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George Washington was the first president of the United States, he was born in February 22, 1732, and died in December 14, 1799 (Age 67).

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He was born at his family's plantation on Popes Creek (also known as Wakefield) His parents are Augustine Washington and Mary Ball Washington. George's dad build the plantation in the 1720s, but it but destroyed by a fire about 60 years later. His dad, Augustine Washington, had another wife before Mary Ball, named Jane Butler. But she then died in 1729, leaving Augustine with two sons and a daughter, Lawrence, Augustine Jr., and Jane. George's dad then had more children with Mary, including Elizabeth, Samuel, John, Charles, and Mildred.

In around 1734, George's family moved to another property, (Now named Mount Vernon). Though they moved again in 1738 to Ferry Farm, a plantation on the Rappahannock River near Virginia. This is where he spent most of his childhood.

When George was eleven, his father passed away, and the income that remained was just barely enough to keep Mary and the children. Since George was the oldest though, he decided to help his mother with the plantation. This is one of the important moments where he learned efficiency and hard work.

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George Washington got married on January 6, 1759, to Martha Dandridge Custis. She was 27 years old and George was 26. Martha was born in New Kent County, Virginia on June 2, 1731. Martha also served as the nation's first 1st lady, where she spent approximately half of the Revolutionary War at the front.

Though George did not in fact have children, he did have step-children. This is because before he married Martha, she had been married to Daniel Parke Custis before he died. Daniel and Martha had two children, John Parke Custis and Martha Parke Custis. John was known as Jacky when he was young, and Martha was known as Patsy. John was only 4 years old when his mother re-married, and Martha had been plagued with seizures by the time she was as young as eleven or twelve. The interesting things is that Martha Washington not only served as the first lady, but in addition to that, she raised not only her children, but her grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.

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George Washington was elected president on 30 of April, 1789, until he retired on 4 of March, 1797. By the 1770s, he had become a symbol of independence and the emerging new nation. He served as commander in chief of the Continental Army and served as president of the constitutional convention. George Washington was also the first and only president not to be a member of any political parties. He was influenced by plenty of things and people, like his mother, half-brother Lawrence, and even his time in the military, where he learned leadership, confidence, and strategic skills.

Many events occured during Washingtons presidency that shaped his character, like when the Constitution finalized at Constitutional Convention. Ratifying the Bill of Rights also hapoend during Washingtons presidency. He also suppressed the Whisky Rebellion, established a trade relationship with Great Britain, ad even helped establish a national bank.

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After George Washington's retirement in 1796, John Adams was elected president. He had already done two terms in office, and he was too frustrated with attacks from political enemies to try for a third time. He also built a distillery, and by the time of his death, it was one of the biggest of the nation. Three years after he retired, he dies from a throat illness on December 14, 1799. He also planned to build a library with his war and presidential papers, but he passed away before it could be built. Two years after George Washington's death, his wife, Martha, freed all of his slaves.

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https://www.britannica.com/summary/George-Washingtons-Achievements

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/george-washington-event-timeline

https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/family/did-george-washington-have-kids/#:~:text=Did%20George%20Washington%20Have%20Children%3F,-Growing%20Up%20at&text=George%20Washington%20did%20not%20have,and%20several%20nieces%20and%20nephews.

https://millercenter.org/president/george-washington/key-events

https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/popes-creek/

https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/martha-washington/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-presidency_of_George_Washington#:~:text=His%20post%2Dpresidency%20lasted%20less,1801%2C%20Martha%20freed%20his%20slaves.

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Who Wrote It?

Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton worked closely with Washington to craft the Farewell Address. "Alexander Hamilton," John Trumbull, Detroit Publishing Co., Library of Congress.

Washington's stepgranddaughter Eleanor "Nelly" Parke Custis Lewis remembers seeing the president working on his final address to the nation. Eleanor Custis (Mrs. Lawrence Lewis), by Gilbert Stuart, 1804. National Gallery of Art.

For the task of converting his ideas into words, Washington turned to his wordsmith, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.

The president had actually done this once before. Four years earlier, at the end of his first term in office, Washington, contemplating retirement, had asked James Madison to draft a farewell address. But when Washington was convinced to serve another term, this address was stashed away in a drawer.

Now, Washington gave Hamilton two options: update and revise Madison's address or start from scratch. In the end, Hamilton decided to write a new address, borrowing only a few paragraphs from Madison's draft.

Hamilton worked in secrecy, with Washington sending his reactions and edits by way of personal couriers rather than the mail, which he suspected was being monitored. He encouraged Hamilton to shorten the address and to keep its language plain and unadorned. Washington provided the final edits, down to the punctuation marks.

Authorship of the Farewell Address remained a well-kept secret for several years. Perhaps in an effort to elevate Washington's standing, Hamilton and others familiar with its origins remained silent on the subject.

Walking down Broadway in New York one day, Hamilton and his wife passed a man selling copies of the address. Purchasing one, Hamilton joked quietly to his wife, "That man does not know he has asked me to purchase my own work." ²

More than 50 years later, Washington's stepgranddaughter Eleanor "Nelly" Parke Custis Lewis defended Washington's role in the drafting process, writing:

My mind and memory of all relating to the 'Farewell Address' are as fresh as they were in 1796, when it was issued. I did see the President Washington repeatedly in the act of writing the 'Farewell Address' in the daytime and also at night ... I always passed the door of his office on my way to my grandmother's chamber at the head of the sleep stairs, which landed close to his door-that door was generally open, and I have been sent to his room with messages, and at night have passed the door and seen him writing as I passed to ascend the stairs with Grandmama. When his work was completed, he called me from her chamber and requested me to bring him a needle with silk to sew the leaves together-the Address was in his hand when I gave him the needle and I saw him sew them in the form of a book; the only circumstance I could not take an oath on is the color of the silk.

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Washington's Farewell Address, published at the end of his second term, stands today as a timeless warning about the forces that threaten American democracy.