George Washington

George Washington (February 22, 1732 [O.S. February 11, 1731] – December 14, 1799) was a Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot forces to victory in the American Revolutionary War against the British Empire. He is commonly known as the Father of His Country for his role in bringing about American independence.
Born in the Colony of Virginia, Washington became the commander of the Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War (1754–1763). He was later elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, and opposed the perceived oppression of the American colonists by the British Crown. When the American Revolutionary War against the British began in 1775, Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. He directed a poorly organized and equipped force against disciplined British troops. Washington and his army achieved an early victory at the Siege of Boston in March 1776 but were forced to retreat from New York City in November. Washington crossed the Delaware River and won the battles of Trenton in late 1776 and Princeton in early 1777, then lost the battles of Brandywine and Germantown later that year. He faced criticism of his command, low troop morale, and a lack of provisions for his forces as the war continued. Ultimately Washington led a combined French and American force to a decisive victory over the British at Yorktown in 1781. In the resulting Treaty of Paris in 1783, the British acknowledged the sovereign independence of the United States. Washington then served as president of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which drafted the current Constitution of the United States.
Washington was elected president unanimously by the Electoral College in 1788 and 1792. As the first U.S. president, he implemented a strong, well-financed national government while remaining impartial in the fierce rivalry that emerged within his cabinet between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. During the French Revolution, he proclaimed a policy of neutrality while supporting the Jay Treaty with Britain. Washington set enduring precedents for the office of president, including republicanism, a peaceful transfer of power, the use of the title "Mr. President", and the two-term tradition. His 1796 farewell address became a preeminent statement on republicanism: Washington wrote about the importance of national unity and the dangers that regionalism, partisanship, and foreign influence pose to it. As a planter of tobacco and wheat at Mount Vernon, Washington owned many slaves. He began opposing slavery near the end of his life, and provided in his will for the manumission of his slaves.
Washington's image is an icon of American culture and he has been extensively memorialized; his namesakes include the national capital and the State of Washington. In both popular and scholarly polls, he is consistently considered one of the greatest presidents in American history.
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, at Popes Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the first of six children of Augustine and Mary Ball Washington. His father was a justice of the peace and a prominent public figure who had four additional children from his first marriage to Jane Butler. Washington was not close to his father and rarely mentioned him in later years; he had a fractious relationship with his mother. Among his siblings, he was particularly close to his older half-brother Lawrence.
The family moved to a plantation on Little Hunting Creek in 1735 before settling at Ferry Farm near Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1738. When Augustine died in 1743, Washington inherited Ferry Farm and ten slaves; Lawrence inherited Little Hunting Creek and renamed it Mount Vernon. Because of his father's death, Washington did not have the formal education his elder half-brothers had received at Appleby Grammar School in England; he instead attended the Lower Church School in Hartfield. He learned mathematics and land surveying, and became a talented draftsman and mapmaker. By early adulthood, he was writing with what his biographer Ron Chernow described as "considerable force" and "precision". As a teenager, Washington compiled over a hundred rules for social interaction styled The Rules of Civility, copied from an English translation of a French guidebook.
Washington often visited Belvoir, the plantation of William Fairfax, Lawrence's father-in-law, and Mount Vernon. Fairfax became Washington's patron and surrogate father. In 1748, Washington spent a month with a team surveying Fairfax's Shenandoah Valley property. The following year, he received a surveyor's license from the College of William & Mary. Even though Washington had not served the customary apprenticeship, Thomas Fairfax (William's cousin) appointed him surveyor of Culpeper County, Virginia. Washington took his oath of office on July 20, 1749, and resigned in 1750. By 1752, he had bought almost 1,500 acres (600 ha) in the Shenandoah Valley and owned 2,315 acres (937 ha).
In 1751, Washington left mainland North America for the first and only time, when he accompanied Lawrence to Barbados, hoping the climate would cure his brother's tuberculosis. Washington contracted smallpox during the trip, which left his face slightly scarred. Lawrence died in 1752, and Washington leased Mount Vernon from his widow, Anne; he inherited it outright after her death in 1761.
Lawrence Washington's service as adjutant general of the Virginia militia inspired George to seek a militia commission. Virginia's lieutenant governor, Robert Dinwiddie, appointed Washington as a major and commander of one of the four militia districts. The British and French were competing for control of the Ohio River Valley: the British were constructing forts along the river, and the French between the river and Lake Erie.
In October 1753, Dinwiddie appointed Washington as a special envoy to demand the French forces vacate land that was claimed by the British. Washington was also directed to make peace with the Iroquois Confederacy and to gather intelligence about the French forces. Washington met with Iroquois leader Tanacharison at Logstown. Washington said that at this meeting Tanacharison named him Conotocaurius. This name, meaning "devourer of villages", had previously been given to his great-grandfather John Washington in the late 17th century by the Susquehannock.
Washington's party reached the Ohio River in November 1753 and was intercepted by a French patrol. The party was escorted to Fort Le Boeuf, where Washington was received in a friendly manner. He delivered the British demand to vacate to the French commander Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre, but the French refused to leave. Saint-Pierre gave Washington his official answer after a few days' delay, as well as food and winter clothing for his party's journey back to Virginia. Washington completed the precarious mission in difficult winter conditions, achieving a measure of distinction when his report was published in Virginia and London.
In February 1754, Dinwiddie promoted Washington to lieutenant colonel and second-in-command of the 300-strong Virginia Regiment, with orders to confront the French at the Forks of the Ohio. Washington set out with half the regiment in April and was soon aware that a French force of 1,000 had begun construction of Fort Duquesne there. In May, having established a defensive position at Great Meadows, Washington learned that the French had made camp seven miles (11 km) away; he decided to take the offensive. The French detachment proved to be only about 50 men, so on May 28 Washington commanded an ambush. His small force of Virginians and Indian allies killed the French, including their commander Joseph Coulon de Jumonville, who had been carrying a diplomatic message for the British. The French later found their countrymen dead and scalped, blaming Washington, who had retreated to Fort Necessity.
The rest of the Virginia Regiment joined Washington the following month with news that he had been promoted to the rank of colonel and given command of the full regiment. They were reinforced by an independent company of a hundred South Carolinians led by Captain James Mackay; his royal commission outranked Washington's and a conflict of command ensued. On July 3, 900 French soldiers attacked Fort Necessity, and the ensuing battle ended in Washington's surrender. Washington did not speak French, but signed a surrender document in which he unwittingly took responsibility for "assassinating" Jumonville, later blaming the translator for not properly translating it. The Virginia Regiment was divided and Washington was offered a captaincy in one of the newly formed regiments. He refused, as it would have been a demotion—the British had ordered that "colonials" could not be ranked any higher than captain—and instead resigned his commission. The Jumonville affair became the incident which ignited the French and Indian War.
In 1755, Washington volunteered as an aide to General Edward Braddock, who led a British expedition to expel the French from Fort Duquesne and the Ohio Country. On Washington's recommendation, Braddock split the army into one main column and a smaller "flying column". Washington was suffering from severe dysentery so did not initially travel with the expedition forces. When he rejoined Braddock at Monongahela, still very ill, the French and their Indian allies ambushed the divided army. Two-thirds of the British force became casualties in the ensuing Battle of the Monongahela, and Braddock was killed. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Gage, Washington rallied the survivors and formed a rear guard, allowing the remnants of the force to retreat. During the engagement, Washington had two horses shot out from under him, and his hat and coat were pierced by bullets. His conduct redeemed his reputation among critics of his command in the Battle of Fort Necessity, but he was not included by the succeeding commander (Colonel Thomas Dunbar) in planning subsequent operations.
The Virginia Regiment was reconstituted in August 1755, and Dinwiddie appointed Washington its commander, again with the rank of colonel. Washington clashed over seniority almost immediately, this time with Captain John Dagworthy, who commanded a detachment of Marylanders at the regiment's headquarters in Fort Cumberland. Washington, impatient for an offensive against Fort Duquesne, was convinced Braddock would have granted him a royal commission and pressed his case in February 1756 with Braddock's successor as Commander-in-Chief, William Shirley, and again in January 1757 with Shirley's successor, Lord Loudoun. Loudoun humiliated Washington, refused him a royal commission, and agreed only to relieve him of the responsibility of manning Fort Cumberland.
In 1758, the Virginia Regiment was assigned to the British Forbes Expedition to capture Fort Duquesne. General John Forbes took Washington's advice on some aspects of the expedition but rejected his opinion on the best route to the fort. Forbes nevertheless made Washington a brevet brigadier general and gave him command of one of the three brigades that was assigned to assault the fort. The French had abandoned the fort and the valley before the assault, however, and Washington only saw a friendly fire incident which left 14 dead and 26 injured. Frustrated, he resigned his commission soon afterwards and returned to Mount Vernon.
Under Washington, the Virginia Regiment had defended 300 miles (480 km) of frontier against twenty Indian attacks in ten months. He increased the professionalism of the regiment as it grew from 300 to 1,000 men. Though he failed to realize a royal commission, which made him hostile towards the British, he gained self-confidence, leadership skills, and knowledge of British military tactics. The destructive competition Washington witnessed among colonial politicians fostered his later support of a strong central government.
On January 6, 1759, Washington, at age 26, married Martha Dandridge Custis, the 27-year-old widow of wealthy plantation owner Daniel Parke Custis. Martha was intelligent, gracious, and experienced in managing a planter's estate, and the couple had a happy marriage. They lived at Mount Vernon, where Washington cultivated tobacco and wheat. The marriage gave Washington control over Martha's one-third dower interest in the 18,000-acre (7,300 ha) Custis estate, and he managed the remaining two-thirds for Martha's children. As a result, he became one of the wealthiest men in Virginia, which increased his social standing.
At Washington's urging, Governor Lord Botetourt fulfilled Dinwiddie's 1754 promise to grant land bounties to those who served with volunteer militias during the French and Indian War. In late 1770, Washington inspected the lands in the Ohio and Great Kanawha regions, and he engaged surveyor William Crawford to subdivide it. Crawford allotted 23,200 acres (9,400 ha) to Washington, who told the veterans that their land was unsuitable for farming and agreed to purchase 20,147 acres (8,153 ha), leaving some feeling that they had been duped. He also doubled the size of Mount Vernon to 6,500 acres (2,600 ha) and, by 1775, had more than doubled its slave population to over one hundred.
As a respected military hero and large landowner, Washington held local offices and was elected to the Virginia provincial legislature, representing Frederick County in the Virginia House of Burgesses for seven years beginning in 1758. Early in his legislative career, Washington rarely spoke at or even attended legislative sessions, but was more politically active starting in the 1760s, becoming a prominent critic of Britain's taxation and mercantilist policies towards the American colonies. Washington imported luxury goods from England, paying for them by exporting tobacco. His profligate spending combined with low tobacco prices left him £1,800 in debt by 1764. Washington's complete reliance on London tobacco buyer and merchant Robert Cary also threatened his economic security. Between 1764 and 1766, he sought to diversify his holdings: he changed Mount Vernon's primary cash crop from tobacco to wheat and expanded operations to include flour milling and hemp farming. Washington's stepdaughter Patsy suffered from epileptic attacks, and she died at Mount Vernon in 1773, allowing Washington to use part of the inheritance from her estate to settle his debts.
Washington was opposed to the taxes which the British Parliament imposed on the Colonies without proper representation. He believed the Stamp Act 1765 was oppressive and celebrated its repeal the following year. In response to the Townshend Acts, he introduced a proposal in May 1769 which urged Virginians to boycott British goods; the Townshend Acts were mostly repealed in 1770. Washington and other colonists were also angered by the Royal Proclamation of 1763 (which banned American settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains) and British interference in American western land speculation (in which Washington was a participant).
Parliament sought to punish Massachusetts colonists for their role in the Boston Tea Party in 1774 by passing the Coercive Acts, which Washington saw as "an invasion of our rights and privileges". That July, he and George Mason drafted a list of resolutions for the Fairfax County committee, including a call to end the Atlantic slave trade; the resolutions were adopted. In August, Washington attended the First Virginia Convention and was selected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress. As tensions rose in 1774, he helped train militias in Virginia and organized enforcement of the Continental Association boycott of British goods instituted by the Congress.
The American Revolutionary War broke out on April 19, 1775 with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Washington hastily departed Mount Vernon on May 4 to join the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. On June 14, Congress created the Continental Army and John Adams nominated Washington as its commander-in-chief, mainly because of his military experience and the belief that a Virginian would better unite the colonies. He was unanimously elected by Congress the next day. Washington gave an acceptance speech on June 16, declining a salary, though he was later reimbursed expenses.
Congress chose Washington's primary staff officers, including Artemas Ward, Horatio Gates, Charles Lee, Philip Schuyler, and Nathanael Greene. Henry Knox impressed Adams and Washington with his knowledge of ordnance and was promoted to colonel and chief of artillery. Similarly, Washington was impressed by Alexander Hamilton's intelligence and bravery; he would later promote Hamilton to colonel and appoint him his aide-de-camp.
Washington initially banned the enlistment of Black soldiers, both free and enslaved. The British saw an opportunity to divide the colonies: the colonial governor of Virginia issued a proclamation promising freedom to slaves if they joined the British forces. In response to this proclamation and the need for troops, Washington soon overturned his ban. By the end of the war, around one-tenth of the soldiers in the Continental Army were Black, with some obtaining freedom.
In April 1775, in response to the growing rebellious movement, British troops occupied Boston, led by General Thomas Gage, commander of British forces in America. Local militias surrounded the city and trapped the British troops, resulting in a standoff. As Washington headed for Boston, he was greeted by cheering crowds and political ceremony; he became a symbol of the Patriot cause. Upon Washington's arrival on July 2, he went to inspect the army, but found undisciplined militia. After consultation, he initiated Benjamin Franklin's suggested reforms, instituting military drills and imposing strict disciplinary measures. Washington promoted some of the soldiers who had performed well at Bunker Hill to officer rank, and removed officers who he saw as incompetent. In October, King George III declared that the colonies were in open rebellion and relieved Gage of command, replacing him with General William Howe.
When the Charles River froze over, Washington was eager to cross and storm Boston, but Gates and others were opposed to having untrained militia attempt to assault well-garrisoned fortifications. Instead, Washington agreed to secure the Dorchester Heights above Boston to try to force the British out. On March 17, 8,906 British troops, 1,100 Loyalists, and 1,220 women and children began a chaotic naval evacuation. Washington entered the city with 500 men, giving them explicit orders not to plunder. He refrained from exerting military authority in Boston, leaving civilian matters in the hands of local authorities.
After the victory at Boston, Washington correctly guessed that the British would return to New York City and retaliate. He arrived there on April 13, 1776, and ordered the construction of fortifications. He also ordered his forces to treat civilians and their property with respect, to avoid the abuses Bostonians suffered at the hands of British troops. The British forces, including more than a hundred ships and thousands of troops, began arriving on Staten Island in July to lay siege to the city.
Howe's troop strength totaled 32,000 regulars and Hessian auxiliaries; Washington had 23,000 men, mostly untrained recruits and militia. In August, Howe landed 20,000 troops at Gravesend, Brooklyn, and approached Washington's fortifications. Overruling his generals, Washington chose to fight, based on inaccurate information that Howe's army had only around 8,000 soldiers. In the Battle of Long Island, Howe assaulted Washington's flank and inflicted 1,500 Patriot casualties. Washington retreated to Manhattan.
Howe sent a message to Washington to negotiate peace, addressing him as "George Washington, Esq." Washington declined to accept the message, demanding to be addressed with diplomatic protocol—not as a rebel. Despite misgivings, Washington heeded the advice of General Greene to defend Fort Washington, but was ultimately forced to abandon it. Howe pursued and Washington retreated across the Hudson River to Fort Lee. In November, Howe captured Fort Washington. Loyalists in New York City considered Howe a liberator and spread a rumor that Washington had set fire to the city. Now reduced to 5,400 troops, Washington's army retreated through New Jersey.
Washington crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania, where General John Sullivan joined him with 2,000 more troops. The future of the Continental Army was in doubt due to a lack of supplies, a harsh winter, expiring enlistments, and desertions. Howe posted a Hessian garrison at Trenton to hold western New Jersey and the east shore of the Delaware. At sunrise on December 26, 1776, Washington, aided by Colonel Knox and artillery, led his men in a successful surprise attack on the Hessians.
Washington returned to New Jersey on January 3, 1777, launching an attack on the British regulars at Princeton, with 40 Americans killed or wounded and 273 British killed or captured. Howe retreated to New York City for the winter. Washington took up winter headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey. Strategically, Washington's victories at Trenton and Princeton were pivotal: they revived Patriot morale and quashed the British strategy of showing overwhelming force followed by offering generous terms, changing the course of the war.
In July 1777, the British general John Burgoyne led his British troops south from Quebec in the Saratoga campaign; he recaptured Fort Ticonderoga, intending to divide New England. However, General Howe took his army from New York City south to Philadelphia rather than joining Burgoyne near Albany. Washington and Gilbert, Marquis de Lafayette rushed to Philadelphia to engage Howe. In the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, Howe outmaneuvered Washington and marched unopposed into the American capital at Philadelphia. A Patriot attack against the British at Germantown in October failed.
In Upstate New York, the Patriots were led by General Horatio Gates. Concerned about Burgoyne's movements southward, Washington sent reinforcements north with Generals Benedict Arnold and Benjamin Lincoln. On October 7, 1777, Burgoyne tried to take Bemis Heights but was isolated from support and forced to surrender. Gates' victory emboldened Washington's critics, who favored Gates as a military leader. According to the biographer John Alden, "It was inevitable that the defeats of Washington's forces and the concurrent victory of the forces in upper New York should be compared." Admiration for Washington was waning.
Washington and his army of 11,000 men went into winter quarters at Valley Forge north of Philadelphia in December 1777. There they lost between 2,000 and 3,000 men as a result of disease and lack of food, clothing, and shelter, reducing the army to below 9,000 men. By February, Washington was facing low troop morale and increased desertions. An internal revolt by his officers prompted some members of Congress to consider removing Washington from command. Washington's supporters resisted, and the matter was ultimately dropped.
Washington made repeated petitions to Congress for provisions and expressed the urgency of the situation to a congressional delegation. Congress agreed to strengthen the army's supply lines and reorganize the quartermaster and commissary departments, while Washington launched the Grand Forage of 1778 to collect food from the surrounding region. Meanwhile, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben's incessant drilling transformed Washington's recruits into a disciplined fighting force. Washington appointed him Inspector General.
In early 1778, the French entered into a Treaty of Alliance with the Americans. In May, Howe resigned and was replaced by Sir Henry Clinton. The British evacuated Philadelphia for New York that June and Washington summoned a war council of American and French generals. He chose to order a limited strike on the retreating British. Generals Lee and Lafayette moved with 4,000 men, without Washington's knowledge, and bungled their first strike on June 28. Washington relieved Lee and achieved a draw after an expansive battle. The British continued their retreat to New York. This battle "marked the end of the war's campaigning in the northern and middle states. Washington would not fight the British in a major engagement again for more than three years". British attention shifted to the Southern theatre; in late 1778, General Clinton captured Savannah, Georgia, a key port in the American South. Washington, meanwhile, ordered an expedition against the Iroquois, the Indigenous allies of the British, destroying their villages.
Washington became America's first spymaster by designing an espionage system against the British. In 1778, Major Benjamin Tallmadge formed the Culper Ring at Washington's direction to covertly collect information about the British in New York. Intelligence from the Culper Ring saved French forces from a surprise British attack, which was itself based on intelligence from Washington's general turned British spy Benedict Arnold.
Washington had disregarded incidents of disloyalty by Arnold, who had distinguished himself in many campaigns, including the invasion of Quebec. In 1779, Arnold began supplying the British spymaster John André with sensitive information intended to allow the British to capture West Point, a key American defensive position on the Hudson River. On September 21, Arnold gave André plans to take over the garrison. André was captured by militia who discovered the plans, after which Arnold escaped to New York. On being told about Arnold's treason, Washington recalled the commanders positioned under Arnold at key points around the fort to prevent any complicity. He assumed personal command at West Point and reorganized its defenses.
By June 1780, the British had occupied the South Carolina Piedmont and had firm control of the South. Washington was reinvigorated, however, when Lafayette returned from France with more ships, men, and supplies, and 5,000 veteran French troops led by Marshal Rochambeau arrived at Newport, Rhode Island in July.
General Clinton sent Arnold, now a British brigadier general, to Virginia in December with 1,700 troops to capture Portsmouth and conduct raids on Patriot forces. Washington sent Lafayette south to counter Arnold's efforts. Washington initially hoped to bring the fight to New York, drawing the British forces away from Virginia and ending the war there, but Rochambeau advised him that Cornwallis in Virginia was the better target. On August 19, 1781, Washington and Rochambeau began a march to Yorktown, Virginia, known now as the "celebrated march". Washington was in command of an army of 7,800 Frenchmen, 3,100 militia, and 8,000 Continental troops. Inexperienced in siege warfare, he often deferred to the judgment of Rochambeau. Despite this, Rochambeau never challenged Washington's authority as the battle's commanding officer.
By late September, Patriot-French forces surrounded Yorktown, trapping the British Army, while the French navy emerged victorious at the Battle of the Chesapeake. The final American offensive began with a shot fired by Washington. The siege ended with a British surrender on October 19, 1781; over 7,000 British soldiers became prisoners of war. Washington negotiated the terms of surrender for two days, and the official signing ceremony took place on October 19. Although the peace treaty was not negotiated for two more years, Yorktown proved to be the last significant battle of the Revolutionary War, with the British Parliament agreeing to cease hostilities in March 1782.
When peace negotiations began in April 1782, both the British and French began gradually evacuating their forces. In March 1783, Washington successfully calmed the Newburgh Conspiracy, a planned mutiny by American officers dissatisfied with a lack of pay. Washington submitted an account of $450,000 in expenses which he had advanced to the army. The account was settled, though it was vague about large sums and included expenses his wife had incurred through visits to his headquarters.
When the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783, Britain officially recognized American independence. Washington disbanded his army, giving a farewell address to his soldiers on November 2. He oversaw the evacuation of British forces in New York and was greeted by parades and celebrations.
In early December 1783, Washington bade farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern and resigned as commander-in-chief soon after. In a final appearance in uniform, he gave a statement to the Congress: "I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my official life, by commending the interests of our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God, and those who have the superintendence of them, to his holy keeping." Washington's resignation was acclaimed at home and abroad, "extolled by later historians as a signal event that set the country's political course" according to the historian Edward J. Larson. The same month, Washington was appointed president-general of the Society of the Cincinnati, a newly established hereditary fraternity of Revolutionary War officers.
After spending just ten days at Mount Vernon out of 8+1⁄2 years of war, Washington was eager to return home. He arrived on Christmas Eve; Professor John E. Ferling wrote that he was delighted to be "free of the bustle of a camp and the busy scenes of public life". He received a constant stream of visitors paying their respects at Mount Vernon.
Washington reactivated his interests in the Great Dismal Swamp and Potomac Canal projects, begun before the war, though neither paid him any dividends. He undertook a 34-day, 680-mile (1,090 km) trip in 1784 to check on his land holdings in the Ohio Country. He oversaw the completion of remodeling work at Mount Vernon, which transformed his residence into the mansion that survives to this day—although his financial situation was not strong. Creditors paid him in depreciated wartime currency, and he owed significant amounts in taxes and wages. Mount Vernon had made no profit during his absence, and he saw persistently poor crop yields due to pestilence and bad weather. His estate recorded its eleventh year running at a deficit in 1787.
To make his estate profitable again, Washington undertook a new landscaping plan and succeeded in cultivating a range of fast-growing trees and native shrubs. He also began breeding mules after being gifted a stud by King Charles III of Spain in 1785; he believed that they would revolutionize agriculture.
Before returning to private life in June 1783, Washington called for a strong union. Though he was concerned that he might be criticized for meddling in civil matters, he sent a circular letter to the states, maintaining that the Articles of Confederation were no more than "a rope of sand". He believed the nation was on the verge of "anarchy and confusion", was vulnerable to foreign intervention, and that a national constitution would unify the states under a strong central government.
When Shays' Rebellion erupted in Massachusetts in August 1786, Washington was further convinced that a national constitution was needed. Some nationalists feared that the new republic had descended into lawlessness, and they met on September 11, 1786, at Annapolis to ask the Congress to revise the Articles of Confederation. Congress agreed to a Constitutional Convention to be held in Philadelphia in 1787, with each state to send delegates. Washington was chosen to lead the Virginia delegation, but he declined. He had concerns about the legality of the convention and consulted James Madison, Henry Knox, and others. They persuaded him to attend as they felt his presence might induce reluctant states to send delegates and smooth the way for the ratification process while also giving legitimacy to the convention.
Washington arrived in Philadelphia on May 9, 1787, and the convention began on May 25. Benjamin Franklin nominated Washington to preside over the meeting, and he was unanimously elected. The delegate Edmund Randolph introduced Madison's Virginia Plan; it called for an entirely new constitution and a sovereign national government, which Washington highly recommended. However, details around representation were particularly contentious, resulting in a competing New Jersey Plan being brought forward. On July 10, Washington wrote to Alexander Hamilton: "I almost despair of seeing a favorable issue to the proceedings of our convention and do therefore repent having had any agency in the business." Nevertheless, he lent his prestige to the work of the other delegates, lobbying many to support the ratification of the Constitution. The final version adopted the Connecticut Compromise between the two plans, and was signed by 39 of 55 delegates on September 17, 1787.
Just prior to the first presidential election of 1789, in 1788 Washington was appointed chancellor of the College of William & Mary. He continued to serve through his presidency until his death. The delegates to the convention for the first presidential election anticipated a Washington presidency and left it to him to define the office once elected. When the state electors voted on February 4, 1789, Washington was unanimously elected, unique among U.S. presidents. John Adams was elected vice president. Despite writing that he felt "anxious and painful sensations" about leaving Mount Vernon, Washington departed for New York City on April 16.
Washington was inaugurated on April 30, 1789, taking the oath of office at Federal Hall in New York City. His coach was led by militia and a marching band and followed by statesmen and foreign dignitaries in an inaugural parade, with a crowd of 10,000. Robert R. Livingston administered the oath, using a Bible provided by the Masons. Washington read a speech in the Senate Chamber, asking "that Almighty Being ... consecrate the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States". Though he wished to serve without a salary, Congress insisted that he receive one, providing Washington $25,000 annually (compared to $5,000 annually for the vice president).
Washington wrote to James Madison: "As the first of everything in our situation will serve to establish a precedent, it is devoutly wished on my part that these precedents be fixed on true principles." To that end, he argued against the majestic titles proposed by the Senate, including "His Majesty" and "His Highness the President", in favor of "Mr. President". His executive precedents included the inaugural address, messages to Congress, and the cabinet form of the executive branch. He also selected the first justices for the Supreme Court.
Washington was an able administrator and judge of talent and character. The old Confederation lacked the powers to handle its workload and had weak leadership, no executive, a small bureaucracy of clerks, large debt, worthless paper money, and no power to establish taxes. Congress created executive departments in 1789, including the State Department, the War Department, and the Treasury Department. Washington appointed Edmund Randolph as Attorney General, Samuel Osgood as Postmaster General, Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State, Henry Knox as Secretary of War, and Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury. Washington's cabinet became a consulting and advisory body, not mandated by the Constitution. Washington restricted cabinet discussions to topics of his choosing and expected department heads to agreeably carry out his decisions. He exercised restraint in using his veto power, writing that "I give my Signature to many Bills with which my Judgment is at variance."
Washington opposed political factionalism and remained non-partisan throughout his presidency (the only United States president to do so). He was sympathetic to a Federalist form of government. Washington's closest advisors formed two factions, portending the First Party System. Hamilton formed the Federalist Party to promote national credit and a financially powerful nation. Jefferson opposed Hamilton's agenda and founded the Jeffersonian Republicans. Washington favored Hamilton's agenda, however, and it ultimately went into effect—resulting in bitter controversy. Other domestic issues during Washington's first term included the planning of a permanent capital, the passage of several constitutional amendments including the Bill of Rights, and continuing debates concerning slavery and expansion into Native American territory. Washington proclaimed November 26, 1789, as a day of Thanksgiving to encourage national unity.
Washington initially planned to retire after his first term, weary of office and in poor health. After dealing with the infighting in his cabinet and with partisan critics, he showed little enthusiasm for a second term, and Martha wanted him not to run. Washington's nephew George Augustine Washington, managing Mount Vernon in his absence, was critically ill, further increasing Washington's desire to retire. Many, however, urged him to run for a second term. Madison told him that his absence would allow the dangerous political rift in his cabinet and the House to worsen. Jefferson also pleaded with him not to retire, pledging to drop his attacks on Hamilton. Hamilton maintained that Washington's absence would be "deplored as the greatest evil" to the country. With the election of 1792 nearing, Washington agreed to run. On February 13, 1793, the Electoral College unanimously re-elected Washington president, while John Adams was re-elected as vice president by a vote of 77 to 50. Washington was sworn into office by Associate Justice William Cushing on March 4, 1793, in Congress Hall in Philadelphia.
On April 22, 1793, after the French Revolutionary Wars broke out, Washington issued a proclamation declaring American neutrality. He was resolved to pursue "a conduct friendly and impartial toward the belligerent Powers" while warning Americans not to intervene in the conflict. Although Washington recognized France's revolutionary government, he eventually asked that the French minister to the United States, Edmond-Charles Genêt, be recalled. Genêt was a diplomatic troublemaker who was openly hostile toward Washington's neutrality policy. He procured four American ships as privateers to strike at Spanish forces (British allies) in Florida while organizing militias to strike at other British possessions. However, his efforts failed to draw the United States into the conflict.
During his second term Washington faced two major domestic conflicts. The first was the Whiskey Rebellion (1791–1794), a Pennsylvania revolt against liquor taxation. Washington mobilized a militia and personally commanded an expedition against the rebels which suppressed the insurgency. The second was the Northwest Indian War between White settlers and Native Americans who were supported by the British; the latter were stationed in forts that they had refused to abandon after the Revolutionary War. In 1794 American troops defeated the Native American forces at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, ending the conflict between the two.
Hamilton formulated the Jay Treaty to normalize trade relations with Britain while removing them from western forts, and also to resolve financial debts remaining from the Revolution. Chief Justice John Jay represented Washington's position and signed the treaty on November 19, 1794. Washington supported the treaty because it avoided war, although he was disappointed that its provisions favored Britain. He mobilized public opinion and secured ratification but faced frequent public criticism and political controversy. Following the British abandonment of their forts around the Great Lakes, the proposed position of the Canada–United States border was sent to arbitration. Numerous pre-Revolution debts were settled and the British opened the British West Indies to American merchants. The agreement secured peace with Britain and a decade of prosperous trade; however, Jefferson claimed that it angered France and "invited rather than avoided" war. Jefferson's claim was verified when relations with France deteriorated after the signing of the treaty, with the French Directory authorizing the seizure of American ships two days before Washington's term ended. Succeeding president John Adams was left with the prospect of war. Relations with the Spanish were more successful: Thomas Pinckney negotiated the Treaty of San Lorenzo in 1795, settling the border between the United States and Spanish territory, and guaranteeing American navigational access to the Mississippi River
On July 31, 1793, Jefferson submitted his resignation from cabinet. Hamilton resigned from office in January 1795 and was replaced by Oliver Wolcott Jr. Washington's relationship with Secretary of War Henry Knox deteriorated over rumors that Knox had profited from contracts for the construction of U.S. frigates ostensibly commissioned to combat Barbary pirates under the Naval Act of 1794. Knox was forced to resign. In the final months of his presidency, Washington was assailed by his political foes and a partisan press who accused him of being ambitious and greedy. He came to regard the press as a disuniting force. Washington also opposed demands by Congress to see papers related to the Jay Treaty, arguing that they were not "relative to any purpose under the cognizance of the House of Representatives, except that of an impeachment, which the resolution has not expressed."
At the end of his second term, Washington retired. He was dismayed with the personal attacks against him and wanted to ensure that a truly contested presidential election could be held. He did not feel bound to a two-term limit, but his retirement set a significant precedent. In May 1792, in anticipation of his retirement, Washington instructed James Madison to prepare a "valedictory address", an initial draft of which was entitled the "Farewell Address". In May 1796, Washington sent the manuscript to Hamilton, who did an extensive rewrite, while Washington provided final edits. On September 19, 1796, David Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser published the address.
Washington stressed that national identity was paramount, and said that the "name of AMERICAN... must always exalt the just pride of patriotism". Washington warned against the dangers of political parties and entangling foreign alliances with domestic affairs. He counseled friendship and commerce with all nations, but advised against involvement in European wars. He stressed the importance of religion, asserting that "religion and morality are indispensable supports" in a republic.
He closed the address by reflecting on his legacy: "I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which [my unintentioned errors] may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that my country will never cease to view them with indulgence, and that, after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest." After initial publication, many Republicans, including Madison, criticized the address and described it as an anti-French campaign document, with Madison believing that Washington was strongly pro-British. In 1972, the Washington scholar James Flexner referred to the Farewell Address as receiving as much acclaim as Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence and Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. In 2010, Chernow called the "Farewell Address" one of the most influential statements on republicanism.
Washington retired to Mount Vernon in March 1797 and devoted time to his business interests. His plantation operations were minimally profitable, and his lands in the west (on the Piedmont) yielded little income; he attempted to sell these but was unable to. He became an even more committed Federalist. He vocally supported the Alien and Sedition Acts and convinced Federalist John Marshall to run for Congress to weaken the Jeffersonian hold on Virginia. French privateers began seizing American ships in 1798, and deteriorating relations led to the "Quasi-War". Washington wrote to Secretary of War James McHenry offering to organize President Adams' army. Adams nominated him for a lieutenant general commission and the position of commander-in-chief of the armies on July 4, 1798. Washington served as the commanding general from July 13, 1798, until his death 17 months later. He participated in planning but delegated the active leadership of the army to Hamilton. No army invaded the United States during this period, and Washington did not assume a field command.
Washington was known to be rich because of what Chernow calls the "glorified façade of wealth and grandeur" at Mount Vernon. However, nearly all of his wealth was in the form of land and slaves rather than ready cash. To supplement his income, he erected a distillery for whiskey production. He bought land parcels to spur development around the new Federal City (named in his honor in 1791), and he sold individual lots to middle-income investors rather than multiple lots to large investors, believing the former would be more likely to commit to making improvements. At the time of his death in 1799, his estate was worth an estimated $780,000, and he held title to more than 58,000 acres (23,000 ha) of land across Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky, and the Northwest Territory. Washington's peak net worth was estimated to be $587 million in 2020 dollars.
On December 12, 1799, Washington inspected his farms on horseback in inclement weather for five hours. He then dined with guests without putting on dry clothes. He had a sore throat the next day but was well enough to mark trees for cutting. Early the following morning, he awoke to an inflamed throat and difficulty breathing. He ordered his estate overseer, George Rawlins, to remove nearly a pint of his blood (bloodletting was a common practice of the time). His family summoned doctors James Craik, Gustavus Richard Brown, and Elisha C. Dick. Brown initially believed Washington had quinsy; Dick thought the condition was a more serious "violent inflammation of the membranes of the throat". They continued bloodletting to approximately five pints, but Washington's condition deteriorated further. Dick proposed a tracheotomy; the other physicians were not familiar with that procedure and disapproved. Washington instructed Brown and Dick to leave the room, while he assured Craik, "Doctor, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go."
On his deathbed, afraid of being entombed alive, Washington instructed his private secretary Tobias Lear to wait three days before his burial. According to Lear, Washington died between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on December 14, 1799, with Martha seated at the foot of his bed. His last words were "'Tis well." The diagnosis of Washington's illness and the immediate cause of his death have been subjects of debate. The published account of Craik and Brown stated that his symptoms were consistent with "cynanche trachealis", a term then used to describe severe inflammation of the upper windpipe, including quinsy. Accusations of medical malpractice have persisted since Washington's death. Modern medical authors have largely concluded that he likely died from severe epiglottitis complicated by the treatments he was given, which included multiple doses of calomel (a purgative) and extensive bloodletting, likely resulting in hypovolemic shock.
Washington's funeral was held on December 18, 1799, four days after his death, at Mount Vernon. Cavalry and foot soldiers led the procession, and six colonels served as the pallbearers. The Mount Vernon funeral service was restricted mostly to family and friends. Reverend Thomas Davis read a brief funeral service, followed by a ceremony performed by members of Washington's Masonic lodge; Washington had been a Freemason since 1752. Word of his death traveled slowly, but as it reached other regions, church bells rang and many businesses closed. Memorial processions were held in major cities of the United States. Martha burned her correspondence with Washington to protect its privacy, though five letters between the couple are known to have survived.
Washington was buried in the Washington family vault at Mount Vernon on December 18, 1799. In his will, Washington left instructions for the construction of a new vault; this was completed in 1831, after a disgruntled ex-employee of the estate attempted to steal what he thought was Washington's skull. In 1832, a joint Congressional committee debated moving his body from Mount Vernon to a crypt in the United States Capitol. Southern opposition was intense, antagonized by an ever-growing rift between North and South; many were concerned that Washington's remains could end up, in the words of Representative Wiley Thompson, on "a shore foreign to his native soil" if the country became divided, and Washington's remains stayed in Mount Vernon. On October 7, 1837, Washington's remains, still in the original lead coffin, were placed within a marble sarcophagus designed by William Strickland and constructed by John Struthers.
During Washington's lifetime at least 577 slaves lived and worked at Mount Vernon. He inherited some, gained control of 84 dower slaves upon his marriage to Martha, and purchased at least 71 slaves between 1752 and 1773. From 1786, he rented slaves as part of an agreement regarding a neighboring estate; they totaled 40 in 1799.
Slavery was deeply ingrained in the economic and social fabric of the Colony of Virginia. Prior to the Revolutionary War, Washington's views on slavery matched those of most Virginia planters of the time: "his principal interest was still their contribution to the economic life of the plantation." Beginning in the 1760s, however, Washington gradually grew to oppose it. His first doubts were prompted by his choice to transition from tobacco to grain crops, which left him with a costly surplus of slaves, causing him to question the system's economic efficiency. In a 1778 letter to Lund Washington, he made clear his desire "to get quit of Negroes".
His growing disillusionment with the institution was spurred by the principles of the Revolution and revolutionary friends such as Lafayette and Hamilton. Most historians agree the Revolution was central to the evolution of Washington's attitudes; Kenneth Morgan writes that after 1783, "[Washington] began to express inner tensions about the problem of slavery more frequently, though always in private". As president, he remained publicly silent on the topic, believing it was a nationally divisive issue that could undermine the union. He gave moral support to a plan proposed by Lafayette to purchase land and free slaves to work on it, but chose not to participate in the experiment. Washington privately expressed support for emancipation to prominent Methodists Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury in 1785 but declined to sign their petition. In personal correspondence the next year, he made clear his desire to see the institution of slavery ended by a gradual legislative process, a view that correlated with the mainstream antislavery literature published in the 1780s. Washington emancipated 123 or 124 slaves, which was highly unusual among the large slave-holding Virginians during the Revolutionary era. However, he remained dependent on slave labor to work his farms.
Based on his private papers and on accounts from his contemporaries, Washington slowly developed a cautious sympathy toward abolitionism that ended with his will freeing his long-time valet Billy Lee, and freeing the rest of his personally owned slaves outright upon Martha's death. On January 1, 1801, one year after George Washington's death, Martha Washington signed an order to free his slaves. Many of them were reluctant to leave; others refused to abandon spouses or children still held as dower slaves by the Custis estate. Following Washington's instructions in his will, funds were used to feed and clothe the young, aged, and infirm slaves until the early 1830s.
Washington was baptized as an infant in April 1732 and was a devoted member of the Anglican Church. He served for more than 20 years as a vestryman and churchwarden at the Fairfax and Truro parishes in Virginia. He privately prayed and read the Bible daily, and publicly encouraged prayer. He may have taken communion regularly prior to the Revolution, but he did not do so afterwards.
Washington referred to God in American Enlightenment terms, including Providence, the Almighty, and the Divine Author. He believed in a divine power who watched over battlefields, influenced the outcome of war, protected his life, and was involved in American politics and specifically in the creation of the United States. Chernow has argued that Washington avoided evangelistic Christianity, hellfire-and-brimstone speech, and anything inclined to "flaunt his religiosity", saying that he "never used his religion as a device for partisan purposes or in official undertakings". At the same time, Washington frequently quoted from or paraphrased the Bible, and often referred to the Anglican Book of Common Prayer.
While president, Washington acknowledged major religious sects, gave speeches on religious toleration, and opposed state religion. He adopted the ideas, values, and modes of thinking of the Enlightenment, but he harbored no contempt for organized Christianity and its clergy. In 1793, speaking to members of the New Church in Baltimore, Washington said, "We have abundant reason to rejoice that in this Land the light of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry and superstition."
Freemasonry was a widely accepted institution in the late 18th century, known for advocating moral teachings. American Masonic lodges did not share the anti-clerical views of the controversial European lodges. A Masonic lodge was established in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in September 1752, and Washington was initiated two months later at the age of 20 as one of its first Entered Apprentices. Within a year, he progressed through its ranks to become a Master Mason. In 1777, he was recommended for the office of Grand Master of the newly established Grand Lodge of Virginia; sources differ as to whether he declined or was never asked, but he did not assume the role. He served as the charter Master of Alexandria Masonic lodge No. 22 in 1788–1789.
Washington's 1751 bout with smallpox may have rendered him sterile, though Chernow notes that it is possible Martha "sustained injury during the birth of Patsy, her final child, making additional births impossible". The couple lamented not having any children together. The two raised Martha's children John Parke Custis (Jacky) and Martha Parke Custis (Patsy), and later Jacky's two youngest children Eleanor Parke Custis (Nelly) and George Washington Parke Custis (Washy), and supported numerous nieces and nephews. Some descendants of West Ford, a slave of Washington's younger brother John Augustine Washington, maintain (based on family oral history) that Ford was fathered by George Washington, though this paternity has been disputed.
Washington was somewhat reserved in personality, although he was known for having a strong presence. He made speeches and announcements when required, but he was not a noted orator nor debater. He drank alcohol in moderation but was morally opposed to excessive drinking, smoking tobacco, gambling, and profanity. He was taller than most of his contemporaries; accounts of his height vary from 6 ft (1.83 m) to 6 ft 3.5 in (1.92 m). He was known for his strength. He had grey-blue eyes and long reddish-brown hair. He did not wear a powdered wig; instead he wore his hair curled, powdered, and tied in a queue in the fashion of the day.
Washington suffered from severe tooth decay and ultimately lost all of his teeth except one. He had several sets of false teeth during his presidency. Contrary to common lore, these were not made of wood, but of metal, ivory, bone, animal teeth, and human teeth possibly obtained from slaves. His dental problems left him in constant pain, which he treated with laudanum. He also experienced a painful growth in his thigh early in his first presidential term, followed by a life-threatening bout of pneumonia in 1790 from which he never fully recovered.
Washington was a talented equestrian. Jefferson described him as "the best horseman of his age". He collected thoroughbreds at Mount Vernon; his two favorite horses were Blueskin and Nelson.
Washington is one of the most influential figures in American history. Virginia's Governor Henry Lee eulogized him as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen". Polls have consistently placed Washington among the highest-ranked of presidents.
Washington became an international symbol for liberation and nationalism as the leader of the first successful revolution against a colonial empire. In 1879, Congress proclaimed Washington's Birthday to be a federal holiday. In 1976, he was posthumously appointed General of the Armies of the United States during the American Bicentennial. President Gerald Ford stated that Washington would "rank first among all officers of the Army, past and present". On March 13, 1978, Washington was officially promoted by the Army.
In 1809, Mason Locke Weems wrote a hagiographic biography to honor Washington. Chernow maintains that Weems attempted to humanize Washington, inspire "patriotism and morality", and foster "enduring myths", such as that of Washington's refusal to lie about damaging his father's cherry tree. Weems' accounts have never been proven or disproven.
In the 21st century, Washington's reputation has been critically scrutinized. The historian John Ferling maintains that Washington remains the only founder and president ever to be referred to as "godlike", and points out that his character has been the most scrutinized by historians. The author David Hackett Fischer defined Washington's character as "integrity, self-discipline, courage, absolute honesty, resolve, and decision, but also forbearance, decency, and respect for others". Chernow describes Washington as always trying to be even-handed in dealing with Indigenous peoples, hoping they would abandon their itinerant hunting life and adapt to fixed agricultural communities in the manner of White settlers. He also maintains that Washington never advocated outright confiscation of tribal land or the forcible removal of tribes. By contrast, Colin G. Calloway wrote that "Washington had a lifelong obsession with getting Indian land, either for himself or for his nation, and initiated policies and campaigns that had devastating effects in Indian country." He stated:
Along with other Founding Fathers, Washington has been criticized for holding enslaved people. Though he expressed the desire to see the abolition of slavery through legislation, he did not initiate or support any initiatives for bringing about its end. This has led to calls to remove his name from public buildings and his statue from public spaces.
Washington's presidential library is housed at Mount Vernon, which is now a National Historic Landmark. His papers are held by the Library of Congress.
Many places and monuments have been named in honor of Washington, including the capital city of Washington, D.C., and the state of Washington. On February 21, 1885, the Washington Monument was dedicated, a 555-foot (169 m) marble obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Washington appears as one of four presidents on the Shrine of Democracy, a colossal sculpture by Gutzon Borglum on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. The George Washington Bridge, opened in 1931, connects New York City to New Jersey. A number of secondary schools and universities are named in honor of Washington, including George Washington University and Washington University in St. Louis.
He appears on contemporary United States currency, including the one-dollar bill, the Presidential one-dollar coin and the quarter-dollar coin (the Washington quarter). Washington was pictured on the nation's first postage stamp in 1847, and has since appeared on more United States postage stamps than anyone else.