We honor Washington and Lincoln because they both led the United States through some very tough times. Let's talk more about these presidents and what they did for the United States. George Washington was a very important man in United States history. He was its first president. There were thirteen colonies in America that belonged to Britain.
Colonies are areas that are controlled by an outside country.
Other areas were claimed by France and Spain or were unexplored. As a young man, Washington fought for Britain in a war against the French. He was a good soldier. Britain won the war, but it had cost a lot of money. The British made the American colonists pay high taxes to cover the costs of the war.