George Washington George Washington ( – , 1799 ) was the first President of the United States ( 1789 – 1797 ) , the commander - in - chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War , and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States . He presided over the convention that drafted the United States Constitution , which replaced the Articles of Confederation and which remains the supreme law of the land . Washington was elected President as the unanimous choice of the electors in 1788 , and he served two terms in office . He oversaw the creation of a strong , well - financed national government that maintained neutrality in the wars raging in Europe , suppressed rebellion , and won acceptance among Americans of all types . His leadership style established many forms and rituals of government that have been used since , such as using a cabinet system and delivering an inaugural address . Further , the peaceful transition from his presidency to the presidency of John Adams established a tradition that continues into the 21st century . Washington was hailed as " father of his country " even during his lifetime . Washington was born into the provincial gentry of Colonial Virginia ; his wealthy planter family owned tobacco plantations and slaves . After both his father and older brother died when he was young , Washington became personally and professionally attached to the powerful William Fairfax , who promoted his career as a surveyor and soldier . Washington quickly became a senior officer in the colonial forces during the first stages of the French and Indian War . Chosen by the Second Continental Congress in 1775 to be commander - in - chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolution , Washington managed to force the British out of Boston in 1776 , but was defeated and almost captured later that year when he lost New York City . After crossing the Delaware River in the dead of winter , he defeated the British in two battles , retook New Jersey and restored momentum to the Patriot cause . Because of his strategy , Revolutionary forces captured two major British armies at Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781 . Historians laud Washington for his selection and supervision of his generals , encouragement of morale and ability to hold together the army , coordination with the state governors and state militia units , relations with Congress and attention to supplies , logistics , and training . In battle , however , Washington was repeatedly outmaneuvered by British generals with larger armies . After victory had been finalized in 1783 , Washington resigned as Commander - in - chief rather than seize power , proving his opposition to dictatorship and his commitment to American republicanism . Dissatisfied with the weaknesses of the Continental Congress , in 1787 Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention that devised a new Federal government of the United States . Elected unanimously as the first President of the United States in 1789 , he attempted to bring rival factions together to unify the nation . He supported Alexander Hamilton ' s programs to pay off all state and national debt , to implement an effective tax system and to create a national bank ( despite opposition from Thomas Jefferson ) . Washington proclaimed the United States neutral in the wars raging in Europe after 1793 . He avoided war with Great Britain and guaranteed a decade of peace and profitable trade by securing the Jay Treaty in 1795 , despite intense opposition from the Jeffersonians . Although he never officially joined the Federalist Party , he supported its programs . Washington ' s Farewell Address was an influential primer on republican virtue and a warning against partisanship , sectionalism , and involvement in foreign wars . He retired from the presidency in 1797 and returned to his home , Mount Vernon , and his domestic life where he managed a variety of enterprises . He freed all his slaves by his final will . Washington had a vision of a great and powerful nation that would be built on republican lines using federal power . He sought to use the national government to preserve liberty , improve infrastructure , open the western lands , promote commerce , found a permanent capital , reduce regional tensions and promote a spirit of American nationalism . At his death , Washington was eulogized as " first in war , first in peace , and first in the hearts of his countrymen " by Henry Lee . The Federalists made him the symbol of their party but for many years , the Jeffersonians continued to distrust his influence and delayed building the Washington Monument . As the leader of the first successful revolution against a colonial empire in world history , Washington became an international icon for liberation and nationalism , especially in France and Latin America . He is consistently ranked among the top three presidents of the United States , according to polls of both scholars and the general public . Early life ( 1732 – 1753 ) . The first child of Augustine Washington ( 1694 – 1743 ) and his second wife , Mary Ball Washington ( 1708 – 1789 ) , George Washington was born on their Pope ' s Creek Estate near present - day Colonial Beach in Westmoreland County , Virginia . According to the Julian calendar and Annunciation Style of enumerating years , then in use in the British Empire , Washington was born on February 11 , 1731 ; when the Gregorian calendar was implemented in the British Empire in 1752 , in accordance with the provisions of the Calendar ( New Style ) Act 1750 , his birth date became February 22 , 1732 . Washington ' s ancestors were from Sulgrave , England ; his great - grandfather , John Washington , had emigrated to Virginia in 1657 . George ' s father Augustine was a slave - owning tobacco planter who later tried his hand in iron - mining ventures . In George ' s youth , the Washingtons were moderately prosperous members of the Virginia gentry , of " middling rank " rather than one of the leading planter families . At this time , Virginia and other southern colonies had become a slave society , in which slaveholders formed the ruling class and the economy was based on slave labor . Six of George ' s siblings reached maturity , including two older half - brothers , Lawrence and Augustine , from his father ' s first marriage to Jane Butler Washington , and four full siblings , Samuel , Elizabeth ( Betty ) , John Augustine and Charles . Three siblings died before becoming adults : his full sister Mildred died when she was about one , his half - brother Butler died while an infant , and his half - sister Jane died at the age of 12 , when George was about 2 . George ' s father died when George was 11 years old , after which George ' s half - brother Lawrence became a surrogate father and role model . William Fairfax , Lawrence ' s father - in - law and cousin of Virginia ' s largest landowner , Thomas , Lord Fairfax , was also a formative influence . Washington spent much of his boyhood at Ferry Farm in Stafford County near Fredericksburg . Lawrence Washington inherited another family property from his father , a plantation on the Potomac River which he named Mount Vernon , in honor of his commanding officer , Admiral Edward Vernon . George inherited Ferry Farm upon his father ' s death and eventually acquired Mount Vernon after Lawrence ' s death . The death of his father prevented Washington from crossing the Atlantic to receive the rest of his education at England ' s Appleby School , as his older brothers had done . He received the equivalent of an elementary school education from a variety of tutors , and also a school run by an Anglican clergyman in or near Fredericksburg . Talk of securing an appointment in the Royal Navy for him when he was 15 was dropped when his widowed mother objected . Thanks to Lawrence ' s connection to the powerful Fairfax family , at age 17 in 1749 , Washington was appointed official surveyor for Culpeper County , a well - paid position which enabled him to purchase land in the Shenandoah Valley , the first of his many land acquisitions in western Virginia . Thanks also to Lawrence ' s involvement in the Ohio Company , a land investment company funded by Virginia investors , and Lawrence ' s position as commander of the Virginia militia , Washington came to the notice of the new lieutenant governor of Virginia , Robert Dinwiddie . Washington was hard to miss : At exactly six feet , he towered over most of his contemporaries . In 1751 , Washington travelled to Barbados with Lawrence , who was suffering from tuberculosis , with the hope that the climate would be beneficial to Lawrence ' s health . Washington contracted smallpox during the trip , which left his face slightly scarred , but immunized him against future exposures to the dreaded disease . Lawrence ' s health did not improve ; he returned to Mount Vernon , where he died in 1752 . Lawrence ' s position as Adjutant General ( militia leader ) of Virginia was divided into four offices after his death . Washington was appointed by Governor Dinwiddie as one of the four district adjutants in February 1753 , with the rank of major in the Virginia militia . Washington also joined the Freemasons fraternal association in Fredericksburg at this time . French and Indian War ( or ' Seven Years War ' , 1754 – 1758 ) . The Ohio Company was an important vehicle through which British investors planned to expand into the Ohio Valley , opening new settlements and trading posts for the Indian trade In 1753 , the French themselves began expanding their military control into the Ohio Country , a territory already claimed by the British colonies of Virginia and Pennsylvania . These competing claims led to a war in the colonies called the French and Indian War ( 1754 – 62 ) , and contributed to the start of the global Seven Years ' War ( 1756 – 63 ) . By chance , Washington became involved in its beginning . Robert Dinwiddie , lieutenant governor of colonial Virginia , was ordered by the British government to guard the British territorial claims including the Ohio River basin . In late 1753 , he sent George Washington , who in 1752 received his deceased half - brother ' s post as adjutant general of the Virginia ' s militia for the Southern District and was eager to prove himself , to deliver a letter asking the French to vacate the Ohio Valley . During his trip Washington met with Tanacharison ( also called " Half - King " ) and other Iroquois chiefs allied with England at Logstown to secure their support in case of a military conflict with the French ; Washington and Tanacharison became friends . Washington delivered the letter to the local French commander Jacques Legardeur de Saint - Pierre , who politely refused to leave . Washington kept a diary during his expedition that was printed by William Hunter on Dinwiddie ' s order and made Washington ' s name recognizable in Virginia . That helped him to obtain a commission to raise a company of 100 men and start his military career . Dinwiddie sent Washington back to the Ohio Country to protect an Ohio Company ' s crew constructing a fort at present - day Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . However , before he reached the area , a French force drove out colonial traders and began construction of Fort Duquesne . A small detachment of French troops led by Joseph Coulon de Jumonville , was discovered by Tanacharison and a few warriors east of present - day Uniontown , Pennsylvania . Along with their Mingo allies , Washington and some of his militia unit then ambushed the French . What exactly happened during and after the battle is a matter of some controversy , but the immediate outcome was that Jumonville was injured in the initial attack and then was killed - whether tomahawked by Tanacharison in cold blood or somehow shot by another onlooker with a musket as the injured man sat with Washington is not completely clear . The French responded by attacking and capturing Washington at Fort Necessity in July 1754 . However , he was allowed to return with his troops to Virginia . Historian Joseph Ellis concludes that the episode demonstrated Washington ' s bravery , initiative , inexperience and impetuosity . These events had international consequences ; the French accused Washington of assassinating Jumonville , who they claimed was on a diplomatic mission . Both France and Great Britain were ready to fight for control of the region and both sent troops to North America in 1755 ; war was formally declared in 1756 . Braddock disaster 1755 . In 1755 , Washington was the senior American aide to British General Edward Braddock on the ill - fated Braddock expedition . This was the largest British expedition to the colonies , and was intended to expel the French from the Ohio Country . The French and their Indian allies ambushed Braddock , who was mortally wounded in the Battle of the Monongahela . After suffering devastating casualties , the British retreated in disarray ; however , Washington rode back and forth across the battlefield , rallying the remnants of the British and Virginian forces to an organized retreat . Commander of Virginia Regiment . Governor Dinwiddie rewarded Washington in 1755 with a commission as " Colonel of the Virginia Regiment and Commander in Chief of all forces now raised in the defense of His Majesty ' s Colony " and gave him the task of defending Virginia ' s frontier . The Virginia Regiment was the first full - time American military unit in the colonies ( as opposed to part - time militias and the British regular units ) . Washington was ordered to " act defensively or offensively " as he thought best . In command of a thousand soldiers , Washington was a disciplinarian who emphasized training . He led his men in brutal campaigns against the Indians in the west ; in 10 months units of his regiment fought 20 battles , and lost a third of its men . Washington ' s strenuous efforts meant that Virginia ' s frontier population suffered less than that of other colonies ; Ellis concludes " it was his only unqualified success " in the war . In 1758 , Washington participated in the Forbes Expedition to capture Fort Duquesne . He was embarrassed by a friendly fire episode in which his unit and another British unit thought the other was the French enemy and opened fire , with 14 dead and 26 wounded in the mishap . Washington was not involved in any other major fighting on the expedition , and the British scored a major strategic victory , gaining control of the Ohio Valley , when the French abandoned the fort . Following the expedition , he retired from his Virginia Regiment commission in December 1758 . Washington did not return to military life until the outbreak of the revolution in 1775 . Lessons learned . Although Washington never gained the commission in the British army he yearned for , in these years the young man gained valuable military , political , and leadership skills . He closely observed British military tactics , gaining a keen insight into their strengths and weaknesses that proved invaluable during the Revolution . He demonstrated his toughness and courage in the most difficult situations , including disasters and retreats . He developed a command presence — given his size , strength , stamina , and bravery in battle , he appeared to soldiers to be a natural leader and they followed him without question . Washington learned to organize , train , drill , and discipline his companies and regiments . From his observations , readings and conversations with professional officers , he learned the basics of battlefield tactics , as well as a good understanding of problems of organization and logistics . He gained an understanding of overall strategy , especially in locating strategic geographical points . Historian Ron Chernow is of the opinion that his frustrations in dealing with government officials during this conflict led him to advocate the advantages of a strong national government and a vigorous executive agency that could get results ; other historians tend to ascribe Washington ' s position on government to his later American Revolutionary War service . He developed a very negative idea of the value of militia , who seemed too unreliable , too undisciplined , and too short - term compared to regulars . On the other hand , his experience was limited to command of at most 1000 men , and came only in remote frontier conditions that were far removed from the urban situations he faced during the Revolution at Boston , New York , Trenton and Philadelphia . Between the wars : Mount Vernon ( 1759 – 1774 ) . On January 6 , 1759 , Washington married the wealthy widow Martha Dandridge Custis , then 28 years old . Surviving letters suggest that he may have been in love at the time with Sally Fairfax , the wife of a friend . Nevertheless , George and Martha made a compatible marriage , because Martha was intelligent , gracious , and experienced in managing a planter ' s estate . Together the two raised her two children from her previous marriage , John Parke Custis and Martha Parke Custis ; later the Washingtons raised two of Mrs . Washington ' s grandchildren , Eleanor Parke Custis and George Washington Parke Custis . George and Martha never had any children together – his earlier bout with smallpox in 1751 may have made him sterile . The newlywed couple moved to Mount Vernon , near Alexandria , where he took up the life of a planter and political figure . Washington ' s marriage to Martha greatly increased his property holdings and social standing , and made him one of Virginia ' s wealthiest men . He acquired one - third of the Custis estate upon his marriage , worth approximately $ 100 , 000 , and managed the remainder on behalf of Martha ' s children , for whom he sincerely cared . In 1754 , Lieutenant Governor Dinwiddie had promised land bounties to the soldiers and officers who volunteered to serve during the French and Indian War . Governor Norborne Berkeley finally fulfilled Dinwiddie ' s promise in 1769 – 1770 , with Washington subsequently receiving title to near where the Kanawha River flows into the Ohio River , in what is now western West Virginia . He also frequently bought additional land in his own name . By 1775 , Washington had doubled the size of Mount Vernon to , and had increased its slave population to over 100 . As a respected military hero and large landowner , he held local office and was elected to the Virginia provincial legislature , the House of Burgesses , beginning in 1758 . Washington lived an aristocratic lifestyle — fox hunting was a favorite leisure activity . He also enjoyed going to dances and parties , in addition to the theater , races , and cockfight s . Washington also was known to play cards , backgammon , and billiards . Like most Virginia planters , he imported luxuries and other goods from England and paid for them by exporting his tobacco crop . Washington began to pull himself out of debt in the mid - 1760s by diversifying his previously tobacco - centric business interests into other ventures and paying more attention to his affairs . In 1766 , he started switching Mount Vernon ' s primary cash crop away from tobacco to wheat , a crop that could be processed and then sold in various forms in the colonies , and further diversified operations to include flour milling , fishing , horse breeding , spinning , weaving and ( in the 1790s ) whiskey production . Patsy Custis ' s death in 1773 from epilepsy enabled Washington to pay off his British creditors , since half of her inheritance passed to him . A successful planter , he was a leader in the social elite in Virginia . From 1768 to 1775 , he invited some 2000 guests to his Mount Vernon estate , mostly those he considered " people of rank " . As for people not of high social status , his advice was to " treat them civilly " but " keep them at a proper distance , for they will grow upon familiarity , in proportion as you sink in authority " . In 1769 , he became more politically active , presenting the Virginia Assembly with legislation to ban the importation of goods from Great Britain . American Revolution ( 1775 – 1783 ) . Washington opposed the 1765 Stamp Act , the first direct tax on the colonies , and began taking a leading role in the growing colonial resistance when protests against the Townshend Acts ( enacted in 1767 ) became widespread . In May 1769 , Washington introduced a proposal , drafted by his friend George Mason , calling for Virginia to boycott English goods until the Acts were repealed . Parliament repealed the Townshend Acts in 1770 . However , Washington regarded the passage of the Intolerable Acts in 1774 as " an Invasion of our Rights and Privileges " . In July 1774 , he chaired the meeting at which the " Fairfax Resolves " were adopted , which called for the convening of a Continental Congress , among other things . In August , Washington attended the First Virginia Convention , where he was selected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress . Commander in chief . After the Battles of Lexington and Concord near Boston in April 1775 , the colonies went to war . Washington appeared at the Second Continental Congress in a military uniform , signaling that he was prepared for war . Washington had the prestige , military experience , charisma and military bearing of a military leader and was known as a strong patriot . Virginia , the largest colony , deserved recognition , and New England — where the fighting began — realized it needed Southern support . Washington did not explicitly seek the office of commander and said that he was not equal to it , but there was no serious competition . Congress created the Continental Army on June 14 , 1775 . Nominated by John Adams of Massachusetts , Washington was then appointed General and Commander - in - chief . Washington had three roles during the war . In 1775 – 77 , and again in 1781 he led his men against the main British forces . Although he lost many of his battles , he never surrendered his army during the war , and he continued to fight the British relentlessly until the war ' s end . He plotted the overall strategy of the war , in cooperation with Congress . Second , he was charged with organizing and training the army . He recruited regulars and assigned Baron and General Friedrich von Steuben , a veteran of the Prussian general staff , to train them . The war effort and getting supplies to the troops were under the purview of Congress , but Washington pressured the Congress to provide the essentials . In June 1776 , Congress ' first attempt at running the war effort was established with the committee known as " Board of War and Ordnance " , succeeded by the Board of War in July 1777 , a committee which eventually included members of the military . The command structure of the armed forces was a hodgepodge of Congressional appointees ( and Congress sometimes made those appointments without Washington ' s input ) with state - appointments filling the lower ranks and of all of the militia - officers . The results of his general staff were mixed , as some of his favorites ( like John Sullivan ) never mastered the art of command . Eventually , he found capable officers , such as General Nathanael Greene , General Daniel Morgan , " the old wagoner " , with whom he had served in The French and Indian War , Henry Knox , his chief of artillery , and his chief - of - staff Alexander Hamilton . The American officers never equaled their opponents in tactics and maneuver , and consequently they lost most of the pitched battles . The great successes , at Boston ( 1776 ) , Saratoga ( 1777 ) and Yorktown ( 1781 ) , came from trapping the British far from base with much larger numbers of troops . Daniel Morgan ' s annihilation of Banastre Tarleton ' s legion of dragoons at Cowpens in February of 1781 , came as a result of Morgan ' s employment of superior line tactics against his British opponent , resulting in one of the very few double envelopments in military history , another being Hannibal ' s defeat of the Romans at Cannae in 216 b . c . The decisive defeat of Col . Patrick Ferguson ' s Tory Regiment at King ' s Mountain demonstrated the superiority of the riflery of American " over mountain men " over British - trained troops armed with musket and bayonet . These " over - mountain men " were led by a variety of elected officers , including the 6 ' 6 " William Campbell who had become one of Washington ' s officers by the time of Yorktown . Similarly , Morgan ' s Virginia riflemen proved themselves superior to the British at Saratoga , a post - revolutionary war development being the creation of trained " rifle battalions " in the European armies . Third , and most important , Washington was the embodiment of armed resistance to the Crown — the representative man of the Revolution . His long - term strategy was to maintain an army in the field at all times , and eventually this strategy worked . His enormous personal and political stature and his political skills kept Congress , the army , the French , the militias , and the states all pointed toward a common goal . Furthermore , by voluntarily resigning his commission and disbanding his army when the war was won ( rather than declaring himself monarch ! ) , he permanently established the principle of civilian supremacy in military affairs . Yet his constant reiteration of the point that well - disciplined professional soldiers counted for twice as much as erratic militias ( clearly demonstrated in the rout at Camden , where only the Maryland and Delaware Continentals under Baron DeKalb held firm , helped overcome the ideological distrust of a standing army . Victory at Boston . Washington assumed command of the Continental Army in the field at Cambridge , Massachusetts , in July 1775 , during the ongoing siege of Boston . Realizing his army ' s desperate shortage of gunpowder , Washington asked for new sources . American troops raided British arsenals , including some in the Caribbean , and some manufacturing was attempted . They obtained a barely adequate supply ( about 2 . 5 million pounds ) by the end of 1776 , mostly from France . Washington reorganized the army during the long standoff , and forced the British to withdraw by putting artillery on Dorchester Heights overlooking the city . The British evacuated Boston in March 1776 and Washington moved his army to New York City . Although highly disparaging toward most of the Patriots , British newspapers routinely praised Washington ' s personal character and qualities as a military commander . These articles were bold , as Washington was an enemy general who commanded an army in a cause that many Britons believed would ruin the empire . Defeat at New York City and Fabian tactics . In August 1776 , British General William Howe launched a massive naval and land campaign designed to seize New York . The Continental Army under Washington engaged the enemy for the first time as an army of the newly independent United States at the Battle of Long Island , the largest battle of the entire war . The Americans were heavily outnumbered , many men deserted , and Washington was badly beaten . Subsequently , Washington was forced to retreat across the East River at night . He did so without loss of life or materiel . Washington retreated north from the city to avoid encirclement , enabling Howe to take the offensive and capture Fort Washington on November 16 with high Continental casualties . Washington then retreated across New Jersey ; the future of the Continental Army was in doubt due to expiring enlistments and the string of losses . On the night of December 25 , 1776 , Washington staged a comeback with a surprise attack on a Hessian outpost in western New Jersey . He led his army across the Delaware River to capture nearly 1 , 000 Hessians in Trenton , New Jersey . Washington followed up his victory at Trenton with another over British regulars at Princeton in early January . The British retreated back to New York City and its environs , which they held until the peace treaty of 1783 . Washington ' s victories wrecked the British carrot - and - stick strategy of showing overwhelming force then offering generous terms . The Americans would not negotiate for anything short of independence . These victories alone were not enough to ensure ultimate Patriot victory , however , since many soldiers did not reenlist or deserted during the harsh winter . Washington and Congress reorganized the army with increased rewards for staying and punishment for desertion , which raised troop numbers effectively for subsequent battles . Historians debate whether or not Washington preferred a Fabian strategy to harass the British with quick , sharp attacks followed by a retreat so the larger British army could not catch him , or whether he preferred to fight major battles . While his southern commander Greene in 1780 – 81 did use Fabian tactics , Washington did so only in fall 1776 to spring 1777 , after losing New York City and seeing much of his army melt away . Trenton and Princeton were Fabian examples . By summer 1777 , however , Washington had rebuilt his strength and his confidence ; he stopped using raids and went for large - scale confrontations , as at Brandywine , Germantown , Monmouth and Yorktown . 1777 campaigns . In the late summer of 1777 , the British under John Burgoyne sent a major invasion army south from Quebec , with the intention of splitting off rebellious New England . General Howe in New York took his army south to Philadelphia instead of going up the Hudson River to join with Burgoyne near Albany . It was a major strategic mistake for the British , and Washington rushed to Philadelphia to engage Howe , while closely following the action in upstate New York . In pitched battles that were too complex for his relatively inexperienced men , Washington was defeated . At the Battle of Brandywine on September 11 , 1777 , Howe outmaneuvered Washington , and marched into the American capital at Philadelphia unopposed on September 26 . Washington ' s army unsuccessfully attacked the British garrison at Germantown in early October . Meanwhile , Burgoyne , out of reach from help from Howe , was trapped and forced to surrender his entire army at Saratoga , New York . It was a major turning point militarily and diplomatically . France responded to Burgoyne ' s defeat by entering the war , openly allying with America and turning the Revolutionary War into a major worldwide war . Washington ' s loss of Philadelphia prompted some members of Congress to discuss removing Washington from command . This attempt failed after Washington ' s supporters rallied behind him . Valley Forge . Washington ' s army of 11 , 000 went into winter quarters at Valley Forge north of Philadelphia in December 1777 . Over the next six months , the deaths in camp numbered in the thousands ( the majority being from disease ) , with historians ' death toll estimates ranging from 2000 to 2500 , to over 3000 men . The next spring , however , the army emerged from Valley Forge in good order , thanks in part to a full - scale training program supervised by General von Steuben . The British evacuated Philadelphia to New York in 1778 , shadowed by Washington . Washington attacked them at Monmouth , fighting to an effective draw in one of the war ' s largest battles . Afterwards , the British continued to head towards New York , and Washington moved his army outside of New York . Victory at Yorktown . In the summer of 1779 at Washington ' s direction , General John Sullivan carried out a scorched earth campaign that destroyed at least 40 Iroquois villages in central and upstate New York ; the Indians were British allies who had been raiding American settlements on the frontier . In July 1780 , 5 , 000 veteran French troops led by General Comte Donatien de Rochambeau arrived at Newport , Rhode Island to aid in the war effort . The Continental Army having been funded by $ 20 , 000 in French gold , Washington delivered the final blow to the British in 1781 , after a French naval victory allowed American and French forces to trap a British army in Virginia . The surrender at Yorktown on October 17 , 1781 , marked the end of major fighting in continental North America . Demobilization . Washington could not know that after Yorktown , the British would not reopen hostilities . They still had 26 , 000 troops occupying New York City , Charleston and Savannah , together with a powerful fleet . The French army and navy departed , so the Americans were on their own in 1782 – 83 . The treasury was empty , and the unpaid soldiers were growing restive , almost to the point of mutiny or possible coup d ' état . Washington dispelled unrest among officers by suppressing the Newburgh Conspiracy in March 1783 , and Congress came up with the promise of a five - year bonus . With the initial peace treaty articles ratified in April , a recently formed Congressional committee under Hamilton , was considering needs and plans for a peacetime army . On May 2 , 1783 , the Commander in Chief submitted his " Sentiments on a Peace Establishment " to the Committee , essentially providing an official Continental Army position . The original proposal was defeated in Congress in two votes ( May 1783 , October 1783 ) with a truncated version also being rejected in April of 1784 . By the Treaty of Paris ( signed that September ) , Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States . Washington disbanded his army and , on November 2 , gave an eloquent farewell address to his soldiers . On November 25 , the British evacuated New York City , and Washington and the governor took possession . At Fraunces Tavern on December 4 , Washington formally bade his officers farewell and on December 23 , 1783 , he resigned his commission as commander - in - chief . Historian Gordon Wood concludes that the greatest act in his life was his resignation as commander of the armies — an act that stunned aristocratic Europe . King George III called Washington " the greatest character of the age " because of this . Historian John Shy says that by 1783 Washington was " a mediocre military strategist but had become a master political tactician with an almost perfect sense of timing and a developed capacity to exploit his charismatic reputation , using people who thought they were using him " . United States Constitution . Washington ' s retirement to Mount Vernon was short - lived . He made an exploratory trip to the western frontier in 1784 , was persuaded to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 , and was unanimously elected president of the Convention . He participated little in the debates ( though he did vote for or against the various articles ) , but his high prestige maintained collegiality and kept the delegates at their labors . The delegates designed the presidency with Washington in mind , and allowed him to define the office once elected . After the Convention , his support convinced many to vote for ratification ; the new Constitution was ratified by all thirteen states . Presidency ( 1789 – 1797 ) . The Electoral College elected Washington unanimously as the first president in 1789 , and again in the 1792 election ; he remains the only president to have received 100 percent of the electoral votes . John Adams , who received the next highest vote total , was elected Vice President . At his inauguration , Washington took the oath of office as the first President of the United States of America on April 30 , 1789 , on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City . The 1st United States Congress voted to pay Washington a salary of $ 25 , 000 a year — a large sum in 1789 . Washington , already wealthy , declined the salary , since he valued his image as a selfless public servant . At the urging of Congress , however , he ultimately accepted the payment , to avoid setting a precedent whereby the presidency would be perceived as limited only to independently wealthy individuals who could serve without any salary . The president , aware that everything he did set a precedent , attended carefully to the pomp and ceremony of office , making sure that the titles and trappings were suitably republican and never emulated European royal courts . To that end , he preferred the title " Mr . President " to the more majestic names suggested . Washington proved an able administrator . An excellent delegator and judge of talent and character , he talked regularly with department heads and listened to their advice before making a final decision . In handling routine tasks , he was " systematic , orderly , energetic , solicitous of the opinion of others . . . but decisive , intent upon general goals and the consistency of particular actions with them " . Washington reluctantly served a second term . He refused to run for a third , establishing the customary policy of a maximum of two terms for a president . Domestic issues . Washington was not a member of any political party and hoped that they would not be formed , fearing conflict that would undermine republicanism . His closest advisors formed two factions , setting the framework for the future First Party System . Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton had bold plans to establish the national credit and build a financially powerful nation , and formed the basis of the Federalist Party . Secretary of the State Thomas Jefferson , founder of the Jeffersonian Republicans , strenuously opposed Hamilton ' s agenda , but Washington typically favored Hamilton over Jefferson , and it was Hamilton ' s agenda that went into effect . Jefferson ' s political actions , his support of Philip Freneau ' s " National Gazette " , and his attempt to undermine Hamilton , nearly led George Washington to dismiss Jefferson from his cabinet . Though Jefferson left the cabinet voluntarily , Washington never forgave him , and never spoke to him again . The Residence Act of 1790 , which Washington signed , authorized the President to select the specific location of the permanent seat of the government , which would be located along the Potomac River . The Act authorized the President to appoint three commissioners to survey and acquire property for this seat . Washington personally oversaw this effort throughout his term in office . In 1791 , the commissioners named the permanent seat of government " The City of Washington in the Territory of Columbia " to honor Washington . In 1800 , the Territory of Columbia became the District of Columbia when the federal government moved to the site according to the provisions of the Residence Act . In 1791 , partly as a result of the Copper Panic of 1789 , Congress imposed an excise tax on distilled spirits , which led to protests in frontier districts , especially Pennsylvania . By 1794 , after Washington ordered the protesters to appear in U . S . district court , the protests turned into full - scale defiance of federal authority known as the Whiskey Rebellion . The federal army was too small to be used , so Washington invoked the Militia Act of 1792 to summon militias from Pennsylvania , Virginia , Maryland and New Jersey . The governors sent the troops and Washington took command , marching into the rebellious districts . The rebels dispersed and there was no fighting , as Washington ' s forceful action proved the new government could protect itself . These events marked the first time under the new constitution that the federal government used strong military force to exert authority over the states and citizens . Foreign affairs . In February 1793 a major war broke out between conservative Great Britain and its allies and revolutionary France , launching an era of large - scale warfare that engulfed Europe until 1815 . Washington , with cabinet approval , proclaimed American neutrality . The revolutionary government of France sent diplomat Edmond - Charles Genêt , called " Citizen Genêt " , to America . Genêt was welcomed with great enthusiasm and propagandized the case for France in the French war against Great Britain , and for this purpose promoted a network of new Democratic Societies in major cities . He issued French letters of marque and reprisal to French ships manned by American sailors so they could capture British merchant ships . Washington , warning and mistrustful of the influence of Illuminism that had been so strong in the French Revolution and its Reign of Terror , demanded the French government recall Genêt , and denounced the societies . Hamilton and Washington designed the Jay Treaty to normalize trade relations with Great Britain , remove them from western forts , and resolve financial debts left over from the Revolution . John Jay negotiated and signed the treaty on November 19 , 1794 . The Jeffersonians supported France and strongly attacked the treaty . Washington ' s strong support mobilized public opinion and proved decisive in securing ratification in the Senate by the necessary two - thirds majority . The British agreed to depart from their forts around the Great Lakes , subsequently the United States - Canadian boundary had to be re - adjusted , numerous pre - Revolutionary debts were liquidated , and the British opened their West Indies colonies to American trade . Most importantly , the treaty delayed war with Great Britain and instead brought a decade of prosperous trade with Great Britain . The treaty angered the French and became a central issue in many political debates . Relations with France deteriorated after the treaty was signed , leaving his successor , John Adams , with the prospect of war . Farewell Address . Washington ' s Farewell Address ( issued as a public letter in 1796 ) was one of the most influential statements of republicanism . Drafted primarily by Washington himself , with help from Hamilton , it gives advice on the necessity and importance of national union , the value of the Constitution and the rule of law , the evils of political parties , and the proper virtues of a republican people . He called morality " a necessary spring of popular government " . He said , " Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure , reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle . " Washington ' s public political address warned against foreign influence in domestic affairs and American meddling in European affairs . He warned against bitter partisanship in domestic politics and called for men to move beyond partisanship and serve the common good . He warned against " permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world " , saying the United States must concentrate primarily on American interests . He counseled friendship and commerce with all nations , but warned against involvement in European wars and entering into long - term " entangling " alliances . The address quickly set American values regarding foreign affairs . Retirement ( 1797 – 1799 ) . After retiring from the presidency in March 1797 , Washington returned to Mount Vernon with a profound sense of relief . He devoted much time to his plantations and other business interests , including his distillery which produced its first batch of spirits in February 1797 . As explains , his plantation operations were at best marginally profitable . The lands out west yielded little income because they were under attack by Indians and the squatters living there refused to pay him rent . Most Americans assumed he was rich because of the well - known " glorified façade of wealth and grandeur " at Mount Vernon . Historians estimate his estate was worth about $ 1 million in 1799 dollars , equivalent to about $ 18 million in 2009 purchasing power . By 1798 , relations with France had deteriorated to the point that war seemed imminent , and on July 4 , 1798 , President Adams offered Washington a commission as lieutenant general and Commander - in - chief of the armies raised or to be raised for service in a prospective war . He reluctantly accepted , and served as the senior officer of the United States Army between July 13 , 1798 , and December 14 , 1799 . He participated in the planning for a Provisional Army to meet any emergency that might arise , but avoided involvement in details as much as possible ; he delegated most of the work , including leadership of the army , to Hamilton . Death . On Thursday , December 12 , 1799 , Washington spent several hours inspecting his plantation on horseback , in snow , hail , and freezing rain — later that evening eating his supper without changing from his wet clothes . That Friday he awoke with a severe sore throat and became increasingly hoarse as the day progressed , yet still rode out in the heavy snow , marking trees on the estate that he wanted cut . Sometime around 3 a . m . that Saturday , he suddenly awoke with severe difficulty breathing and almost completely unable to speak or swallow . A firm believer in bloodletting , a standard medical practice of that era which he had used to treat various ailments of enslaved Africans on his plantation , he ordered estate overseer Albin Rawlins to remove half a pint of his blood . A total of three physicians were sent for , including Washington ' s personal physician Dr . James Craik along with Dr . Gustavus Brown and Dr . Elisha Dick . Craik and Brown thought that Washington had what they diagnosed as " quinsey " or " quincy " , while Dick , the younger man , thought the condition was more serious or a " violent inflammation of the throat " . By the time the three physicians had finished their treatments and bloodletting of the President , there had been a massive volume of blood loss — half or more of his total blood content being removed over the course of just a few hours . Recognizing that the bloodletting and other treatments were failing , Dr . Dick proposed performing an emergency tracheotomy , a procedure that few American physicians were familiar with at the time , as a last - ditch effort to save Washington ' s life ; but the other two doctors rejected this proposal . Washington died at home around 10 p . m . on Saturday , December 14 , 1799 , aged 67 . In his journal , Lear recorded Washington ' s last words as being " ' Tis well . " The diagnosis of Washington ' s final illness and the immediate cause of his death have been subjects of debate since the day he died . In the days immediately following his death , Craik and Dick ' s published account stated that they felt his symptoms had been consistent with what they called " " cynanche trachealis " " , a term of that period for describing severe inflammation of the structures of the upper airway . Even at that early date , there were accusations of medical malpractice , with some believing that Washington had been bled to death . Various modern medical authors have speculated that Washington probably died from a severe case of epiglottitis which was complicated by the given treatments ( all of which were accepted medical practice in Washington ' s day ) — most notably the massive deliberate blood loss , which almost certainly caused hypovolemic shock . Throughout the world , men and women were saddened by Washington ' s death . Napoleon ordered 10 days of mourning throughout France ; in the United States , thousands wore mourning clothes for months . To protect their privacy , Martha Washington burned the correspondence between her husband and her following his death . Only a total of five letters between the couple are known to have survived , two letters from Martha to George and three from him to Martha . On December 18 , 1799 , a funeral was held at Mount Vernon , where his body was interred . Congress passed a joint resolution to construct a marble monument in the United States Capitol for his body , supported by Martha . In December 1800 , the United States House passed an appropriations bill for $ 200 , 000 to build the mausoleum , which was to be a pyramid that had a base square . Southern opposition to the plan defeated the measure because they felt it was best to have his body remain at Mount Vernon . In 1831 , for the centennial of his birth , a new tomb was constructed to receive his remains . That year , an unsuccessful attempt was made to steal the body of Washington . Despite this , a joint Congressional committee in early 1832 debated the removal of Washington ' s body from Mount Vernon to a crypt in the Capitol , built by Charles Bulfinch in the 1820s . Southern opposition was intense , antagonized by an ever - growing rift between North and South . Congressman Wiley Thompson of Georgia expressed the fear of Southerners when he said : His remains were moved on October 7 , 1837 to the new tomb constructed at Mount Vernon , presented by John Struthers of Philadelphia . After the ceremony , the inner vault ' s door was closed and the key was thrown into the Potomac . Legacy . As Commander - in - Chief of the Continental Army , hero of the revolution and the first president of the United States , George Washington ' s legacy remains among the greatest in American history . Congressman Henry " Light - Horse Harry " Lee , a Revolutionary War comrade , famously eulogized Washington : First in war — first in peace — and first in the hearts of his countrymen , he was second to none in the humble and enduring scenes of private life ; pious , just , humane , temperate , and sincere ; uniform , dignified , and commanding , his example was as edifying to all around him as were the effects of that example lasting . To his equals he was condescending , to his inferiors kind , and to the dear object of his affections exemplarily tender ; correct throughout , vice shuddered in his presence , and virtue always felt his fostering hand ; the purity of his private character gave effulgence to his public virtues . His last scene comported with the whole tenor of his life — although in extreme pain , not a sigh , not a groan escaped him ; and with undisturbed serenity he closed his well - spent life . Such was the man America has lost — such was the man for whom our nation mourns . Lee ' s words set the standard by which Washington ' s overwhelming reputation was impressed upon the American memory . Washington set many precedents for the national government , and the presidency in particular , and was called the " Father of His Country " as early as 1778 . Washington ' s Birthday ( celebrated on Presidents ' Day ) , is a federal holiday in the United States . During the United States Bicentennial year , George Washington was posthumously appointed to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States by the congressional joint resolution passed on January 19 , 1976 , with an effective appointment date of July 4 , 1976 . This restored Washington ' s position as the highest - ranking military officer in U . S . history . Cherry tree . The most famous story about Washington ' s childhood is that he chopped down his father ' s favorite cherry tree and admitted the deed when questioned : " I can ' t tell a lie , Pa . " The anecdote was first reported by biographer Parson Weems , who after Washington ' s death interviewed people who knew him as a child over a half - century earlier . The Weems text was very widely reprinted throughout the 19th century , for example in McGuffey " Readers . " Adults wanted children to learn moral lessons from history , especially as taught by example from the lives of great national heroes like Washington . After 1890 however , historians insisted on scientific research methods to validate every statement , and there was no documentation for this anecdote apart from Weems ' report that he learned it in an interview with an old person . Joseph Rodman in 1904 noted that Weems plagiarized other Washington tales from published fiction set in England , but no one has found an alternative source for the cherry tree story . Monuments and memorials . Starting with victory in their Revolution , there were many proposals to build a monument to Washington . After his death , Congress authorized a suitable memorial in the national capital , but the decision was reversed when the Republicans took control of Congress in 1801 . The Republicans were dismayed that Washington had become the symbol of the Federalist Party ; furthermore , the values of Republicanism seemed hostile to the idea of building monuments to powerful men . Further political squabbling , along with the North - South division on the Civil War , blocked the completion of the Washington Monument until the late 19th century . By that time , Washington had the image of a national hero who could be celebrated by both North and South , and memorials to him were no longer controversial . Predating the obelisk on the National Mall by several decades , the first public memorial to Washington was built by the citizens of Boonsboro , Maryland , in 1827 . Today , Washington ' s face and image are often used as national symbols of the United States . He appears on contemporary currency , including the one - dollar bill and the quarter coin , and on U . S . postage stamps . Along with appearing on the first postage stamps issued by the U . S . Post Office in 1847 , Washington , together with Theodore Roosevelt , Thomas Jefferson , and Lincoln , is depicted in stone at the Mount Rushmore Memorial . The Washington Monument , one of the best known American landmarks , was built in his honor . The George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria , Virginia , was constructed between 1922 and 1932 with voluntary contributions from all 52 local governing bodies of the Freemasons in the United States . Many places and entities have been named in honor of Washington . Washington ' s name became that of the nation ' s capital , Washington , D . C . , one of two national capitals across the globe to be named after an American president ( the other is Monrovia , Liberia ) . The state of Washington is the only state to be named after a United States President . George Washington University and Washington University in St . Louis were named for him , as was Washington and Lee University ( once Washington Academy ) , which was renamed due to Washington ' s large endowment in 1796 . Washington College in Chestertown , Maryland ( established by Maryland state charter in 1782 ) was supported by Washington during his lifetime with a 50 guineas pledge , and with service on the college ' s Board of Visitors and Governors until 1789 ( when Washington was elected President ) . According to the US Census Bureau ' s 1993 geographic data , Washington is the 17th most common street name in the United States , and the only person ' s name so honored . There are many " Washington Monuments " in the United States , including two well - known equestrian statues , one in Manhattan and one in Richmond , Virginia . The first statue to show Washington on horseback was dedicated in 1856 and is located in Manhattan ' s Union Square . The second statue is known as either the Virginia Washington Monument or as the George Washington Equestrian Statue and was unveiled in 1858 . It was the second American statue of Washington on horseback but figures prominently in the official seal of the Confederate States of America . A marble statue of Washington was made from life by sculptor Jean - Antoine Houdon , and now sits in the Rotunda of the State Capitol in Richmond , Virginia . A duplicate , one of 22 bronze exact replicas , was given to the British in 1921 by the Commonwealth of Virginia and now stands in front of the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square . In 1917 , the 886 Washingtonia asteroid was named in his honor . Papers . The serious collection and publication of Washington ' s documentary record began with the pioneer work of Jared Sparks in the 1830s , " Life and Writings of George Washington " ( 12 vols . , 1834 – 1837 ) . " The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources , 1745 – 1799 " ( 1931 – 44 ) is a 37 volume set edited by John C . Fitzpatrick . It contains over 17 , 000 letters and documents and is available online from the University of Virginia . The definitive letterpress edition of his writings was begun by the University of Virginia in 1968 , and today comprises 52 published volumes , with more to come . It contains everything written by Washington , or signed by him , together with most of his incoming letters . Part of the collection is available online from the University of Virginia . Personal property auction record . On June 22 , 2012 , George Washington ‘ s personal annotated copy of the “ Acts Passed at a Congress of the United States of America ” from 1789 , which includes The Constitution of the United States and a draft of the Bill of Rights , was sold at Christie ' s for a record $ 9 , 826 , 500 , with fees the final cost , to The Mount Vernon Ladies ' Association . This was the record for a document sold at auction . Personal life . Along with Martha ' s biological family , George Washington had a close relationship with his nephew and heir , Bushrod Washington , son of George ' s younger brother , John Augustine Washington . The year before his uncle ' s death , Bushrod became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States . George , however , apparently did not get along well with his mother , Mary Ball Washington ( Augustine ' s second wife ) , who was a very demanding and difficult person . As a young man , Washington had red hair . A popular myth is that he wore a wig , as was the fashion among some at the time . However , Washington did not wear a wig ; instead , he powdered his hair , as is represented in several portraits , including the well - known , unfinished Gilbert Stuart depiction , " The Athenaeum portrait " . Washington had unusually great physical strength that amazed younger men . Jefferson called Washington " the best horseman of his age " , and both American and European observers praised his riding ; the horsemanship benefited his hunting , a favorite hobby . Washington was an excellent dancer and frequently attended the theater , often referencing Shakespeare in letters . He drank in moderation and precisely recorded gambling wins and losses , but Washington disliked the excessive drinking , gambling , smoking , and profanity that was common in colonial Virginia . Although he grew tobacco , he eventually stopped smoking , and considered drunkenness a man ' s worst vice ; Washington was glad that post - Revolutionary Virginia society was less likely to " force [ guests ] to drink and to make it an honor to send them home drunk . " Washington suffered from problems with his teeth throughout his life . He lost his first adult tooth when he was twenty - two and had only one left by the time he became President . John Adams claims he lost them because he used them to crack Brazil nut s but modern historians suggest the mercury oxide , which he was given to treat illnesses such as smallpox and malaria , probably contributed to the loss . He had several sets of false teeth made , four of them by a dentist named John Greenwood . Contrary to popular belief , none of the sets were made from wood . The set made when he became President was carved from hippopotamus and elephant ivory , held together with gold springs . Dental problems left Washington in constant pain , for which he took laudanum . This distress may be apparent in many of the portraits painted while he was still in office , including the one still used on the $ 1 bill . Slavery . Washington was the only prominent Founding Father to arrange in his will for the manumission of all his slaves following his death . He privately opposed slavery as an institution which he viewed as economically unsound and morally indefensible . He also regarded the divisiveness of his countrymen ' s feelings about slavery as a potentially mortal threat to the unity of the nation . Yet , as general of the army , president of the Constitutional Convention , and the first president of the United States , he never publicly challenged the institution of slavery , possibly because he wanted to avoid provoking a split in the new republic over so inflammatory an issue . Washington had owned slaves since the death of his father in 1743 , when at the age of eleven , he inherited 10 slaves . At the time of his marriage to Martha Custis in 1759 , he personally owned at least 36 slaves , which meant he had achieved the status of a major planter ( historians defined this in the Upper South as owning 20 or more slaves ) . The wealthy widow Martha brought at least 85 " dower slaves " to Mount Vernon by inheriting a third of her late husband ' s estate . Using his wife ' s great wealth , Washington bought more land , tripling the size of the plantation at Mount Vernon , and purchased the additional slaves needed to work it . By 1774 , he paid taxes on 135 slaves ( this figure does not include the " dowers " ) . The last record of a slave purchase by him was in 1772 , although he later received some slaves in repayment of debts . Washington also used some hired staff and white indentured servant s ; in April 1775 , he offered a reward for the return of two runaway white servants . Washington came to oppose slavery on both moral and economic grounds . Before the American Revolution , he had expressed no moral reservations about slavery . But by 1779 , he would tell his manager at Mount Vernon that he wished to sell his slaves when the war ended , if the Americans were victorious . He concluded that maintaining a large , and increasingly elderly , slave population at Mount Vernon was no longer economically profitable , and that people who were compelled to work would never work hard . Washington could not legally sell the " dower slaves " , and because they had long intermarried with his own slaves , he could not sell his slaves without breaking up families , which he wanted to avoid . In 1786 , Washington wrote to Robert Morris , saying , " There is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do , to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery . " Still , according to historian John Ferling , Washington also wanted the material benefits of owning slaves and wanted to leave his wife ' s family a large inheritance . As president , following the transfer of the national capital to Pennsylvania in 1790 , Washington brought eight enslaved people to work for him in the President ' s House in Philadelphia , where state law would have automatically granted freedom to any slaves who had resided in the state for more than 6 months . He circumvented that provision of the law by maintaining that he was not a Pennsylvania resident and ensuring that neither he nor any of his slaves stayed in the state for more than six months at a time . When one of the slaves , Oney Judge , a personal attendant to Martha , escaped , Washington complained that the slave had fled " without the least provocation , " and he secretly sent agents to hunt her down . Martha urged Washington to advertise a reward for her capture , and the ad was placed in the " Pennsylvania Gazette " on May 24 , 1796 . When the escaped former slave was spotted in New Hampshire , she said that she would agree to return out of affection for the Washington family , but only if they would guarantee her freedom , a proposal the Washingtons refused . They were still trying , surreptitiously , to recapture her two years later . Another slave , Hercules , who served as Washington ' s chef in the Presidential House in Philadelphia , managed to escape from Mount Vernon despite Washington ' s suspicions that he had been planning it . Washington would eventually replace the slaves at the President ' s House with immigrant German indentured servants . By 1794 , as he contemplated retirement , Washington began organizing his affairs so that in his will he could free all the slaves whom he owned outright . As historian Gordon S . Wood writes in his review of Joseph Ellis ' biography of Washington , " He did this in the teeth of opposition from his relatives , his neighbors , and perhaps even Martha . It was a courageous act , and one of his greatest legacies . " At the time of Washington ' s death in 1799 , 317 slaves lived at Mount Vernon : 123 were owned by Washington himself , 154 were held by his wife as " dower slaves " , and 40 others were rented from a neighbor . Washington ' s will provided for all of his slaves to be freed upon the death of his widow , but she chose to free them about 12 months after his death . The will also provided for the training of the younger former - slaves in useful skills and for the creation of an old - age pension fund for the older ones . Religion . The exact nature of Washington ' s religious beliefs has been debated by historians and biographers for over two hundred years . Although he visited several denominations in his public life , he was primarily affiliated with the Anglican and , later , Episcopal church . He served as a vestryman and as church warden for both Fairfax Parish in Alexandria and Truro Parish , administrative positions that , like all positions in Virginia while it had an official religion , required one to swear they would not speak or act in a way that did not conform to the tenets of the Church . Like the deists Washington avoided the word " God " and instead used the term " Providence " . He never spoke of Jesus , though he did refer to Christianity as the religion of Christ . Eyewitness accounts exist of Washington engaging in private devotions . Washington frequently accompanied his wife to church services . Although third - hand reports say he took communion , he is usually characterized as never or rarely participating in the rite . He would regularly leave services before communion with the other non - communicants ( as was the custom of the day ) , until , after being admonished by a rector , he ceased attending at all on communion Sundays . Chernow , in a 2010 podcast , summed up Washington ' s religious views : There has been a huge controversy , to put it mildly , about Washington ' s religious beliefs . Before the Revolutionary War he was Anglican – Church of England – which meant after the war , he was Episcopalian . So , he was clearly Christian . . . He was quite intensely religious , because even though he uses the word Providence , he constantly sees Providence as an active force in life , particularly in American life . I mean , every single victory in war he credits to Providence . The miracle of the Constitutional Convention he credits to Providence . The creation of the federal government and the prosperity of the early republic , he credits to Providence . . . I was struck at how frequently in his letters he ' s referring to Providence , and it ' s Providence where there ' s a sense of design and purpose , which sounds to me very much like religion . . . Unfortunately , this particular issue has become very very politicized . Freemasonry . Washington was initiated into Freemasonry in 1752 . He had a high regard for the Masonic Order and often praised it , but he seldom attended lodge meetings . He was attracted by the movement ' s dedication to the Enlightenment principles of rationality , reason and fraternalism ; the American lodges did not share the anti - clerical perspective that made the European lodges so controversial . In 1777 , a convention of Virginia lodges recommended Washington to be the Grand Master of the newly established Grand Lodge of Virginia ; however , Washington declined , due to his necessity to lead the Continental Army at a critical stage , and because he had never been installed as Master or Warden of a lodge , he did not consider it Masonically legal to serve as Grand Master . In 1788 , Washington , with his personal consent , was named Master in the Virginia charter of Alexandria Lodge No . 22 . Postage and currency . Since 1847 , one of the defining hallmarks of a U . S . President is his appearance on U . S . currency and postage . George Washington appears on contemporary U . S . currency , including the one - dollar bill and the U . S . quarter dollar . On U . S . postage stamps Washington , along with Benjamin Franklin , appeared on the nation ' s first postage stamps in 1847 . Throughout U . S . postal history Washington appears on many postage issues , more than all other presidents combined .