George Washington

Washington married the widow Martha Dandridge Custis on January 6, 1759. Martha brought her two children, John Parke Custis and Martha Parke Custis, to Mount Vernon, where the couple developed a life together and expanded the estate. Martha later served as the nation's first first lady and managed the household and estate during Washington's long absences with the army and in public office.

Between 1759 and 1775, Washington oversaw Mount Vernon and pursued farming, milling, commercial fishing, and livestock breeding. He shifted the plantation's main cash crop from tobacco to wheat and experimented with crop rotation, fertilizers, tools, and new crops. By the end of his life, the estate had grown from about 2,000 to 8,000 acres and included five farms.

Washington's wealth and agricultural enterprises depended on enslaved labor. He inherited, purchased, rented, and controlled more than 500 enslaved people over the course of his life. His will directed that the 123 enslaved people he owned outright be freed after Martha's death, while William Lee, his enslaved valet, was to be freed immediately.

Washington did not attend college or receive a formal education. Private tutors and possibly a local school in Fredericksburg provided instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, geometry, trigonometry, and legal forms. Before he was sixteen, he copied 110 rules in a volume titled The Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour.

He began professional surveying in 1749 after receiving a commission as surveyor for Culpeper County. Earlier surveying expeditions with George William Fairfax took him through Virginia's western frontier and helped develop his interest in western lands. After his half-brother Lawrence Washington died, George pursued military service and received a commission in the Virginia militia in 1752.

In 1753, Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie sent the 21-year-old Washington to demand that French forces leave the Ohio Valley. Washington's account of the arduous expedition was published in Williamsburg and London, giving him an international reputation. The following year, his forces killed French soldiers near Jumonville Glen and then surrendered at Fort Necessity, an episode that helped ignite the French and Indian War.

Washington later served as an aide to General Edward Braddock during the disastrous Battle of the Monongahela in 1755. Two horses were shot beneath him and four bullets pierced his coat, but he helped rally the survivors. He commanded Virginia's military force until he resigned his commission in 1758.

Washington entered colonial politics as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, serving from 1758 until 1776. He supported protests against British taxation, helped draft the Fairfax Resolves with George Mason, and represented Virginia at the First and Second Continental Congresses.

In June 1775, Congress appointed Washington commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. He spent the next eight years with the army, organizing poorly equipped forces and maintaining a credible campaign despite shortages of soldiers, food, supplies, and ammunition. Under his direction, Henry Knox moved 59 cannons more than 300 miles from Fort Ticonderoga to Dorchester Heights, helping force the British evacuation of Boston in March 1776.

The British defeated Washington in a series of battles for New York in 1776, leaving his army demoralized and depleted. He responded with surprise attacks at Trenton and Princeton in late December and early January, victories that restored morale and kept the American cause alive. Washington's strategy generally emphasized preserving the army rather than risking its destruction in attempts to hold every city or defeat the larger British force in open battle.

With French military support, Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau shifted their focus from New York to Yorktown, Virginia. A French fleet under the Comte de Grasse blockaded the Chesapeake Bay, allowing the allied forces to besiege the British army commanded by Lord Cornwallis. Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781, effectively securing American victory.

In 1783, Washington also stopped a potential coup by Continental Army officers at Newburgh. After the Treaty of Paris ended the war, he resigned his commission before Congress in Annapolis on December 23, 1783, and returned to Mount Vernon rather than use his popularity to seize power.

Washington returned to public life in 1787 when he attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. The delegates unanimously selected him to preside over the convention, which produced a new Constitution intended to replace the weak government established by the Articles of Confederation. Washington then used his influence to support ratification.

The Electoral College unanimously elected Washington as the first president of the United States in 1789. He took the oath of office on April 30 and served two terms, from 1789 to 1797. As the first holder of the office, he established the cabinet, asserted executive privilege, used the presidential veto, and helped define the scope and restraint of executive authority.

Washington appointed Alexander Hamilton as secretary of the Treasury, Thomas Jefferson as secretary of State, and Henry Knox as secretary of War. His administration established a national financial system, restored the nation's credit, negotiated treaties, designated a site for the permanent capital, and developed a policy of neutrality during the European war that followed the French Revolution.

He directed the federal response to the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794 and oversaw diplomatic achievements involving Britain, Spain, and Native nations. Political divisions between Federalists and Republicans intensified during his presidency, despite his opposition to factionalism. In his Farewell Address, published in 1796, Washington warned against political parties, foreign influence, and sectional divisions. His retirement after two terms created a precedent that later became constitutional law through the Twenty-Second Amendment.

After leaving the presidency in 1797, Washington returned to Mount Vernon and resumed work on the estate. On December 12, 1799, he became ill after supervising farming activities on horseback during snow, hail, and rain. His condition worsened rapidly, and he died at Mount Vernon on December 14, 1799.

Washington was buried at Mount Vernon on December 18. His death prompted expressions of national mourning, including Henry Lee's description of him as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."

Washington's military leadership, role in creating and legitimizing the Constitution, and service as the first president made him central to the founding of the United States. His voluntary surrender of military and executive power established an enduring ideal of civilian government and restrained leadership. His legacy also remained inseparable from his ownership of enslaved people and from the expansion of the United States through the seizure of Native American lands.