal government, which he did without saying a word on July 4, 1789. During the first year of Washington's term, Congress adopted the Bill of Rights, established a federal court system, adopted a federal postal system and divided the executive branch into three parts which were: the Department of Foreign Affair (later known as the Department of State), the Department of War, and the Department of the Treasury. President Washington appointed Thomas Jefferson Secretary of State, Alexander Hamilton Secretary of Treasury, and John Knox Secretary of War. The President's cabinet was completed when President Washington appointed Edmund Randolph Attorney General and Samuel Osgood Postmaster General. To promote national unity, President Washington went on a tour of the northern states in 1789 and the Southern states in spring of 1791. At the urging of Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton, President Washington supported legislation to assume the debts which the states had incurred during the Revolution and to establish a federal bank. Congress passed legislation to assume the states' debts and to borrow $12 million from foreign nations to pay other war expenses in July of 1790. Congress passed legislation to establish a federal bank in 1791. The states who had not already ratified the constitution did so during Washington's first term. North Carolina joined the Union in November of 1789, followed by Rhode Island in 1790, Vermont in 1791, and Kentucky in 1792.
President Washington believed that his role as President was that of impartial protector of the Constitution, and for this reason he did not try to influence debates in Congress and only vetoed a bill if he believed it was unconstitutional. President Washington also believed that the new nation could only survive if the federal government held jurisdiction over the state governments. He therefore supported any measure to affirm the federal government's authority. Maintaining the strength of the federal government was also another reason for his remaining impartial in disputes. Washington was very aware of the fact that every action he made as President set a precedent for future administrations, and it was for this reason that Washington was exceedingly cautious in his decision making.
President Washington sought the help of James Madison in writing his farewell address in 1793, but Washington's cabinet eventually convinced him to run for a second term. President Washington was reelected, and delivered his second inaugural address in the second temporary capital in Philadelphia on April 30, 1793.
A rebellion in Pennsylvania against a federal tax placed on whiskey sales caused President Washington to order the governors of Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, and Maryland to supply the federal government with over 15,000 troops which Washington planned to use to put down the rebellion. President Washington traveled to Pennsylvania where he personally led the troops to the sight of the rebellion. The show of force was enough to restore order, and Washington was not forced to lead his troops into fighting.
President Washington's first act during his second term had been a declaration of neutrality in the war between Britain and France, which he delivered on April 22, 1793. Congress passed the Neutrality Act in 1794 to reinforce the President's foreign policy. President Washington's policy of neutrality was opposed by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson who felt that the United States owed a debt to France for its aiding of colonial forces during the American Revolution. The issue caused Jefferson to resign as Secretary of State late in 1793. Chief Justice John Jay negotiated a trade treaty with Great Britain, which was ratified by Congress in 1795. The Jay Treaty incurred the wrath of the Democratic-Republicans, a new political party lead by Thomas Jefferson, who believed that the treaty was pro British. President Washington was harshly criticized by the Democratic-Republicans for his support of the Jay Treaty. Deeply hurt by the criticism, President Washington opted not to run for a third term. He warned against the dangers of political parties in his farewell address which was published in national newspapers on September 17, 1796.
See Vice President John Adams: John Adams served as Washington's Vice President for two terms, and in 1797, Adams became the 2nd President of the United States.
George Washington retired to Mount Vernon. His retirement was interrupted briefly when he accepted the appointment of President Adams to Lieutenant General and Commander in Chief of the United States forces in 1799. President Adams asked Washington to accept the position when it looked like the United States might have to go to war with France. War with France was averted, however, and Washington remained where he was. On December 12, 1799 George Washington went riding around his estate in the winter weather and soon fell ill. George Washington died at his home, Mount Vernon in Virginia, on December 14, 1799.
