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Early Career
George Washington was born in Westmoreland county, Va., on a farm, later known as Wakefield, on Feb. 11, 1732, Old Style (Feb. 22, 1732, New Style). His first American ancestor, John Washington, came to Virginia from England in 1657. This immigrant's descendants remained in the colony and gained a respected place in society. Farming, land buying, trading, milling, and the iron industry were means by which the family rose in the world. George's father, Augustine, had four children by his first wife and six by his second wife, Mary Ball, George's mother. From 1727 to 1735, Augustine lived at Wakefield, on the Potomac River between Popes Creek and Bridges Creek, about 50 miles (80 km) inland and close to the frontier.

Of George's early life little is known. His formal education was slight. He soon revealed a skill in mathematics and surveying so marked as to suggest a gift for practical affairs akin to youthful genius in the arts. Men, plantation life, and the haunts of river, field, and forest were his principal teachers. From 1735 to 1738, Augustine lived at "Little Hunting Creek" (later Mount Vernon). In 1738 he moved to Ferry Farm, opposite Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock River. Augustine died when George was 11, leaving several farms. Lawrence, George's half brother, inherited Mount Vernon, where he built the central part of the now-famous mansion. Another half brother, Augustine, received Wakefield. Ferry Farm went to George's mother, and it would pass to George after her death.

These farms bounded the world George knew as a boy. He lived and visited at each. Ambitious to gain wealth and eminence, mainly by acquiring land, he was obliged to depend chiefly on his own efforts. His mother once thought of a career for him in the British Navy but was evidently deterred by a report from her brother in England that an obscure colonial youth could not expect more at Britain's hands than a job as a common sailor.

George's youthful model was his half brother Lawrence, a cultivated gentleman, whom he accompanied on a trip to Barbados, West Indies, in 1751. There George was stricken with smallpox, which left lasting marks on his face.

When only 15, George was competent as a field surveyor. In 1748 he went as an assistant on a surveying party sent to the Shenandoah Valley by Thomas, 6th Baron Fairfax, a neighbor of Lawrence and owner of vast tracts of land in northern Virginia. A year later George secured a commission as surveyor of Culpeper county. In 1752 he became the manager of a sizable estate when he inherited Mount Vernon on Lawrence's death.

George's early experiences had taught him the ways of living in the wilderness, had deepened his appreciation of the natural beauty of Virginia, had fostered his interest in the West, and had afforded opportunities for acquiring land. The days of his youth had revealed a striving nature. Strength and vigor heightened his enjoyment of activities out-of-doors. Quick to profit by mistakes, he was otherwise deliberate in thought. Not a fluent talker, he aspired to gain practical knowledge, to acquire agreeable manners, and to excel in his undertakings.

French and Indian War. In the early 1750s, Britain and France both strove to occupy the upper Ohio Valley. The French erected Fort Le Boeuf, at Waterford, Pa., and seized a British post, Venango, on the Allegheny River. Alarmed by these acts, Virginia's governor, Robert Dinwiddie, sent Washington late in 1753 on a mission to assert Britain's claim. Washington led a small party to Fort Le Boeuf, where its commander stated France's determination to possess the disputed area. Returning to Williamsburg, Washington delivered the defiant reply. He also wrote a report telling a vivid winter's tale of wilderness adventure that enhanced his reputation for resourcefulness and daring.

Dinwiddie then put Washington in command of an expedition to guard an intended British fort at the forks of the Ohio, at the present site of Pittsburgh. En route, he learned that the French had expelled the Virginia fort builders and were completing the works, which they named Fort Duquesne. He advanced to Great Meadows, Pa., about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of the fort, where he erected Fort Necessity. On May 28, 1754, occurred one of the most disputed incidents of his career. He ambushed a small French detachment, the commander of which, Joseph Coulon de Villiers, sieur de Jumonville, was killed, along with nine of his men. The others were captured. This incident started the French and Indian War. The French claimed that their detachment was on a peaceful mission; Washington thought that it was engaged in spying. He returned to Fort Necessity, which a large French force attacked on July 3. It fell after a day's fighting. In making the surrender, Washington signed a paper that imputed to him the blame for "l'assassinat" ("murder") of Jumonville. Not versed in French, Washington later explained that he had not understood the meaning of the incriminating word.

By the terms of the surrender, he and his men were permitted to return, disarmed, to the Virginia settlements. The news of his defeat moved Britain to send to Virginia an expedition under Gen. Edward Braddock, whom Washington joined as a voluntary aide-de-camp, without command of troops. Braddock's main force reached a point on the Monongahela River about 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Fort Duquesne, where, on July 9, 1755, he suffered a surprise attack and a defeat that ended in disordered flight. Washington's part was that of inspiriting the men. His bravery under fire spread his fame to nearby colonies and abroad. Dinwiddie rewarded him by appointing him, in August, to the command of Virginia's troops, with the rank of colonel.

His new duties excluded him from leadership in the major campaigns of the war, the operations of which were directed by British officials who assigned to Virginia the humdrum task of defending its inland frontiers. No important battles were fought there. Washington drilled his rough and often unsoldierly recruits, stationed them at frontier posts, settled disputes, struggled to maintain order and discipline, labored to procure supplies and to get them transported, strove to have his men paid promptly and provided with shelter and medical care, sought support from the Virginia government, and kept it informed. His command trained him in the management of self-willed men, familiarized him with the leaders of Virginia, and schooled him in the rugged politics of a vigorous society.

The French and Indian War also estranged him from the British. Thereafter, he never expressed a feeling of affection for them. He criticized Braddock for blaming the Virginians as a whole for the shortcomings of a few local contractors. He also thought that Braddock was too slow in his marches. As commander in Virginia, he resented his subordination to a British captain, John Dagworthy, and made a trip to Boston early in 1756 in order to get confirmation of his authority from the British commander in America. He objected that one of his major plans was upset by ill-considered orders from Britain, and in 1758 he disputed with British officers about the best route for an advance to Fort Duquesne. The war ended in such a way as to withhold from him a suitable recognition for his arduous services of nearly six years and to leave him, if not embittered, a somewhat disappointed man.

Life at Mount Vernon. Resigning his commission late in 1758, Washington retired to Mount Vernon. On Jan. 6, 1759, he married Martha Dandridge, widow of Daniel Parke Custis, whose estate included 15,000 acres (6,000 ha) and 150 slaves. Washington became devoted to Martha's two children by her first marriage, John Parke Custis and Martha Custis.

As a planter, Washington concentrated at first on tobacco raising, keeping exact accounts of costs and profits. He soon learned that it did not pay. British laws required that his exports be sent to Britain, sold for him by British merchants, and carried in British ships. Also, he had to buy in Britain such foreign finished goods as he needed. On various occasions he complained that his tobacco was damaged on shipboard or sold in England at unduly low prices. He thought that he was often overcharged for freight and insurance, and he objected that British goods sent to him were overpriced, poor in quality, injured in transit, or not the right type or size. Unable to control buying and selling in England, he decided to free himself from bondage to British traders. Hence he reduced his production of tobacco and had his slaves make goods of the type he had imported, especially cloth. He developed a fishery on the Potomac, increased his production of wheat, and operated a mill. He sent fish, wheat, and flour to the West Indies, where he obtained foreign products or the money with which to buy them.

From the start he was a progressive farmer who promoted reforms to eliminate soil-exhausting practices that prevailed in his day. He strove to improve the quality of his livestock and to increase the yield of his fields, experimenting with crop rotation, new implements, and fertilizers. His frequent absences on public business hindered his experiments, for they often required his personal direction.

He also dealt in Western lands. Virginia's greatest estates, he wrote, were made "by taking up…at very low prices the rich back lands," which "are now the most valuable lands we possess." His Western urge had largely inspired his labors during the French and Indian War. At that time, Britain encouraged settlement in the Ohio Valley as a means of gaining it from the French. In July 1754 Governor Dinwiddie offered 200,000 acres (80,000 ha) in the West to colonial volunteers. Washington became entitled to one of these grants. After the war he bought claims of other veterans, served as agent of the claimants in locating and surveying tracts, and obtained for himself (by July 1773) 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) along the Ohio, between the Little Kanawha and Great Kanawha rivers, and 10,000 acres on the Great Kanawha. In 1775 he sought to settle his Kanawha land with servants.

Washington lived among neighbors who acquiesced in slavery and, if opposed to it, saw no feasible means of doing away with it. In 1775 he endorsed a strong indictment of the slave trade, but in 1776 he opposed the royal governor of Virginia, who had urged slaves of patriot masters to gain freedom by running away and joining the British Army to fight for the king. When Washington was famous as a world figure, he dissociated himself, publicly, from slavery, although he continued to own many slaves. He favored emancipation if decreed by law. In his will he ordered that his slaves be freed after the death of his wife.

Early Political Activity. After expelling France from North America, Britain decided to reserve most of the Ohio Valley as a fur-producing area. By the Quebec Act (1774), Britain detached from Virginia the land it claimed north of the Ohio River and added it to the royal Province of Quebec. This act struck at Washington's plans because it aimed to leave the Indians in possession of the north bank of the Ohio, where they could menace any settlers on his lands across the river. In April 1775 the governor of Virginia, John Murray, 4th earl of Dunmore, canceled Washington's Kanawha claims on the pretext that his surveyor had not been legally qualified to make surveys. At this time, also, Britain directed Dunmore to stop granting land in the West. Thus Washington stood to lose the fruits of his efforts during the French and Indian War.

As a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1759 to 1774, Washington opposed the Stamp Act, which imposed crushing taxes on the colonies for the support of a large British army in America. Virginia, he said, was already paying enough to Britain: its control of Virginia's trade enabled it to acquire "our whole substance." When the Townshend Revenue Act (1767) levied taxes on tea, paper, lead, glass, and painter's colors, Washington pledged not to buy such articles ("paper only excepted").

By mid-1774 he believed that British laws, such as the Boston Port Act and the Massachusetts Government Act, showed that Britain intended to do away with self-government in the colonies and to subject them to a tyrannical rule. In May he joined other Virginia burgesses in proposing that a continental congress should be held and that a provincial congress be created to take the place of the Virginia assembly, which Dunmore had disbanded.

Washington was chairman of a meeting at Alexandria in July that adopted the Fairfax Resolves, and he was elected one of the delegates to the First Continental Congress, which met in Philadelphia in September. There the Fairfax Resolves provided the basis for the principal agreement signed by its members—the Continental Association. This forbade the importing into the colonies of all goods from Britain and all goods subject to British taxes. Moreover, it authorized all towns and counties to set up committees empowered to enforce its provisions. The Continental Congress thus enacted law and created a new government dedicated to resisting British rule. Washington spent the winter of 1774–1775 in Virginia, organizing independent military companies that were to aid the local committees in enforcing the Continental Association and, if need be, to fight against British troops.

 

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George Washington

1st President of the United States
(April 30, 1789 to March 3, 1797)

Nickname: "Father of His Country"

Born: February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia
Died: December 14, 1799, at Mount Vernon, Virginia

Father: Augustine Washington
Mother: Mary Ball Washington
Married: Martha Dandridge Custis (1732-1802), on January 6, 1759
Children: John "Jack" Parke Custis (adopted) and Martha "Patsy" Custis (adopted)

Religion: Episcopalian
Education: No formal education
Occupation: Planter, Soldier
Political Party: Federalist
Other Government Positions:

Member of Virginia House of Burgesses, 1759-74
Member of Continental Congress, 1774-75
Chairman of the Constitutional Convention, 1787-88
Presidential Salary: $25,000/year (refused by Washington)

Presidential Election Results: Year Electoral Votes
1789 George Washington 69
John Adams 34
John Jay 9
R. H. Harrison 6
John Rutledge 6
John Hancock 4
George Clinton 3
Samuel Huntington 2
John Milton 2
James Armstrong 1
Benjamin Lincoln 1
Edward Telfair 1
(Votes Not Cast) 12
1792 George Washington 132
John Adams 77
George Clinton 50
Thomas Jefferson 4
Aaron Burr 1
1796 John Adams 71
Thomas Jefferson 68
Thomas Pinckney 59
Aaron Burr 30
Samuel Adams 15
Oliver Ellsworth 11
George Clinton 7
John Jay 5
James Iredell 3
George Washington 2
John Henry 2
S. Johnston 2
Charles C. Pinckney 1

Vice President: John Adams (1789-97)

Cabinet:

Secretary of State
John Jay (1789-90)
Thomas Jefferson (1790-93)
Edmund Randolph (1794-95)
Timothy Pickering (1795-97)
Secretary of the Treasury
Alexander Hamilton (1789-95)
Oliver Wolcott, Jr. (1795-97)
Secretary of War
Henry Knox (1789-94)
Timothy Pickering (1795-96)
James McHenry (1796-97)
Attorney General
Edmund Randolph (1790-94)
William Bradford (1794-95)
Charles Lee (1795-97)
Notable Events:

1789
The Judiciary Act specified the number of Federal courts and judges.
1790
Supreme Court met for the first time with John Jay as the Chief Justice.
1791
Federal capital established in swamplands on the Potomac.
A national banking system established by the Bank Act.
The Bill of Rights take effect.
1792
Post Office established by Congress as a separate entity.
New York Stock Exchange organized.
Coins are minted by the government as enacted by the Coinage Act.
1793
War breaks out between Britain and France. On April 22, U.S. declares neutrality.
1794
Whiskey Rebellion over excise tax in western Pennsylvania. Federal troops called to suppress the armed rebellion.
1795
The Jay Treaty ratified. British troops required to withdraw from the U.S.
Pinckney's Treaty with Spain opened navigation on Mississippi River.
Washington posed for Stuart's portrait, which is now on the one dollar bill.
1796
Washington delivered his Farewell Address.
Internet Biographies:

George Washington -- from The Presidents of the United States of America
Compiled by the White House.
George Washington -- from The American Presidency
Grolier Online has created this resource from its collection of print articles in Encyclopedia Americana. Contains a full biography, written by Curtis P. Nettels of Cornell University, along with suggestions for further reading.
George Washington -- from The American President
From the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, in addition to information on the Presidents themselves, they have first lady and cabinet member biographies, listings of presidential staff and advisers, and timelines detailing significant events in the lives of each administration.
The Apotheosis of George Washington -- by Laura Dove, Lisa Guernsey, Scott Atkins and Adriana Rissetto
Very interesting examination of George Washington's elevation to divine status through history.
A Biography of George Washington 1732-1799 -- from From Revolution to Reconstruction
Text copied from National Archives and Records Administration The Founding Fathers' Page as part of a larger hypertext on American history.
George Washington -- from the Mount Vernon Ladies Association
This detailed biography is designed as a teaching aide for students and teachers. The site contains a lesson plan, reading materials, background notes and suggested classroom activities.
George Washington -- from Politics & Political Campaigns
Encyclopedic entry that is very well presented and organized.
George Washington -- from Supercomputing '94
Tourist information for the 1994 Conference on High Performance Computing & Communications included this biography. Included is a list of some historically significant print biographies on Washington and Washington's own writings.
The Life of George Washington -- by David Ramsay
Published eight years after Washington's death, this volume covers Washington's life in thirteen chapters (only nine online so far). D.E. Vitale is the archivist in charge of this project.
The Surprising George Washington -- from the National Archives and Records Administration
Richard Norton Smith's article from the Quarterly of the National Archives (Spring 1994, vol. 26, no. 1) examines Washington's characteristics and his treatment as a historical figure. More than a typical biography. Also includes links to some images.
George Washington on the Frontier -- from The Fort Edwards Foundation
Biography covering Col. Washington's time at Fort Edwards (1748-1758). Includes text of Washington's account of the Battle of Fort Necessity.
Historical Documents:

Papers of George Washington
This resource, collected by the University of Virginia and the Mount Vernon Ladies Association, contains historical context to some of the documents and letters written by Washington. Unfortunately, most of the text of these documents are not online.
Letter from Washington to John Hancock (1776)
First Inaugural Address (1789)
Second Inaugural Address (1793)
The Proclamation of Neutrality (1793)
Farewell Address (1796)
Other Internet Resources:

John Hanson, First President
Who was John Hanson and why is he the first president of the United States? Written by George Grant and excerpted from The Patriot's Handbook.
George Washington Memorial Parkway
This parkway preserves the scenery along the Potomac River, from Mount Vernon, through the nation's capital, to Great Falls on the Potomac. From the National Parks Service.
Moland House Park
"The Moland House - George Washington's headquarters on August 10, 1777, where the Marquis de Lafayette joined the American Revolution, the American Flag was said to have first flown over American troops here, and several other historic generals joined the American Revolution." Located in Warwick Township, Pennsylvania, the history and fight for preservation of this site are explained.
Mount Rushmore
Located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, the faces of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt stand 60 feet tall.
Mount Vernon
A complete guide to Washington's Virginia plantation.
Sulgrave Manor
The Sulgrave, England ancestral home of the Washington family. Family history and tour information available.
Valley Forge
The story of the revolutionary war encampment written by Joan Marshall-Dutcher, Historian (retired).
Washington Monument
Quick facts, history and a tour of this landmark from the National Park Service.
Washington's Birthplace
Tourist information about this 538 acre National Park can be found from the National Park Service.
Points of Interest:

Believing that shaking hands was beneath a president, Washington bowed to his visitors.
Washington has the distinction of being the only president to be elected unanimously by the electoral college.
Washington had one remaining tooth at the time of his inauguration. During his lifetime he wore dentures made of human (some his own), cow, or hippopotamus teeth, ivory, or lead, but he never wore wooden teeth.
Many places are named after Washington including the nation's capital, the state, 31 counties and 17 communities.
The six white horses in Washington's stables had their teeth brushed every morning on Washington's orders.
The nation's capital was located in Philadelphia during Washington's administration making him the only president who didn't live in Washington, D.C. during his presidency.

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George Washington, first president of the United States, b. Feb. 22, 1732, in Westmoreland Co., Va.; d. Dec. 14, 1799, s. p. aged sixty-seven. Married (Jan. 6, 1759)Martha, daughter of John Dandridge and widow of Daniel Parke Custis, of New Kent Co., Va., b. May, 1732; d. May 22, 1802, aged seventy years.