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Why was George Washington An American Hero

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Why was George Washington An American Hero

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George Washington is an american hero not only because he was the first president  of the united states who paved the road for future presidents. He is also an american hero due to his work against British forces while he was the general. General George Washington was able to defeat a powerful nation with a powerful military with untrained troops with the drive of gaining independence from Britain and a better life for them and their children. George Washington lead us to victory with brilliant military strategies such as fighting a well trained army without them even seeing the rebels. Without George Washington leadership both as a general and a president our nation would not be where we are today.

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Contents

1. George Washington's Early Years

2. An Officer and Gentleman Farmer

3. George Washington During the American Revolution

4. America's First President

5. George Washington's Accomplishments

6. George Washington's Retirement to Mount Vernon and Death

7. Photo Gallery

George Washington (1732-99) was commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (1775-83) and served two terms as the first U.S. president, from 1789 to 1797. The son of a prosperous planter, Washington was raised in colonial Virginia. As a young man, he worked as a surveyor then fought in the French and Indian War (1754-63). During the American Revolution, he led the colonial forces to victory over the British and became a national hero. In 1787, he was elected president of the convention that wrote the U.S. Constitution. Two years later, Washington became America's first president. Realizing that the way he handled the job would impact how future presidents approached the position, he handed down a legacy of strength, integrity and national purpose. Less than three years after leaving office, he died at his Virginia plantation, Mount Vernon, at age 67.
Explore George Washington's life in our interactive timeline
George Washington's Early Years

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, at his family's plantation on Pope's Creek in Westmoreland County, in the British colony of Virginia, to Augustine Washington (1694-1743) and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington (1708-89). George, the eldest of Augustine and Mary Washington's six children, spent much of his childhood at Ferry Farm, a plantation near Fredericksburg, Virginia. After Washington's father died when he was 11, it's likely he helped his mother manage the plantation.

Did you know? At the time of his death in 1799, George Washington owned some 300 slaves. However, before his passing, he had become opposed to slavery, and in his will he ordered that his slaves to be freed after his wife's death.

Few details about Washington's early education are known, although children of prosperous families like his typically were taught at home by private tutors or attended private schools. It's believed he finished his formal schooling at around age 15.

As a teenager, Washington, who had shown an aptitude for mathematics, became a successful surveyor. His surveying expeditions into the Virginia wilderness earned him enough money to begin acquiring land of his own.

In 1751, Washington made his only trip outside of America, when he travelled to Barbados with his older half-brother Lawrence Washington (1718-52), who was suffering from tuberculosis and hoped the warm climate would help him recuperate. Shortly after their arrival, George contracted smallpox. He survived, although the illness left him with permanent facial scars. In 1752, Lawrence, who had been educated in England and served as Washington's mentor, died. Washington eventually inherited Lawrence's estate, Mount Vernon, on the Potomac River near Alexandria, Virginia.

An Officer and Gentleman Farmer

In December 1752, Washington, who had no previous military experience, was made a commander of the Virginia militia. He saw action in the French and Indian War and was eventually put in charge of all of Virginia's militia forces. By 1759, Washington had resigned his commission, returned to Mount Vernon and was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, where he served until 1774. In January 1759, he married Martha Dandridge Custis (1731-1802), a wealthy widow with two children. Washington became a devoted stepfather to her children; he and Martha Washington never had any offspring of their own.

In the ensuing years, Washington expanded Mount Vernon from 2,000 acres into an 8,000-acre property with five farms. He grew a variety of crops, including wheat and corn, bred mules and maintained fruit orchards and a successful fishery. He was deeply interested in farming and continually experimented with new crops and methods of land conservation.

George Washington During the American Revolution

By the late 1760s, Washington had experienced firsthand the effects of rising taxes imposed on American colonists by the British, and came to believe that it was in the best interests of the colonists to declare independence from England. Washington served as a delegate to the First Continental Congress in 1774 in Philadelphia. By the time the Second Continental Congress convened a year later, the American Revolution had begun in earnest, and Washington was named commander in chief of the Continental Army.

Washington proved to be a better general than military strategist. His strength lay not in his genius on the battlefield but in his ability to keep the struggling colonial army together. His troops were poorly trained and lacked food, ammunition and other supplies (soldiers sometimes even went without shoes in winter). However, Washington was able to give them the direction and motivation. His leadership during the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge was a testament to his power to inspire his men to keep going.

Over the course of the grueling eight-year war, the colonial forces won few battles but consistently held their own against the British. In October 1781, with the aid of the French (who allied themselves with the colonists over their rivals the British), the Continental forces were able to capture British troops under General Charles Cornwallis (1738-1805) in the Battle of Yorktown. This action effectively ended the Revolutionary War and Washington was declared a national hero.

America's First President

In 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris between Great Britain and the U.S., Washington, believing he had done his duty, gave up his command of the army and returned to Mount Vernon, intent on resuming his life as a gentleman farmer and family man. However, in 1787, he was asked to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and head the committee to draft the new constitution. His impressive leadership there convinced the delegates that he was by far the most qualified man to become the nation's first president.

At first Washington balked. He wanted to, at last, return to a quiet life at home and leave governing the new nation to others. But public opinion was so strong that eventually he gave in. The first presidential election was held on January 7, 1789, and Washington won handily. John Adams (1735-1826), who received the second-largest number of votes, became the nation's first vice president. The 57-year-old Washington was inaugurated on April 30, 1789, in New York City. Because Washington, D.C., America's future capital city wasn't yet built, he lived in New York and Philadelphia. While in office, he signed a bill establishing a future, permanent U.S. capital along the Potomac River-the city later named Washington, D.C., in his honor.

George Washington's Accomplishments

The United States was a small nation when Washington took office, consisting of 11 states and approximately 4 million people, and there was no precedent for how the new president should conduct domestic or foreign business. Mindful that his actions would likely determine how future presidents were expected to govern, Washington worked hard to set an example of fairness, prudence and integrity. In foreign matters, he supported cordial relations with other countries but also favored a position of neutrality in foreign conflicts. Domestically, he nominated the first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, John Jay (1745-1829), signed a bill establishing the first national bank, the Bank of the United States, and set up his own presidential cabinet.

His two most prominent cabinet appointees were Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) and Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), two men who disagreed strongly on the role of the federal government. Hamilton favored a strong central government and was part of the Federalist Party, while Jefferson favored stronger states' rights as part of the Democratic-Republican Party, the forerunner to the Democratic Party. Washington believed that divergent views were critical for the health of the new government, but he was distressed at what he saw as an emerging partisanship.

George Washington's presidency was marked by a series of firsts. He signed the first United States copyright law, protecting the copyrights of authors. He also signed the first Thanksgiving proclamation, making November 26 a national day of Thanksgiving for the end of the war for American independence and the successful ratification of the Constitution.

During Washington's presidency, Congress passed the first federal revenue law, a tax on distilled spirits. In July 1794, farmers in Western Pennsylvania rebelled over the so-called "whiskey tax." Washington called in over 12,000 militiamen to Pennsylvania to dissolve the Whiskey Rebellion in one of the first major tests of the authority of the national government.

Under Washington's leadership, the states ratified the Bill of Rights, and five new states entered the union: North Carolina (1789), Rhode Island (1790), Vermont (1791), Kentucky (1792) and Tennessee (1796).

In his second term, Washington issued the proclamation of neutrality to avoid entering the 1793 war between Great Britain and France. But when French minister to the United States Edmond Charles Genet-known to history as "Citizen Genet"-toured the United States, he boldly flaunted the proclamation, attempting to set up American ports as French military bases and gain support for his cause in the Western United States. His meddling caused a stir between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans, widening the rift between parties and making consensus-building more difficult.

In 1795, Washington signed the "Treaty of Amity Commerce and Navigation, between His Britannic Majesty; and The United States of America," or Jay's Treaty, so-named for John Jay, who had negotiated it with the government of King George III. It helped the U.S. avoid war with Great Britain, but also rankled certain members of Congress back home and was fiercely opposed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Internationally, it caused a stir among the French, who believed it violated previous treaties between the United States and France.

Washington's administration signed two other influential international treaties. Pinckney's Treaty of 1795, also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo, established friendly relations between the United States and Spain, firming up borders between the U.S. and Spanish territories in North America and opening up the Mississippi to American traders. The Treaty of Tripoli, signed the following year, gave American ships access to Mediterranean shipping lanes in exchange for a yearly tribute to the Pasha of Tripoli.

George Washington's Retirement to Mount Vernon and Death

In 1796, after two terms as president and declining to serve a third term, Washington finally retired. In Washington's farewell address, he urged the new nation to maintain the highest standards domestically and to keep involvement with foreign powers to a minimum. The address is still read each February in the U.S. Senate to commemorate Washington's birthday.

Washington returned to Mount Vernon and devoted his attentions to making the plantation as productive as it had been before he became president. More than four decades of public service had aged him, but he was still a commanding figure. In December 1799, he caught a cold after inspecting his properties in the rain. The cold developed into a throat infection and Washington died on the night of December 14, 1799 at the age of 67. He was entombed at Mount Vernon, which in 1960 was designated a national historic landmark.

Washington left one of the most enduring legacies of any American in history. Known as the "Father of His Country," his face appears on the U.S. dollar bill and quarter, and dozens of U.S. schools, towns and counties, as well as the state of Washington and the nation's capital city, are named for him.

Photo Gallery

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George Washington's Early Years An Officer and Gentleman Farmer George Washington During the American Revolution America's First President George Washington's Accomplishments George Washington's Retirement to Mount Vernon and Death Photo Gallery George Washington (1732-99) was commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (1775-83) and served two terms as the first U.S.

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George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He spent his childhood in  Westmoreland County, Mount Vernon, and Ferry Farm on the Rappahonnock River. He was the oldest of 6, but he had 2 older half brothers. His father was a farmer and owned several plantations in the colony of Virginia. George learned arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and handwriting and copying. When he was 11, his father passed away and he helped his mother manage the plantation where they lived. Washington never went to college or  had a formal education, so he taught himself through reading and experimentation.

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Discover the life of George Washington, America's first president and commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War.

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George Washington wanted to have a freed nation from Britain. His dream was realized and a new one emerged, He became president. He knew that his actions would determine what future presidents would do.

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This American hero has done many things in the early years of this nation. For example leading the colonial forces in the American Revolution in efforts to become its own country instead of being ruled by Britain. He served 2 terms as president from 1789 to 1797.

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To me, a hero is someone who has done something admirable in his life and someone whom you can always look up to. That is why George Washington is my hero. He accomplished many different things during his lifetime. George Washington won our country's freedom from Britain, so the whole United States of America is here because of him. All of the freedoms and liberties we have today are because of his achievements. To me, freedom is the greatest gift a person can give to someone. That is why George Washington is my hero.

Before we learn about George Washington's accomplishments, we must first learn about his early life. He was born on February 22, 1732 to Augustine and Mary Washington in Westmoreland County, Virginia. George had two brothers named Lawrence and Augustine. When George was a child, his family moved to Ferry Farm on the Rappahannok River. While living there, George studied in a one-room schoolhouse for a couple of years, studying spelling and handwriting mostly.

George had often lived in the shadow of his older brother Lawrence. Lawrence had studied in England and married a wealthy woman from England named Anne Fairfax. Lawrence also served in the army and the Virginia House of Burgesses. Then when George was 16, Lord Fairfax of England sent George on an expedition to survey the Shenandoah Valley. During this trip, George encountered Indians and European settlers. When George finally came home, he had endured sleeping in haystacks, bathing in creeks, and hunting for food, such as wild turkeys, in the woods. This expedition was important to George because it proved he could be an excellent surveyor and explorer and it landed him the job as the Official Surveyor of Culpepper County in Virginia.

George Washington began his career as an explorer at a fairly young age. George had been serving in the militia and as a partner to the powerful Ohio Company. That is when, in the summer of 1753, French soldiers and groups of Indians marched south from Lake Erie, killing British settlers along the way as they claimed land for France. Governor Robert Dinwiddie would not tolerate this and immediately ordered for someone to take a message to the French occupied Fort Le Boeuf. George Washington, then a young 6-foot tall major, volunteered for the extremely dangerous job. Washington chose this as an excellent chance to prove himself as a brave frontiersman.

As Washington and his rag-tag party of guides and interpreters set out in the fall, winter came early. The rain turned to heavy snow and he often passed by heavily armed French forts and woods in which hostile Indians lived. After about a month, George delivered the message to the commandant and waited anxiously for his reply. When he replied that he wasn't leaving, George traveled another month and a half back home. George nearly died as he fell off his raft while crossing the Allegheny River, and his body plunged into the icy, dark waters. When he returned home after a two and a half month's journey, the tales of his adventure thrilled people and the threat of war with the French became ever closer.

In 1754, George Washington accomplished one of the most heroic deeds ever. He participated in the first battle of the French and Indian War. French soldiers had captured a British Fortress in the Ohio River Valley. George and his force of around 300 men built a small makeshift fort and nicknamed it Fort Necessity. Washington had chosen to build on low, soggy land, which provided a few tactical advantages. George Washington's ability to utilize his surroundings and use them to accomplish his goals is one of the many traits I admire about him. Unfortunately, on July 3, French forces attacked and seized the fort, but Washington and his men were freed the next day. Even though George had lost the battle, he would not let himself lose the war. The French and Indian War, however, would last until 1763.

During his life, George Washington had overcome various obstacles. One of the hardest decisions he had to make was whether to join the patriot cause or keep his ties with Britain intact. As his fellow Americans rebelled against the high taxes imposed by Britain, George sat quietly at Mount Vernon tending to his plantation's affairs. He knew many powerful and prestigious men from Britain and was torn between his friends and his country. He resented the violent tactics and political injustice Britain used to keep their colonies in check. Even though George appreciated the generosity Britain towards him, he knew it would be best to help his fledgling country. This is just one of the many obstacles George Washington encountered over time.

One of George Washington's greatest achievements of his life was when he was appointed Commander in Chief of the newly formed Continental Army on May 10, 1775. Washington denied the salary that came with this job, feeling that he owed this to his country. He stated that the colonies had to fight as one unit to succeed. He convinced his troops to fight for their country, not just their state. Washington expertly commanded his troops as British soldiers poured into the country. His ability to gain respect and control his troops made Washington an expert leader, both for his troops and his country.

On October 9, 1781, the Revolutionary War finally ended. Washington immediately resigned as Commander in Chief and returned home. After several years, Washington was asked to meet with the Continental Congress to change the Articles of Confederation. That meeting ended in the ratification of the Constitution, which brought more power to the Federal Government. Then on April 4, 1784, George Washington was elected the first President of the United States. As he arrived in New York City, many people cheered him on and celebrations began everywhere. Washington used his presidency to raise taxes, quell various rebellions, and build up our country's military strength. These were just some of Washington's many other accomplishments in life.

As you know, George Washington was the first President of the United States, and probably the greatest. He created various departments in the government such as the defense department. He and Alexander Hamilton created a national bank and began to distribute soldier's pay. Also, he designated Washington, D.C. as the nation's capitol. He ran for office again and was unanimously elected president. Washington used taxes on products such as foreign goods and whiskey to help lower the national debt. When these tactics caused a rebellion to spark, Washington sent federal troops to quell it. Washington's natural persuasiveness convinced Britain and France to give up all the land that they still held in America. Washington also improved trade routes and gave the federal government more power, such as ratifying treaties and raising taxes. Then, in February of 1797, Washington's term as president ended. Since then, we have never had a president who has improved our country as much as George Washington did.

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To me, a hero is someone who has done something admirable in his life and someone whom you can always look up to. That is why George Washington is my hero. He accomplished many different things during his lifetime. George Washington won our country's freedom from Britain, so the whole United States of America is here because of him.

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George Washington had a huge impact on the world. He fought in the French-Indian war as a young man and he was commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He became the first president of America. "Known as the “Father of His Country,” his face appears on the U.S. dollar bill and quarter, and dozens of U.S. schools, towns and counties, as well as the state of Washington and the nation’s capital city, are named for him."("George Washington")

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Contents

1. George Washington's Early Years

2. An Officer and Gentleman Farmer

3. George Washington During the American Revolution

4. America's First President

5. George Washington's Accomplishments

6. George Washington's Retirement to Mount Vernon and Death

7. Photo Gallery

George Washington (1732-99) was commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (1775-83) and served two terms as the first U.S. president, from 1789 to 1797. The son of a prosperous planter, Washington was raised in colonial Virginia. As a young man, he worked as a surveyor then fought in the French and Indian War (1754-63). During the American Revolution, he led the colonial forces to victory over the British and became a national hero. In 1787, he was elected president of the convention that wrote the U.S. Constitution. Two years later, Washington became America's first president. Realizing that the way he handled the job would impact how future presidents approached the position, he handed down a legacy of strength, integrity and national purpose. Less than three years after leaving office, he died at his Virginia plantation, Mount Vernon, at age 67.
Explore George Washington's life in our interactive timeline
George Washington's Early Years

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, at his family's plantation on Pope's Creek in Westmoreland County, in the British colony of Virginia, to Augustine Washington (1694-1743) and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington (1708-89). George, the eldest of Augustine and Mary Washington's six children, spent much of his childhood at Ferry Farm, a plantation near Fredericksburg, Virginia. After Washington's father died when he was 11, it's likely he helped his mother manage the plantation.

Did you know? At the time of his death in 1799, George Washington owned some 300 slaves. However, before his passing, he had become opposed to slavery, and in his will he ordered that his slaves to be freed after his wife's death.

Few details about Washington's early education are known, although children of prosperous families like his typically were taught at home by private tutors or attended private schools. It's believed he finished his formal schooling at around age 15.

As a teenager, Washington, who had shown an aptitude for mathematics, became a successful surveyor. His surveying expeditions into the Virginia wilderness earned him enough money to begin acquiring land of his own.

In 1751, Washington made his only trip outside of America, when he travelled to Barbados with his older half-brother Lawrence Washington (1718-52), who was suffering from tuberculosis and hoped the warm climate would help him recuperate. Shortly after their arrival, George contracted smallpox. He survived, although the illness left him with permanent facial scars. In 1752, Lawrence, who had been educated in England and served as Washington's mentor, died. Washington eventually inherited Lawrence's estate, Mount Vernon, on the Potomac River near Alexandria, Virginia.

An Officer and Gentleman Farmer

In December 1752, Washington, who had no previous military experience, was made a commander of the Virginia militia. He saw action in the French and Indian War and was eventually put in charge of all of Virginia's militia forces. By 1759, Washington had resigned his commission, returned to Mount Vernon and was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, where he served until 1774. In January 1759, he married Martha Dandridge Custis (1731-1802), a wealthy widow with two children. Washington became a devoted stepfather to her children; he and Martha Washington never had any offspring of their own.

In the ensuing years, Washington expanded Mount Vernon from 2,000 acres into an 8,000-acre property with five farms. He grew a variety of crops, including wheat and corn, bred mules and maintained fruit orchards and a successful fishery. He was deeply interested in farming and continually experimented with new crops and methods of land conservation.

George Washington During the American Revolution

By the late 1760s, Washington had experienced firsthand the effects of rising taxes imposed on American colonists by the British, and came to believe that it was in the best interests of the colonists to declare independence from England. Washington served as a delegate to the First Continental Congress in 1774 in Philadelphia. By the time the Second Continental Congress convened a year later, the American Revolution had begun in earnest, and Washington was named commander in chief of the Continental Army.

Washington proved to be a better general than military strategist. His strength lay not in his genius on the battlefield but in his ability to keep the struggling colonial army together. His troops were poorly trained and lacked food, ammunition and other supplies (soldiers sometimes even went without shoes in winter). However, Washington was able to give them the direction and motivation. His leadership during the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge was a testament to his power to inspire his men to keep going.

Over the course of the grueling eight-year war, the colonial forces won few battles but consistently held their own against the British. In October 1781, with the aid of the French (who allied themselves with the colonists over their rivals the British), the Continental forces were able to capture British troops under General Charles Cornwallis (1738-1805) in the Battle of Yorktown. This action effectively ended the Revolutionary War and Washington was declared a national hero.

America's First President

In 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris between Great Britain and the U.S., Washington, believing he had done his duty, gave up his command of the army and returned to Mount Vernon, intent on resuming his life as a gentleman farmer and family man. However, in 1787, he was asked to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and head the committee to draft the new constitution. His impressive leadership there convinced the delegates that he was by far the most qualified man to become the nation's first president.

At first Washington balked. He wanted to, at last, return to a quiet life at home and leave governing the new nation to others. But public opinion was so strong that eventually he gave in. The first presidential election was held on January 7, 1789, and Washington won handily. John Adams (1735-1826), who received the second-largest number of votes, became the nation's first vice president. The 57-year-old Washington was inaugurated on April 30, 1789, in New York City. Because Washington, D.C., America's future capital city wasn't yet built, he lived in New York and Philadelphia. While in office, he signed a bill establishing a future, permanent U.S. capital along the Potomac River-the city later named Washington, D.C., in his honor.

George Washington's Accomplishments

The United States was a small nation when Washington took office, consisting of 11 states and approximately 4 million people, and there was no precedent for how the new president should conduct domestic or foreign business. Mindful that his actions would likely determine how future presidents were expected to govern, Washington worked hard to set an example of fairness, prudence and integrity. In foreign matters, he supported cordial relations with other countries but also favored a position of neutrality in foreign conflicts. Domestically, he nominated the first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, John Jay (1745-1829), signed a bill establishing the first national bank, the Bank of the United States, and set up his own presidential cabinet.

His two most prominent cabinet appointees were Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) and Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), two men who disagreed strongly on the role of the federal government. Hamilton favored a strong central government and was part of the Federalist Party, while Jefferson favored stronger states' rights as part of the Democratic-Republican Party, the forerunner to the Democratic Party. Washington believed that divergent views were critical for the health of the new government, but he was distressed at what he saw as an emerging partisanship.

George Washington's presidency was marked by a series of firsts. He signed the first United States copyright law, protecting the copyrights of authors. He also signed the first Thanksgiving proclamation, making November 26 a national day of Thanksgiving for the end of the war for American independence and the successful ratification of the Constitution.

During Washington's presidency, Congress passed the first federal revenue law, a tax on distilled spirits. In July 1794, farmers in Western Pennsylvania rebelled over the so-called "whiskey tax." Washington called in over 12,000 militiamen to Pennsylvania to dissolve the Whiskey Rebellion in one of the first major tests of the authority of the national government.

Under Washington's leadership, the states ratified the Bill of Rights, and five new states entered the union: North Carolina (1789), Rhode Island (1790), Vermont (1791), Kentucky (1792) and Tennessee (1796).

In his second term, Washington issued the proclamation of neutrality to avoid entering the 1793 war between Great Britain and France. But when French minister to the United States Edmond Charles Genet-known to history as "Citizen Genet"-toured the United States, he boldly flaunted the proclamation, attempting to set up American ports as French military bases and gain support for his cause in the Western United States. His meddling caused a stir between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans, widening the rift between parties and making consensus-building more difficult.

In 1795, Washington signed the "Treaty of Amity Commerce and Navigation, between His Britannic Majesty; and The United States of America," or Jay's Treaty, so-named for John Jay, who had negotiated it with the government of King George III. It helped the U.S. avoid war with Great Britain, but also rankled certain members of Congress back home and was fiercely opposed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Internationally, it caused a stir among the French, who believed it violated previous treaties between the United States and France.

Washington's administration signed two other influential international treaties. Pinckney's Treaty of 1795, also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo, established friendly relations between the United States and Spain, firming up borders between the U.S. and Spanish territories in North America and opening up the Mississippi to American traders. The Treaty of Tripoli, signed the following year, gave American ships access to Mediterranean shipping lanes in exchange for a yearly tribute to the Pasha of Tripoli.

George Washington's Retirement to Mount Vernon and Death

In 1796, after two terms as president and declining to serve a third term, Washington finally retired. In Washington's farewell address, he urged the new nation to maintain the highest standards domestically and to keep involvement with foreign powers to a minimum. The address is still read each February in the U.S. Senate to commemorate Washington's birthday.

Washington returned to Mount Vernon and devoted his attentions to making the plantation as productive as it had been before he became president. More than four decades of public service had aged him, but he was still a commanding figure. In December 1799, he caught a cold after inspecting his properties in the rain. The cold developed into a throat infection and Washington died on the night of December 14, 1799 at the age of 67. He was entombed at Mount Vernon, which in 1960 was designated a national historic landmark.

Washington left one of the most enduring legacies of any American in history. Known as the "Father of His Country," his face appears on the U.S. dollar bill and quarter, and dozens of U.S. schools, towns and counties, as well as the state of Washington and the nation's capital city, are named for him.

Photo Gallery

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George Washington's Early Years An Officer and Gentleman Farmer George Washington During the American Revolution America's First President George Washington's Accomplishments George Washington's Retirement to Mount Vernon and Death Photo Gallery George Washington (1732-99) was commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (1775-83) and served two terms as the first U.S.

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By Dylan Wallis, Hayden Fuentes, Cayla Williams, and Khunt Zaw