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George Washington - Facts, Presidency & Quotes - Biography
George Washington
Biography
(1732–1799)
Photo: Gilbert Stuart/Public
Domain via Wikimedia
Commons
George
Washington
February 22, 1732
December 14,
1799
Westmoreland
County, Virginia
Mount Vernon,
Virginia
APR 27, 2017
George Washington, a Founding Father of
the United States, led the Continental Army
to victory in the Revolutionary War and was
America’s first president.
Who Was George Washington?
George Washington was a Virginia plantation owner who
served as a general and commander-in-chief of the colonial
armies during the American Revolutionary War, and later
became the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797.
Early Life and Family
Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the
eldest of Augustine and Mary’s six children, all of whom survived into adulthood.
The family lived on Pope's Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia. They were moderately
prosperous members of Virginia's "middling class."
Washington could trace his family's presence in North America to his great-grandfather, John
Washington, who migrated from England to Virginia. The family held some distinction in
England and was granted land by Henry VIII.
But much of the family’s wealth in England was lost under the Puritan government of Oliver
Cromwell. In 1657 Washington’s grandfather, Lawrence Washington, migrated to Virginia. Little
information is available about the family in North America until Washington’s father, Augustine,
was born in 1694.
Augustine Washington was an ambitious man who acquired land and enslaved people, built
mills, and grew tobacco. For a time, he had an interest in opening iron mines. He married his
first wife, Jane Butler, and they had three children. Jane died in 1729 and Augustine married
Mary Ball in 1731.
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Mount Vernon
In 1735, Augustine moved the family up the Potomac River to another Washington family
home, Little Hunting Creek Plantation — later renamed Mount Vernon.
They moved again in 1738 to Ferry Farm on the Rappahannock River, opposite Fredericksburg,
Virginia, where Washington spent much of his youth.
Childhood and Education
Little is known about Washington's childhood, which fostered many of the fables later
biographers manufactured to fill in the gap. Among these are the stories that Washington
threw a silver dollar across the Potomac and after chopping down his father's prize cherry tree,
he openly confessed to the crime.
It is known that from age seven to 15, Washington was home-schooled and studied with the
local church sexton and later a schoolmaster in practical math, geography, Latin and the
English classics.
But much of the knowledge he would use the rest of his life was through his acquaintance with
woodsmen and the plantation foreman. By his early teens, he had mastered growing tobacco,
stock raising and surveying.
Washington’s father died when he was 11 and he became the ward of his half-brother,
Lawrence, who gave him a good upbringing. Lawrence had inherited the family's Little Hunting
Creek Plantation and married Anne Fairfax, the daughter of Colonel William Fairfax, patriarch
of the well-to-do Fairfax family. Under her tutelage, Washington was schooled in the finer
aspects of colonial culture.
In 1748, when he was 16, Washington traveled with a surveying party plotting land in Virginia’s
western territory. The following year, aided by Lord Fairfax, Washington received an
appointment as the official surveyor of Culpeper County.
For two years he was very busy surveying the land in Culpeper, Frederick and Augusta
counties. The experience made him resourceful and toughened his body and mind. It also
piqued his interest in western land holdings, an interest that endured throughout his life with
speculative land purchases and a belief that the future of the nation lay in colonizing the West.
In July 1752, Washington's brother, Lawrence, died of tuberculosis, making him the heir
apparent of the Washington lands. Lawrence’s only child, Sarah, died two months later and
Washington became the head of one of Virginia's most prominent estates, Mount Vernon. He
was 20 years old.
Throughout his life, he would hold farming as one of the most honorable professions and he
was most proud of Mount Vernon. Washington would gradually increase his landholdings
there to about 8,000 acres
Pre-Revolutionary Military Career
In the early 1750s, France and Britain were at peace. However, the French military had begun
occupying much of the Ohio Valley, protecting the King's land interests, particularly fur
trappers and French settlers. But the borderlands of this area were unclear and prone to
dispute between the two countries.
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Washington showed early signs of natural leadership and shortly after Lawrence's death,
Virginia's Lieutenant Governor, Robert Dinwiddie, appointed Washington adjutant with a rank
of major in the Virginia militia.
French and Indian War
On October 31, 1753, Dinwiddie sent Washington to Fort LeBoeuf, at what is now Waterford,
Pennsylvania, to warn the French to remove themselves from land claimed by Britain. The
French politely refused and Washington made a hasty ride back to Williamsburg, Virginia's
colonial capital.
Dinwiddie sent Washington back with troops and they set up a post at Great Meadows.
Washington's small force attacked a French post at Fort Duquesne, killing the commander,
Coulon de Jumonville, and nine others and taking the rest prisoners. The French and Indian
War had begun.
The French counterattacked and drove Washington and his men back to his post at Great
Meadows (later named "Fort Necessity.") After a full day siege, Washington surrendered and
was soon released and returned to Williamsburg, promising not to build another fort on the
Ohio River.
Though a little embarrassed at being captured, he was grateful to receive the thanks from the
House of Burgesses and see his name mentioned in the London gazettes.
Washington was given the honorary rank of colonel and joined British General Edward
Braddock's army in Virginia in 1755. The British had devised a plan for a three-prong assault on
French forces attacking Fort Duquesne, Fort Niagara and Crown Point.
During the encounter, the French and their Indian allies ambushed Braddock, who was
mortally wounded. Washington escaped injury with four bullet holes in his cloak and two
horses shot out from under him. Though he fought bravely, he could do little to turn back the
rout and led the defeated army back to safety.
Commander of Virginia Troops
In August 1755, Washington was made commander of all Virginia troops at age 23. He was sent
to the frontier to patrol and protect nearly 400 miles of border with some 700 ill-disciplined
colonial troops and a Virginia colonial legislature unwilling to support him.
It was a frustrating assignment. His health failed in the closing months of 1757 and he was sent
home with dysentery.
In 1758, Washington returned to duty on another expedition to capture Fort Duquesne. A
friendly-fire incident took place, killing 14 and wounding 26 of Washington's men. However, the
British were able to score a major victory, capturing Fort Duquesne and control of the Ohio
Valley.
Washington retired from his Virginia regiment in December 1758. His experience during the
war was generally frustrating, with key decisions made slowly, poor support from the colonial
legislature and poorly trained recruits.
Washington applied for a commission with the British army but was turned down. In 1758, he
resigned his commission and returned to Mount Vernon disillusioned. The same year, he
entered politics and was elected to Virginia's House of Burgesses.
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Martha Washington
A month after leaving the army, Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis, a widow, who
was only a few months older than he. Martha brought to the marriage a considerable fortune:
an 18,000-acre estate, from which Washington personally acquired 6,000 acres.
With this and land he was granted for his military service, Washington became one of the more
wealthy landowners in Virginia. The marriage also brought Martha's two young children, John
(Jacky) and Martha (Patsy), ages six and four, respectively.
Washington lavished great affection on both of them, and was heartbroken when Patsy died
just before the Revolution. Jacky died during the Revolution, and Washington adopted two of
his children.
Enslaved People
During his retirement from the Virginia militia until the start of the Revolution, Washington
devoted himself to the care and development of his land holdings, attending the rotation of
crops, managing livestock and keeping up with the latest scientific advances.
By the 1790s, Washington kept over 300 enslaved people at Mount Vernon. He was said to
dislike the institution of slavery, but accepted the fact that it was legal.
Washington, in his will, made his displeasure with slavery known, as he ordered that all his
enslaved people be granted their freedom upon the death of his wife Martha. (This act of
generosity, however, applied to fewer than half of Mount Vernon's enslaved people: Those
enslaved people owned by the Custis family were given to Martha’s grandchildren after her
death.)
Washington loved the landed gentry's life of horseback riding, fox hunts, fishing and cotillions.
He worked six days a week, often taking off his coat and performing manual labor with his
workers. He was an innovative and responsible landowner, breeding cattle and horses and
tending to his fruit orchards.
Teeth
Much has been made of the fact that Washington used false teeth or dentures for most of his
adult life. Indeed, Washington's correspondence to friends and family makes frequent
references to aching teeth, inflamed gums and various dental woes.
Washington had one tooth pulled when he was just 24 years old, and by the time of his
inauguration in 1789 he had just one natural tooth left. But his false teeth weren't made of
wood, as some legends suggest.
Instead, Washington's false teeth were fashioned from human teeth — including teeth from
enslaved people and his own pulled teeth — ivory, animal teeth and assorted metals.
Washington's dental problems, according to some historians, probably impacted the shape of
his face and may have contributed to his quiet, somber demeanor: During the Constitutional
Convention, Washington addressed the gathered dignitaries only once.
American Revolution
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Though the British Proclamation Act of 1763 — prohibiting settlement beyond the Alleghenies
— irritated Washington and he opposed the Stamp Act of 1765, he did not take a leading role
in the growing colonial resistance against the British until the widespread protest of the
Townshend Acts in 1767.
His letters of this period indicate he was totally opposed to the colonies declaring
independence. However, by 1767, he wasn't opposed to resisting what he believed were
fundamental violations by the Crown of the rights of Englishmen.
In 1769, Washington introduced a resolution to the House of Burgesses calling for Virginia to
boycott British goods until the Acts were repealed.
After the passage of the Coercive Acts in 1774, Washington chaired a meeting in which the
Fairfax Resolves were adopted, calling for the convening of the Continental Congress and the
use of armed resistance as a last resort. He was selected as a delegate to the First Continental
Congress in March 1775.
Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army
After the battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, the political dispute between Great
Britain and her North American colonies escalated into an armed conflict. In May, Washington
traveled to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia dressed in a military uniform,
indicating that he was prepared for war.
On June 15th, he was appointed Major General and Commander-in-Chief of the colonial forces
against Great Britain. As was his custom, he did not seek out the office of commander, but he
faced no serious competition.
Washington was the best choice for a number of reasons: he had the prestige, military
experience and charisma for the job and he had been advising Congress for months.
Another factor was political: The Revolution had started in New England and at the time, they
were the only colonies that had directly felt the brunt of British tyranny. Virginia was the largest
British colony and New England needed Southern colonial support.
Political considerations and force of personality aside, Washington was not necessarily
qualified to wage war on the world's most powerful nation. Washington's training and
experience were primarily in frontier warfare involving small numbers of soldiers. He wasn't
trained in the open-field style of battle practiced by the commanding British generals.
He also had no practical experience maneuvering large formations of infantry, commanding
cavalry or artillery, or maintaining the flow of supplies for thousands of men in the field. But he
was courageous and determined and smart enough to keep one step ahead of the enemy.
Washington and his small army did taste victory early in March 1776 by placing artillery above
Boston, on Dorchester Heights, forcing the British to withdraw. Washington then moved his
troops into New York City. But in June, a new British commander, Sir William Howe, arrived in
the Colonies with the largest expeditionary force Britain had ever deployed to date.
Crossing the Delaware
In August 1776, the British army launched an attack and quickly took New York City in the
largest battle of the war. Washington's army was routed and suffered the surrender of 2,800
men.
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He ordered the remains of his army to retreat into Pennsylvania across the Delaware River.
Confident the war would be over in a few months, General Howe wintered his troops at
Trenton and Princeton, leaving Washington free to attack at the time and place of his choosing.
On Christmas night, 1776, Washington and his men returned across the Delaware River and
attacked unsuspecting Hessian mercenaries at Trenton, forcing their surrender. A few days
later, evading a force that had been sent to destroy his army, Washington attacked the British
again, this time at Princeton, dealing them a humiliating loss.
Victories and Losses
General Howe's strategy was to capture colonial cities and stop the rebellion at key economic
and political centers. He never abandoned the belief that once the Americans were deprived of
their major cities, the rebellion would wither.
In the summer of 1777, he mounted an offensive against Philadelphia. Washington moved in
his army to defend the city but was defeated at the Battle of Brandywine. Philadelphia fell two
weeks later.
In the late summer of 1777, the British army sent a major force, under the command of John
Burgoyne, south from Quebec to Saratoga, New York, to split the rebellion between New
England and the southern colonies. But the strategy backfired, as Burgoyne became trapped
by the American armies led by Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold at the Battle of Saratoga.
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Without support from Howe, who couldn't reach him in time, Burgoyne was forced to
surrender his entire 6,200 man army. The victory was a major turning point in the war as it
encouraged France to openly ally itself with the American cause for independence.
Through all of this, Washington discovered an important lesson: The political nature of war was
just as important as the military one. Washington began to understand that military victories
were as important as keeping the resistance alive.
Americans began to believe that they could meet their objective of independence without
defeating the British army. Meanwhile, British General Howe clung to the strategy of capturing
colonial cities in hopes of smothering the rebellion.
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Howe didn't realize that capturing cities like Philadelphia and New York would not unseat
colonial power. The Congress would just pack up and meet elsewhere.
Valley Forge
The darkest time for Washington and the Continental Army was during the winter of 1777 at
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The 11,000-man force went into winter quarters and over the next
six months suffered thousands of deaths, mostly from disease. But the army emerged from
the winter still intact and in relatively good order.
Realizing their strategy of capturing colonial cities had failed, the British command replaced
General Howe with Sir Henry Clinton. The British army evacuated Philadelphia to return to New
York City. Washington and his men delivered several quick blows to the moving army, attacking
the British flank near Monmouth Courthouse. Though a tactical standoff, the encounter proved
Washington's army capable of open field battle.
For the remainder of the war, Washington was content to keep the British confined to New
York, although he never totally abandoned the idea of retaking the city. The alliance with
France had brought a large French army and a navy fleet.
Washington and his French counterparts decided to let Clinton be and attack British General
Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. Facing the combined French and Colonial armies and
the French fleet of 29 warships at his back, Cornwallis held out as long as he could, but on
October 19, 1781, he surrendered his forces.
Revolutionary War Victory
Washington had no way of knowing the Yorktown victory would bring the war to a close.
The British still had 26,000 troops occupying New York City, Charleston and Savannah, plus a
large fleet of warships in the Colonies. By 1782, the French army and navy had departed, the
Continental treasury was depleted, and most of his soldiers hadn’t been paid for several years.
A near-mutiny was avoided when Washington convinced Congress to grant a five-year bonus
for soldiers in March 1783. By November of that year, the British had evacuated New York City
and other cities and the war was essentially over.
The Americans had won their independence. Washington formally bade his troops farewell and
on December 23, 1783, he resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the army and
returned to Mount Vernon.
For four years, Washington attempted to fulfill his dream of resuming life as a gentleman
farmer and to give his much-neglected Mount Vernon plantation the care and attention it
deserved.
The war had been costly to the Washington family with lands neglected, no exports of goods,
and the depreciation of paper money. But Washington was able to repair his fortunes with a
generous land grant from Congress for his military service and become profitable once again.
Constitutional Convention
In 1787, Washington was again called to the duty of his country. Since independence, the
young republic had been struggling under the Articles of Confederation, a structure of
government that centered power with the states.
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But the states were not unified. They fought among themselves over boundaries and
navigation rights and refused to contribute to paying off the nation's war debt. In some
instances, state legislatures imposed tyrannical tax policies on their own citizens.
Washington was intensely dismayed at the state of affairs, but only slowly came to the
realization that something should be done about it. Perhaps he wasn't sure the time was right
so soon after the Revolution to be making major adjustments to the democratic experiment.
Or perhaps because he hoped he would not be called upon to serve, he remained
noncommittal.
But when Shays' Rebellion erupted in Massachusetts, Washington knew something needed to
be done to improve the nation’s government. In 1786, Congress approved a convention to be
held in Philadelphia to amend the Articles of Confederation.
At the Constitutional Convention, Washington was unanimously chosen as
president. Washington, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton had come to the conclusion
that it wasn't amendments that were needed, but a new constitution that would give the
national government more authority.
In the end, the Convention produced a plan for government that not only would address the
country's current problems, but would endure through time. After the convention adjourned,
Washington's reputation and support for the new government were indispensable to the
ratification of the new U.S. Constitution.
The opposition was strident, if not organized, with many of America's leading political figures
— including Patrick Henry and Sam Adams — condemning the proposed government as a grab
for power. Even in Washington's native Virginia, the Constitution was ratified by only one vote.
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George Washington: Presidency
Still hoping to retire to his beloved Mount Vernon, Washington was once again called upon to
serve this country.
During the presidential election of 1789, he received a vote from every elector to the Electoral
College, the only president in American history to be elected by unanimous approval. He took
the oath of office at Federal Hall in New York City, the capital of the United States at the time.
As the first president, Washington was astutely aware that his presidency would set a
precedent for all that would follow. He carefully attended to the responsibilities and duties of
his office, remaining vigilant to not emulate any European royal court. To that end, he
preferred the title "Mr. President," instead of more imposing names that were suggested.
At first he declined the $25,000 salary Congress offered the office of the presidency, for he was
already wealthy and wanted to protect his image as a selfless public servant. However,
Congress persuaded him to accept the compensation to avoid giving the impression that only
wealthy men could serve as president.
Washington proved to be an able administrator. He surrounded himself with some of the most
capable people in the country, appointing Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury and Thomas
Jefferson as Secretary of State. He delegated authority wisely and consulted regularly with his
cabinet listening to their advice before making a decision.
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Washington established broad-ranging presidential authority, but always with the highest
integrity, exercising power with restraint and honesty. In doing so, he set a standard rarely met
by his successors, but one that established an ideal by which all are judged.
READ MORE: How George Washington’s Personal and Physical Characteristics Helped Him Win
the Presidency
Accomplishments
During his first term, Washington adopted a series of measures proposed by Treasury
Secretary Hamilton to reduce the nation's debt and place its finances on sound footing.
His administration also established several peace treaties with Native American tribes and
approved a bill establishing the nation's capital in a permanent district along the Potomac
River.
Whiskey Rebellion
Then, in 1791, Washington signed a bill authorizing Congress to place a tax on distilled spirits,
which stirred protests in rural areas of Pennsylvania.
Quickly, the protests turned into a full-scale defiance of federal law known as the Whiskey
Rebellion. Washington invoked the Militia Act of 1792, summoning local militias from several
states to put down the rebellion.
Washington personally took command, marching the troops into the areas of rebellion and
demonstrating that the federal government would use force, when necessary, to enforce the
law. This was also the only time a sitting U.S. president has led troops into battle.
Jay Treaty
In foreign affairs, Washington took a cautious approach, realizing that the weak young nation
could not succumb to Europe's political intrigues. In 1793, France and Great Britain were once
again at war.
At the urging of Hamilton, Washington disregarded the U.S. alliance with France and pursued a
course of neutrality. In 1794, he sent John Jay to Britain to negotiate a treaty (known as the "Jay
Treaty") to secure a peace with Britain and clear up some issues held over from the
Revolutionary War.
The action infuriated Jefferson, who supported the French and felt that the U.S. needed to
honor its treaty obligations. Washington was able to mobilize public support for the treaty,
which proved decisive in securing ratification in the Senate.
Though controversial, the treaty proved beneficial to the United States by removing British
forts along the western frontier, establishing a clear boundary between Canada and the United
States, and most importantly, delaying a war with Britain and providing over a decade of
prosperous trade and development the fledgling country so desperately needed.
Political Parties
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All through his two terms as president, Washington was dismayed at the growing partisanship
within the government and the nation. The power bestowed on the federal government by the
Constitution made for important decisions, and people joined together to influence those
decisions. The formation of political parties at first were influenced more by personality than
by issues.
As Treasury secretary, Hamilton pushed for a strong national government and an economy
built in industry. Secretary of State Jefferson desired to keep government small and center
power more at the local level, where citizens' freedom could be better protected. He
envisioned an economy based on farming.
Those who followed Hamilton's vision took the name Federalists and people who opposed
those ideas and tended to lean toward Jefferson’s view began calling themselves DemocraticRepublicans. Washington despised political partisanship, believing that ideological differences
should never become institutionalized. He strongly felt that political leaders should be free to
debate important issues without being bound by party loyalty.
However, Washington could do little to slow the development of political parties. The ideals
promoted by Hamilton and Jefferson produced a two-party system that proved remarkably
durable. These opposing viewpoints represented a continuation of the debate over the proper
role of government, a debate that began with the conception of the Constitution and continues
today.
Washington's administration was not without its critics who questioned what they saw as
extravagant conventions in the office of the president. During his two terms, Washington
rented the best houses available and was driven in a coach drawn by four horses, with
outriders and lackeys in rich uniforms.
After being overwhelmed by callers, he announced that except for the scheduled weekly
reception open to all, he would only see people by appointment. Washington entertained
lavishly, but in private dinners and receptions at invitation only. He was, by some, accused of
conducting himself like a king.
However, ever mindful his presidency would set the precedent for those to follow, he was
careful to avoid the trappings of a monarchy. At public ceremonies, he did not appear in a
military uniform or the monarchical robes. Instead, he dressed in a black velvet suit with gold
buckles and powdered hair, as was the common custom. His reserved manner was more due
to inherent reticence than any excessive sense of dignity.
Retirement
Desiring to return to Mount Vernon and his farming, and feeling the decline of his physical
powers with age, Washington refused to yield to the pressures to serve a third term, even
though he would probably not have faced any opposition.
By doing this, he was again mindful of the precedent of being the "first president," and chose
to establish a peaceful transition of government.
Farewell Address
In the last months of his presidency, Washington felt he needed to give his country one last
measure of himself. With the help of Hamilton, he composed his Farewell Address to the
American people, which urged his fellow citizens to cherish the Union and avoid partisanship
and permanent foreign alliances.
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In March 1797, he turned over the government to John Adams and returned to Mount Vernon,
determined to live his last years as a simple gentleman farmer. His last official act was to
pardon the participants in the Whiskey Rebellion.
Upon returning to Mount Vernon in the spring of 1797, Washington felt a reflective sense of
relief and accomplishment. He had left the government in capable hands, at peace, its debts
well-managed, and set on a course of prosperity.
He devoted much of his time to tending the farm's operations and management. Although he
was perceived to be wealthy, his land holdings were only marginally profitable.
Death
On a cold December day in 1799, Washington spent much of it inspecting the farm on
horseback in a driving snowstorm. When he returned home, he hastily ate his supper in his wet
clothes and then went to bed.
The next morning, on December 13, he awoke with a severe sore throat and became
increasingly hoarse. He retired early, but awoke around 3 a.m. and told Martha that he felt very
sick. The illness progressed until he died late in the evening of December 14, 1799.
The news of Washington's death at age 67 spread throughout the country, plunging the nation
into a deep mourning. Many towns and cities held mock funerals and presented hundreds of
eulogies to honor their fallen hero. When the news of this death reached Europe, the British
fleet paid tribute to his memory, and Napoleon ordered ten days of mourning.
Legacy
Washington could have been a king. Instead, he chose to be a citizen. He set many precedents
for the national government and the presidency: The two-term limit in office, only broken once
by Franklin D. Roosevelt, was later ensconced in the Constitution's 22nd Amendment.
He crystallized the power of the presidency as a part of the government’s three branches of
government, able to exercise authority when necessary, but also accept the checks and
balances of power inherent in the system.
He was not only considered a military and revolutionary hero, but a man of great personal
integrity, with a deep sense of duty, honor and patriotism. For over 200 years, Washington has
been acclaimed as indispensable to the success of the Revolution and the birth of the nation.
But his most important legacy may be that he insisted he was dispensable, asserting that the
cause of liberty was larger than any single individual.
Watch "George Washington: Founding Father" on HISTORY Vault
Citation Information
Article Title
George Washington Biography
Author
Biography.com Editors
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Website Name
The Biography.com website
URL
https://www.biography.com/us-president/george-washington
Access Date
March 13, 2022
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
September 11, 2020
Original Published Date
April 2, 2014
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