George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) was an American political leader, military general, statesman, and founding father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Previously, he led Patriot forces to victory in the nation's War for Independence. During the French Revolution, he proclaimed a policy of neutrality while sanctioning the Jay Treaty. He set enduring precedents for the office of president, including the title 'President of the United States', and his Farewell Address is widely regarded as a pre-eminent statement on republicanism. The Washington family was a wealthy Virginia family which had made its fortune in land speculation. By English common law Washington was a naturalized subject of the King, as were all others born in the English colonies. His father was a justice of the peace and a prominent public figure who had three additional children from his first marriage to Jane Butler.