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March 27, 2024

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George Washington

George Washington was the first President of United States of America. He is also known as one of the Founding Fathers of United States. He has his face imprinted on the Mount Rushmore. George Washington is often called “Father of The Nation” in America.

George Washington was born to a wealthy family in Colonial Virginia on February 22, 1732. His family was into tobacco business. His father was Augustine Washington. He owned hundreds of slaves throughout his lifetime. He wanted to abolish slavery later on. His father died when he was 11. His older brother became the head of the family.

In 1755, George Washington became the Commander of Virginia Regiment. He married Martha Dandridge Custis in 159. She was the wealthy widow of Daniel Parke Custis. He was now one of the richest man in Virginia. Washington lived an aristocratic lifestyle. He liked to attend parties and dancing. He imported luxurious goods from England. In 1775 he became the Commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolution. Historian John Shy said that by 1783 George Washington was a mediocre military strategist. But he also said that he became a master political tactician.

December 23, 1783, George Washington resigned his as commander-in-chief. King George III called George Washington “the greatest character of his age”. However, his retirement was short-lived. George Washington attended the Constitutional Convention in 1987. He was unanimously elected as the First President of United States of America in 1789. He was also elected again in 1792. John Adams was his Vice-President. He was paid a yearly sum of $25,000. He originally declined the salary because of the reputation of being a public servant. He preferred the title Mr. President over the other majestic names proposed. Washington thus began the rise of the great nation known today as the United States of America.

George Washington retired from the presidency in March 1797. He returned to Mount Vernon with after that. Washington Served as the senior officer of the United States Army in 1798. George Washington died around 10 p.m. on December 14, 1799. He was aged 67 at the time of his death. George Washington’s last word was “Tis Well”. Cynanche trachealis was reported to be the reason for his death.

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George Washington

By: History.com Editors

Updated: February 7, 2024 | Original: October 29, 2009

George Washington (1732-99) was commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (1775-83) and served two terms as the first U.S. president, from 1789 to 1797. The son of a prosperous planter, Washington was raised in colonial Virginia. As a young man, he worked as a surveyor then fought in the French and Indian War (1754-63). 

During the American Revolution, he led the colonial forces to victory over the British and became a national hero. In 1787, he was elected president of the convention that wrote the U.S. Constitution. Two years later, Washington became America’s first president. Realizing that the way he handled the job would impact how future presidents approached the position, he handed down a legacy of strength, integrity and national purpose. Less than three years after leaving office, he died at his Virginia plantation, Mount Vernon, at age 67.

George Washington's Early Years

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 , at his family’s plantation on Pope’s Creek in Westmoreland County, in the British colony of Virginia , to Augustine Washington (1694-1743) and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington (1708-89). George, the eldest of Augustine and Mary Washington’s six children, spent much of his childhood at Ferry Farm, a plantation near Fredericksburg, Virginia. After Washington’s father died when he was 11, it’s likely he helped his mother manage the plantation.

Did you know? At the time of his death in 1799, George Washington owned some 300 enslaved people. However, before his passing, he had become opposed to slavery, and in his will, he ordered that his enslaved workers be freed after his wife's death.

Few details about Washington’s early education are known, although children of prosperous families like his typically were taught at home by private tutors or attended private schools. It’s believed he finished his formal schooling at around age 15.

As a teenager, Washington, who had shown an aptitude for mathematics, became a successful surveyor. His surveying expeditions into the Virginia wilderness earned him enough money to begin acquiring land of his own.

In 1751, Washington made his only trip outside of America, when he traveled to Barbados with his older half-brother Lawrence Washington (1718-52), who was suffering from tuberculosis and hoped the warm climate would help him recuperate. Shortly after their arrival, George contracted smallpox. He survived, although the illness left him with permanent facial scars. In 1752, Lawrence, who had been educated in England and served as Washington’s mentor, died. Washington eventually inherited Lawrence’s estate, Mount Vernon , on the Potomac River near Alexandria, Virginia.

An Officer and Gentleman Farmer

In December 1752, Washington, who had no previous military experience, was made a commander of the Virginia militia. He saw action in the French and Indian War and was eventually put in charge of all of Virginia’s militia forces. By 1759, Washington had resigned his commission, returned to Mount Vernon and was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, where he served until 1774. In January 1759, he married Martha Dandridge Custis (1731-1802), a wealthy widow with two children. Washington became a devoted stepfather to her children; he and Martha Washington never had any offspring of their own.

In the ensuing years, Washington expanded Mount Vernon from 2,000 acres into an 8,000-acre property with five farms. He grew a variety of crops, including wheat and corn, bred mules and maintained fruit orchards and a successful fishery. He was deeply interested in farming and continually experimented with new crops and methods of land conservation.

George Washington During the American Revolution

Washington proved to be a better general than military strategist. His strength lay not in his genius on the battlefield but in his ability to keep the struggling colonial army together. His troops were poorly trained and lacked food, ammunition and other supplies (soldiers sometimes even went without shoes in winter). However, Washington was able to give them direction and motivation. His leadership during the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge was a testament to his power to inspire his men to keep going.

By the late 1760s, Washington had experienced firsthand the effects of rising taxes imposed on American colonists by the British and came to believe that it was in the best interests of the colonists to declare independence from England. Washington served as a delegate to the First Continental Congress in 1774 in Philadelphia. By the time the Second Continental Congress convened a year later, the American Revolution had begun in earnest, and Washington was named commander in chief of the Continental Army.

Over the course of the grueling eight-year war, the colonial forces won few battles but consistently held their own against the British. In October 1781, with the aid of the French (who allied themselves with the colonists over their rivals the British), the Continental forces were able to capture British troops under General Charles Cornwallis (1738-1805) in the Battle of Yorktown . This action effectively ended the Revolutionary War and Washington was declared a national hero.

America’s First President

In 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris between Great Britain and the U.S., Washington, believing he had done his duty, gave up his command of the army and returned to Mount Vernon, intent on resuming his life as a gentleman farmer and family man. However, in 1787, he was asked to attend the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and head the committee to draft the new constitution . His impressive leadership there convinced the delegates that he was by far the most qualified man to become the nation’s first president.

At first, Washington balked. He wanted to, at last, return to a quiet life at home and leave governing the new nation to others. But public opinion was so strong that eventually he gave in. The first presidential election was held on January 7, 1789, and Washington won handily. John Adams (1735-1826), who received the second-largest number of votes, became the nation’s first vice president. The 57-year-old Washington was inaugurated on April 30, 1789, in New York City. Because Washington, D.C. , America’s future capital city wasn’t yet built, he lived in New York and Philadelphia. While in office, he signed a bill establishing a future, permanent U.S. capital along the Potomac River—the city later named Washington, D.C., in his honor.

George Washington’s Accomplishments

The United States was a small nation when Washington took office, consisting of 11 states and approximately 4 million people, and there was no precedent for how the new president should conduct domestic or foreign business. Mindful that his actions would likely determine how future presidents were expected to govern, Washington worked hard to set an example of fairness, prudence and integrity. In foreign matters, he supported cordial relations with other countries but also favored a position of neutrality in foreign conflicts. Domestically, he nominated the first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court , John Jay (1745-1829), signed a bill establishing the first national bank, the Bank of the United States , and set up his own presidential cabinet . 

His two most prominent cabinet appointees were Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) and Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), two men who disagreed strongly on the role of the federal government. Hamilton favored a strong central government and was part of the Federalist Party , while Jefferson favored stronger states’ rights as part of the Democratic-Republican Party, the forerunner to the Democratic Party . Washington believed that divergent views were critical for the health of the new government, but he was distressed at what he saw as an emerging partisanship.

George Washington’s presidency was marked by a series of firsts. He signed the first United States copyright law, protecting the copyrights of authors. He also signed the first Thanksgiving proclamation, making November 26 a national day of Thanksgiving for the end of the war for American independence and the successful ratification of the Constitution.

During Washington’s presidency, Congress passed the first federal revenue law, a tax on distilled spirits. In July 1794, farmers in Western Pennsylvania rebelled over the so-called “whiskey tax.” Washington called in over 12,000 militiamen to Pennsylvania to dissolve the Whiskey Rebellion in one of the first major tests of the authority of the national government.

Under Washington’s leadership, the states ratified the Bill of Rights , and five new states entered the union: North Carolina (1789), Rhode Island (1790), Vermont (1791), Kentucky (1792) and Tennessee (1796).

In his second term, Washington issued the proclamation of neutrality to avoid entering the 1793 war between Great Britain and France. But when French minister to the United States Edmond Charles Genet—known to history as “Citizen Genet”—toured the United States, he boldly flaunted the proclamation, attempting to set up American ports as French military bases and gain support for his cause in the Western United States. His meddling caused a stir between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans, widening the rift between parties and making consensus-building more difficult.

In 1795, Washington signed the “Treaty of Amity Commerce and Navigation, between His Britannic Majesty; and The United States of America,” or Jay’s Treaty , so-named for John Jay , who had negotiated it with the government of King George III . It helped the U.S. avoid war with Great Britain, but also rankled certain members of Congress back home and was fiercely opposed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison . Internationally, it caused a stir among the French, who believed it violated previous treaties between the United States and France.

Washington’s administration signed two other influential international treaties. Pinckney’s Treaty of 1795, also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo, established friendly relations between the United States and Spain, firming up borders between the U.S. and Spanish territories in North America and opening up the Mississippi to American traders. The Treaty of Tripoli, signed the following year, gave American ships access to Mediterranean shipping lanes in exchange for a yearly tribute to the Pasha of Tripoli.

George Washington’s Retirement to Mount Vernon and Death

In 1796, after two terms as president and declining to serve a third term, Washington finally retired. In Washington’s farewell address , he urged the new nation to maintain the highest standards domestically and to keep involvement with foreign powers to a minimum. The address is still read each February in the U.S. Senate to commemorate Washington’s birthday.

Washington returned to Mount Vernon and devoted his attentions to making the plantation as productive as it had been before he became president. More than four decades of public service had aged him, but he was still a commanding figure. In December 1799, he caught a cold after inspecting his properties in the rain. The cold developed into a throat infection and Washington died on the night of December 14, 1799, at the age of 67. He was entombed at Mount Vernon, which in 1960 was designated a national historic landmark.

Washington left one of the most enduring legacies of any American in history. Known as the “Father of His Country,” his face appears on the U.S. dollar bill and quarter, and dozens of U.S. schools, towns and counties, as well as the state of Washington and the nation’s capital city, are named for him.

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Home — Essay Samples — Government & Politics — Presidents of the United States — George Washington

Essays on George Washington

What makes a good george washington essay topics.

When it comes to writing an essay about George Washington, choosing a good topic is essential for capturing the reader's interest and conveying a unique perspective on the subject matter. To brainstorm and choose an essay topic, it's important to consider various aspects such as relevance, significance, and originality. A good George Washington essay topic should be thought-provoking, well-researched, and engaging for the reader. When selecting a topic, think about what aspects of George Washington's life, leadership, and legacy you find most compelling. Consider the historical context, his impact on the nation, and his role as a founding father. A good essay topic should also allow for in-depth analysis and critical thinking, providing ample opportunity for exploration and discussion.

Best George Washington Essay Topics

• George Washington's leadership during the Revolutionary War
• The significance of George Washington's Farewell Address
• George Washington's impact on the formation of the U.S. Constitution
• The role of George Washington as the first President of the United States
• George Washington's stance on slavery and its implications
• The relationship between George Washington and other founding fathers
• George Washington's legacy and lasting influence on American politics
• The portrayal of George Washington in popular culture and media
• George Washington's contributions to the development of the American identity
• The myth vs. reality of George Washington's character and leadership
• George Washington's military strategy and tactics during the Revolutionary War
• The personal life and family of George Washington
• George Washington's vision for the future of the United States
• The economic policies of George Washington's presidency
• The foreign policy challenges faced by George Washington
• George Washington's relationship with Native American tribes
• The impact of George Washington's presidency on the development of political parties
• George Washington's role in shaping the executive branch of the U.S. government
• The significance of Mount Vernon in the life of George Washington
• George Washington's influence on the formation of the American military

George Washington essay topics Prompts

• Imagine you are George Washington. Write a letter to a fellow founding father discussing the challenges and opportunities of leading a young nation.
• Create a dialogue between George Washington and a contemporary political figure, discussing the principles of leadership and governance.
• Design a museum exhibition dedicated to George Washington's life and legacy. What artifacts, documents, and interactive elements would you include to tell his story?
• Write an alternative history essay exploring what might have happened if George Washington had not become the first President of the United States.
• Interview a historian or expert on George Washington and write an article that conveys their insights and knowledge about his impact on American history.

George Washington Character Traits

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George Washington – The Founding Father

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George Washington: Impact and Legacy

From the moment Washington announced his retirement, the American people have remembered him as one of the greatest presidents in the nation’s history. The name of the Capitol City, the Washington Monument, his inclusion on Mount Rushmore, and his regular place near the top of presidential polls attests to the strength of his legacy. Indeed, generations of Americans have used Washington’s uniquely popular memory for their own political purposes. Most notably, after the Civil War, northerners and southerners valorized Washington and the founding era as a shared history they could both celebrate.

There is much to honor in Washington’s legacy. He was the only person who could have held the office in 1789. He was the most famous American, the only one with enough of a national platform to represent the entire country and overwhelmingly trusted by the populous. Americans knew they could trust him to wield immense power because he had already done so once during the Revolution and willingly gave it up.

The trust and confidence Washington inspired made possible the creation of the presidency and helped establish the executive branch. Once in office, he cultivated respect for the presidency, regularly exhibited restraint in the face of political provocations, and attempted to serve as a president for all citizens (which admittedly meant white men). He was always mindful of the principles of republican virtue, namely self-sacrifice, decorum, self-improvement, and leadership. Our modern notions that the president should be held to higher standards and the office carries a certain level of respect and prestige began with Washington’s careful creation of the position.

Washington also left an inveterate imprint on the political process, especially through his formation of the cabinet. Every president since Washington has worked with a cabinet, and each president crafts their own decision-making process. They select their closest advisors and determine how they will obtain advice from those individuals. Presidents might choose to consult friends, family members, former colleagues, department secretaries, or congressmen, and the American people and Congress have very little oversight over those relationships. Some presidents, like Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt, flourish with the flexibility; others, including James Madison and John F. Kennedy, find their administrations undermined by domineering advisors or cabinets. That legacy is a direct result of Washington’s cabinet.

Washington’s decision to step away from power, again, solidified his legacy and had a powerful impact on the future of the presidency. All his successors, until Franklin D. Roosevelt, willingly followed his example of retiring after two terms, and the 22 nd Amendment made sure that no future president can serve more than two terms. More importantly, Washington recognized the structural importance of leaving office willingly. He knew that Americans needed to learn how to elect, transition, and inaugurate a new president. That process was fraught with potential missteps, and Washington concluded that it would go more smoothly if it was planned, rather than haphazardly done after an unexpected death. Washington understood how much of the political process is based on norm and custom, and that those had to start with his example.

For all these achievements, and there are many, recently Washington’s legacy lost a bit of its sparkle as Americans grapple with his personal failures. Of the many political choices in his long career, Washington’s decisions in retirement were perhaps his worst. In 1798, Congress created the Provisional Army as the Quasi-War with France accelerated. President John Adams asked Washington to come out of retirement one more time to lead the army.

Washington reluctantly agreed but extracted two promises. First, he wanted to stay at Mount Vernon until a French invasion. Second, Washington insisted on naming his subordinate officers who would manage the army in his absence. When Adams reluctantly caved, Washington named Alexander Hamilton as his deputy. Hamilton and Adams hated each other, and Washington knew it. By forcing these concessions, Washington undermined the presidency and civilian authority over the army. As Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, Washington had studiously upheld Congress’s authority. His failure to make the same choice in his retirement is often overlooked but should be viewed with considerable criticism.

However, Washington’s ownership of enslaved humans is by far the most challenging part of his legacy. To be sure, Washington’s ideas about slavery and the potential for Black emancipation evolved over his lifetime. He did free the enslaved people he owned in his will, which is much more than most people in his generation. This commitment required decades-long planning to leave his estate unencumbered by debt which could only be reduced through the sale of enslaved individuals. And he did so in the face of resistance from other Virginians, including his wife. When the terms of Washington’s will were published, the emancipation of his enslaved community sent ripples through the country. He had issued a forceful statement about the morality of slavery from the grave.

Yet, Washington clearly benefitted from exploiting enslaved people. And by the end of his life, he knew the institution was wrong and could have done more to end it. Washington pursued enslaved people who escaped when he could have left them to their freedom. He could have freed the enslaved people he owned during his lifetime but elected to enjoy the fruits of their labor until his last days. He also chose not to deprive Martha of that care either, which is why the enslaved people he owned were not to be freed until her death.

On a public scale, Washington could have made the terms of his will public before his death or spoken against slavery while he was alive. His words would have had an enormous impact—which is perhaps why he remained silent. Washington worried that if he forced the issue, southern states would secede from the Union. There will be no way to know if he was right or if these concerns were correct. But much of Washington’s lifestyle and personal wealth were dependent on slavery, and that must be considered a part of his legacy.

Lindsay M. Chervinsky

Senior Fellow The Center for Presidential History Southern Methodist University

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President George Washington: Calm, Cool, and Collected Commander in Chief

Patient, modest, and deliberate: George Washington gave the United States the steady hand necessary to guide it through a revolutionary birth and its tumultuous early years.

"First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” That famous description of George Washington by his friend and fellow patriot Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee is probably still the best summation of the man who, over a hard but resolute lifetime, became the savior of a war and the father of a country. Washington’s earliest ambitions, though, aimed more at the prosaic than the glorious. He probably imagined nothing better than following in the footsteps of his father, Augustine, who had been an ambitious Virginia planter and merchant. Augustine was hardly a major player in the hierarchical world of the aristocracy, but he was nonetheless a bona fide member of the gentry. George was the eldest son of Augustine’s second wife, Mary, who was not, and at no point aspired to be gentry.

Washington's War for Independence

When George was just 11, Augustine died, leaving his younger children in the hands of Mary, a domineering, pious, possibly pipe-smoking woman who ran her farm with a firm hand and read daily to her children from Contemplations Moral and Divine . Though George’s two older stepbrothers, then grown, had been sent to the fine schools required of the Virginia gentry, George had no resources for that, and Mary, in any case, had no interest in investing in her eldest son’s education. Indeed the two clashed their entire lives, and some biographers speculate that George modeled himself after everything that his mother was not.

Devoted to the Nation

Feb. 22, 1732 George Washington is born in a modest house at Popes Creek, Westmoreland County, Virginia. His father, Augustine, is a plantation owner who dies when George is 11.

June 15, 1775 Having served with distinction in the French and Indian War, Washington is appointed as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army that was created the day before.

Dec. 23, 1783 Washington resigns his commission as commander-in-chief, having transformed the Continental Army into an effective fighting force and led the troops to victory over the British.

Apr. 30, 1789 Despite not actively seeking the candidacy, Washington is unanimously elected as the first president of the United States under the Constitution. He serves two terms but refuses a third.

Dec. 14, 1799 Washington dies suddenly after contracting an acute infection while touring his estates in the winter. The nation goes into mourning. Foreign governments, including Britain, pay homage.

Apparently determined to better himself from a young age, George found mentors among the gentry and emulated their ways. He also copied by hand the Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation . These 110 rules had been conceived by French Jesuits as a teaching tool almost a century and a half before, dealing with everything from table manners to posture to facial expressions to gossip. Despite their stuffy formality, George seems to have internalized them because they echoed through his behavior for the rest of his life. As a young man, George impressed the colonial power-brokers of British Virginia, who made him a surveyor of western lands and an officer with the British during the French and Indian War. He first saw battle in his very early twenties, and he learned that he liked it. As far away as Britain, the young colonel’s calm and courage under fire was appreciated, with a London gazette running a line from one of his letters: “I have heard the bullets whistle; and believe me, there is something charming in the sound.”

Mount Vernon

But Washington had also experienced other aspects of war—the meddling of politicians and the disdain of the British for the American officers. By 1758 he was tired of it all. Resigning his commission, he enthusiastically took up the life of a Virginia planter.

Washington had been renting a family farm in Northern Virginia from the widow of his older half-brother Lawrence, who died in 1752. Following the death of his sister-in-law, Washington officially inherited Mount Vernon in 1761. Situated on the broad Potomac, Mount Vernon was one of the great loves of Washington’s life.

As he began ambitious improvements to the plantation, he became involved with a wealthy young widow, Martha Dandridge Custis. The two were soon married. Washington had been infatuated before, but Martha proved a perfect life partner and comfort to the reserved, driven, and often overburdened Washington.

Along with the wealth and social standing that Martha brought to the marriage, she also came with two young children, who Washington cherished as his own. He settled easily into the life of a respected planter and enjoyed days spent with his family, improving the farm, fishing, hunting (particularly fox hunting), riding, feasting, dancing, and generally reveling in the style of the Virginia aristocracy. He no doubt assumed he would end his days at Mount Vernon as a British citizen.

The Coming Revolution

That, of course, was not to be. Like his fellow Virginians in the House of Burgesses, Washington became increasingly disillusioned with George III and his colonial minions. At this time British America was composed of 13 disparate colonies ruled by 13 legislatures, each committed to its own culture, economy, and often religion.“Fire and water are not more heterogeneous than the different colonies of North America,” one British traveler had pronounced. Together, they were home to a million and a half people, the population doubling roughly every 20 years. They were Britons at heart, but of many varieties: long-established colonial families, recent immigrants, and indentured servants. Enslaved African-Americans lived throughout the colonies with large concentrations in the Chesapeake region and the South, where an aristocracy evolved because of their labor. Washington frankly aspired to become part of the elite and had speculated on wild land to the west. He saw his investment fade with the royal Proclamation of 1763, which banned westward migration in an attempt to fend off more Indian wars and control the cost of America to the Crown.

British War Debt

Washington fought in the French and Indian war which was part of the larger Seven Years’ War that raged across Europe from 1756-1763. Britain emerged from it with an empire greater than any the West had known since Rome. Its holdings in the New World, shown above, had more than doubled, but managing them proved an expensive business. To try and cover the costs, the British began to levy a series of taxes on the colonists that only added to the distress caused by a post-war bust in the economy. As the decade progressed, the loyal Britons of America, Washington among them, began to question their commitment to the motherland.

Yet through the 1760s, as he supported protests against British taxes, Washington also dined with the royal governor and assumed, as did most of his landed countrymen, that the British would be reasonable. By 1774 he had changed his mind.“The measures which [the British] administration hath for sometime been, and now are, most violently pursuing are repugnant to every principle of natural justice,” he wrote to a friend. In the course of a decade, Washington had become a full-throated patriot and one of Virginia’s seven elected delegates to the First Continental Congress. In August 1774, he left Mount Vernon for Philadelphia with fellow delegates Patrick Henry and Edmund Pendleton. Martha saw them off. “I hope you will stand firm,” she told Henry and Pendleton, adding, “I know George will.”

The six-foot-two-inch Washington had a way of affecting other men simply by his bearing, and the other delegates to Congress were duly impressed, seeing in him the reassuring promise of a true military commander. And that was clearly what Washington wanted them to see. He was not a fiery or inspired speaker nor was he an intellect, but he was confident that he could command men.

He got his chance a year later, when the Second Continental Congress appointed him commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. John Adams championed him for the position, and Abigail Adams described him in this way: “Dignity with ease and complacency—the gentleman and soldier look agreeably blended in him. Modesty marks every line and feature of his face.”

Pen Inspires the Sword

Thomas Paine was an admirer of Washington and spent the desperate autumn of 1776 as an aide-de-camp in the field. Though brave, Paine was no soldier. But his brief time with the army and Washington no doubt inspired him as he wrote the opening to his American Crisis—“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country.” In late December 1776, with the revolution on the verge of collapse, enlistments about to expire, and “summer soldiers” waiting to depart, Washington ordered Paine’s essay read to his men. Two days later, their surprise attack on Trenton, New Jersey, revived the American taste for war and the commitment to fight on.

Certainly, Washington exuded modesty when he addressed Congress with what sounded like a protestation at his appointment, “I beg it may be remembered by every gentleman in the room, that I this day declare with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the command I am honored with.” He may have been overwhelmed by the appointment, but he had also wanted it. And now, for better or worse, he had it.

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Washington at war.

In early July he arrived in Cambridge to meet his “army,” finding an obstreperous, disorganized gaggle of New England militiamen, most hardscrabble farmers and small-time merchants, holding the British army at bay in Boston. Washington was determined to impose the discipline of a true army on these “exceedingly dirty and nasty people.” He also sought to protect them from themselves, putting in place hygiene practices to ward against the diseases that plagued military camps. Despite his initial private disdain, he moved tirelessly and confidently among them, understanding, even if they did not, how precarious the American military was.

If that summer tested Washington, it was only a small taste of what was to come. By 1776 he and his men were in a struggle for survival, yielding battle after battle to the British in New York. By year’s end, Washington had lost more than half of what had been, at best, an army cobbled together. Congress had essentially turned its back on him, and his closest confidantes and officers had intrigued against him, complaining of his inability to lead.

In fact, he had been indecisive and overly deferential, and now his army was in danger of collapse, as enlistment periods ended and desertion grew. “No man, I believe, ever had a greater choice of difficulties and less means to extricate himself from them,” he wrote to his brother Jack in late autumn. Yet, in spite of his own despondency, Washington rallied, understanding that if he did not turn the tide somehow, the Revolution would be a short-lived disaster. And so on a bitter cold Christmas night, Washington famously led his broken, barefoot army from their winter camp at Valley Forge, crossing the Delaware River to attack Trenton, New Jersey. The American victory there was small but profound, reinvigorating Washington, his forces, and the patriotic cause—at least for a few months.

For the next four years, Washington battled on, carping at Congress to feed and supply his men, fending off attacks on his own leadership, and all the while keeping an eye firmly on the enemy. Gradually, he learned to fight the British more strategically, using local militia to harass them and avoiding “a general action” that would “put anything at Risque [sic].”

His men came to revere him for his courage, calm, determination, and, above all, for being at their side battle after battle, march after march, year after grueling year. The Philadelphia patriot Benjamin Rush once declared that Washington had “so much martial dignity in his deportment that you would distinguish him to be a general and a soldier from among 10,000 people. There is not a king in Europe that would not look like a valet de chambre by his side.”

Peace at Last

By 1781 Washington’s resolve had triumphed over the British, and two years later America could officially claim her hard-won independence. By then Washington was more icon than man to most of the world. One Dutch merchant who caught sight of him as he rode through Philadelphia with a contingent of light cavalry, wrote to his wife, “I saw the greatest man who has ever appeared on the surface of this earth... I don’t know if, in our delight at seeing the hero, we were more surprised by his simple but grand air or by the kindness of the greatest and best of heroes.”

But the war had taken its toll. At 51 Washington was no longer the vigorous athletic man he had been. He wore crude, ill-fitting dentures of human teeth and ivory that hooked onto his one remaining tooth and made his gums ache. His great consolation was that he could at last settle down at Mount Vernon with his family and live out his days with his “mind... unbent,” gliding “down the stream of life till I come to that abyss from whence no traveler is permitted to return.”

And for just a few years Washington was indeed allowed the life of an unbent mind, reveling in his daily routine as a planter, coming up with strategies to improve the operations and production of Mount Vernon and his other nearby farms, neglected over the nine years of his absence. He and Martha also entertained an endless stream of visitors, many of them strangers who came to pay homage to America’s hero.

Washington and the Constitution

Having led the colonies to independence, Washington found himself again on the battlefront as the new nation began to form itself. It became obvious in the post-war years that the Articles of Confederation were no more than a toothless agreement between the states as conflicts erupted over trade, territory, waterways, and mutual protection. Washington tried to resolve one such dispute himself—over navigation rights to the Potomac. His talks, held at Mount Vernon in 1785, were a success and encouraged further cooperation among states. Four years later, Washington became the steadfast anchor around which endless arguments swirled about the nature and need for a new constitution (above). Though a Federalist with an eye to industry and infrastructure for a united country, Washington sat sphinxlike during the Philadelphia talks. These resulted in a constitution and a new role for Washington—not king, but president of the still fractious and embryonic United States.

Return to the Limelight

But Washington’s destiny was entwined with the new nation’s too completely to allow him escape. He watched its growing pains with the cautious eye of a concerned parent and, at the same time, he unobtrusively tended his own image, guarding it for posterity and holding himself in abeyance, in case he should be needed again. By 1787 he was back on the public stage and again on his way to Philadelphia, as he had been 40 years before, this time as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. He was quickly elected its president and within two years president of the new nation. He expected “that at a convenient and an early period my services might be dispensed with and that I might be permitted once more to retire.” But the “early period” dragged into eight years, as the former patriots argued and debated among themselves over America’s character and future.

Finally, in 1796, Washington refused to continue into a third term. This granted him barely three years of his own happiness at Mount Vernon. In mid-December 1799, after spending a cold, wet day touring his farms on horseback, he began to suffer a sore throat but he kept to his routines. Two days later he was gone. In his farewell address to the nation, he had assured his fellow citizens that “I shall carry... with me to my grave... unceasing vows that heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence; that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual; that the free Constitution, which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained; that its administration in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue; that, in fine, the happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete.”

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U.S. Presidents

George washington.

First president of the United States

The son of a landowner and planter, George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in the British-ruled colony of Virginia . His father died when he was 11, and his older brother, Lawrence, helped raise him. Washington was educated in basic subjects including reading, writing, and mathematics, but he didn’t attend college. Not much else is known about his childhood. Stories about his virtues—such as his confession of chopping down his father’s cherry tree—were actually invented by an admiring writer soon after Washington’s death.

During his 20s, he fought as a soldier in the French and Indian War, Great Britain’s fight with France over the Ohio River Valley territory. After the war, Washington returned to Virginia to work as a farmer.

Virginians elected Washington to their colonial legislature, or government, when he was 26. Soon after, he married Martha Dandridge Custis, a wealthy widow with two young children. They settled at Mount Vernon, a family home Washington had inherited.

REVOLUTIONARY WAR HERO

As a government official, Washington spoke out against unfair laws, such as high taxes, during Great Britain’s rule. In 1774 and 1775, he was one of Virginia’s representatives at the First and Second Continental Congresses, a group of representatives from the 13 colonies that would eventually become the United States. The Second Congress helped future third president, Thomas Jefferson , write the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, proclaiming that the 13 colonies were now independent states, no longer under British rule. An army was formed to oppose the British, and Washington was selected to lead it.

For five years, Washington served as the head of the army as the Revolutionary War against the British raged. The British finally surrendered in 1781 at Yorktown, Virginia. Washington was now a hero, seen as an important person who helped the colonies finally gain independence from Great Britain . After the war, Washington retired from the army and returned to private life.

PATH TO PRESIDENCY

After the end of the war, the former colonies operated under the Articles of Confederation, a document that placed most power with the states. For example, each state printed its own money. There was no national leader. The individual states were not supporting each other as one country, and the new nation seemed to be in trouble.

In 1787 state representatives gathered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , at the Constitutional Convention to fix these problems. There, the delegates wrote the Constitution of the United States. This document created a strong federal government: two chambers of legislators (also called lawmakers), a federal court system, and a president. The Constitution still serves as the foundation for the United States government today.

Based on the Constitution’s directions, states chose representatives to elect a president. Washington won the vote, making him the first-ever president of the United States. John Adams received the second most votes and became vice president.

SETTING TRADITIONS

As the nation’s first president, Washington set the example for other presidents. He worked out how the nation would negotiate treaties with other countries. He decided how the president would select and get advice from cabinet members. He also established the practice of giving a regular State of the Union speech, a yearly update on how the country is doing. He appointed federal judges and established basic government services such as banks. As president, he also worked hard to keep the new country out of wars with Native Americans and European nations.

During Washington’s time as president, New York City was the nation’s temporary capital; then Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although Washington helped plan a permanent national capital, his presidency ended before the federal government moved to the city later named in his honor: Washington, D.C.

LASTING LEGACY

After serving two back-to-back terms as president, Washington retired to Mount Vernon in 1797. He died two years later on December 14, 1799. Washington, who kept one of the largest populations of enslaved people in the country, arranged in his will for them to be freed by the time of his wife’s death. After his death, he was praised as being "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."

• Washington is the only president to have a state named for him. • The first president was so worried about being buried alive, he insisted mourners wait at least three days before burying him. Just in case. • The first president is the only president not to live in the White House.

From the Nat Geo Kids books Our Country's Presidents by Ann Bausum and Weird But True Know-It-All: U.S. Presidents by Brianna Dumont, revised for digital by Avery Hurt

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Open 365 days a year, Mount Vernon is located just 15 miles south of Washington DC.

From the mansion to lush gardens and grounds, intriguing museum galleries, immersive programs, and the distillery and gristmill. Spend the day with us!

Discover what made Washington "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen".

The Mount Vernon Ladies Association has been maintaining the Mount Vernon Estate since they acquired it from the Washington family in 1858.

Need primary and secondary sources, videos, or interactives? Explore our Education Pages!

The Washington Library is open to all researchers and scholars, by appointment only.

10 Things You Really Ought to Know about George Washington

1. washington was mostly self-educated.

Washington portrayed as a young, self-motivated surveyor. (MVLA)

When George Washington’s father died in 1743, there was little money left to support the formal education of 11-year-old George.

Washington’s formal schooling ended by the time he was 15, but his pursuit of knowledge continued throughout his life. He read to become a better soldier, farmer, and president; he corresponded with authors and friends in America and Europe; and he exchanged ideas that fed the ongoing agricultural, social, and political revolutions of his day.

Rules of Civility Washington the Reader

2. He was fearless in battle

George Washington at the Battle of Monmouth by Emanuel Leutze (1857), from the collection of the Monmouth County Historical Association.

With men and officers being shot down all around him, George Washington rode forward to take charge of the collapsing lines at the Battle of the Monongahela  on July 9, 1755.

While riding along the ranks looking to steady the men, Washington had two horses shot out from under him and four bullet holes shot through his coat.

At the Battle of Princeton  (January 3, 1777), Washington rode forward on his white charger as he led his soldiers in a successful counter-attack against the British. At one point Washington was no more than 30 yards from the British line and was an easy target.

Despite the widespread fears that he would be shot down at any moment, Washington was heard to say to his troops, “Parade with me my fine fellows, we will have them soon!”

French & Indian War   10 Facts about the Battle of Princeton

3. Washington’s bold actions saved the American Revolution, twice

Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78. Library of Congress.

After a series of stinging defeats in New York and New Jersey, the Continental Army and the patriot cause seemed near extinction by December 1776.

Most generals would have slipped away to the safety of winter quarters, but Gen. Washington had an entirely different plan in mind.

His bold counterstroke across the ice-choked Delaware River  on December 25, 1776, led to three successive battlefield victories and a stunning strategic reversal which bolstered American morale and saved the new nation.

With the Revolution once again on the brink of defeat in early 1781, Washington embarked on a risky march south to surround and attack Lord Cornwallis’ British army at Yorktown, Virginia . Washington’s victory at Yorktown in October 1781 proved to be the decisive battle of the war.

Video: Crossing the Delaware Video: Yorktown Revolutionary War

4. He never abused power

“General George Washington Resigning His Commission to Congress As Commander in Chief of the Army at Annapolis, Maryland, December 23d, 1783,” John Trumbull, oil on canvas, Commissioned 1817, purchased 1824. Image courtesy of Architect of the Capitol.

While Washington is best known for the positions he held, both as a general and president, it is his willingness to surrender power that may be his most important legacy.

On December 23, 1783, Washington strode into the Maryland State House in Annapolis and surrendered his military commission  to Congress—thereby affirming the principle of civilian control of the military.

When King George III heard that Washington would surrender his commission, he reportedly said that if "He did [this] He would be the greatest man in the world."

As president, in a time when there were no term limits and many would have supported a lifetime role, Washington stepped down after the end of his second term—setting an important precedent that lasted until the middle of the 20th century.

Lessons in Leadership

5. Washington owned more than 50,000 acres and was an ardent promoter of westward expansion

George Washington, depicted as a young surveyor. Painting by Henry Hintermeister, 1948. Wikimedia.

Washington owned more than 50,000 acres in the western portions of Virginia and what is now West Virginia, as well as in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky, and the Ohio country. 

Long before Lewis and Clark set forth on their journey westward, Washington had a keen appreciation  for how an expansion into western territory would not only enrich the new nation, but also help to better knit the country together.

By linking the headwaters  of the west-flowing Ohio and the east-flowing Potomac, Washington envisioned a continental transportation system that would allow the future produce of the Ohio Valley to flow easily to Atlantic ports.

Even Washington’s choice to place the national capital along the banks of the Potomac was designed to reinforce this westward-looking view.

Washington and the West    Washington’s World Map

6. Washington loved parties and was an excellent dancer

“The Republican Court (Lady Washington's Reception Day), 1861.” Daniel Huntington (American, 1816-1906). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Crescent-Hamilton Athletic Club.

Many see Washington as a stoic and unapproachable figure, but in reality he was a man who loved entertainment and the company of others.

There are many accounts of his dancing late into the night at various balls, cotillions, and parties. He loved theater and attended plays of all sorts throughout his life.

And during a time where stiff 18th-century formality pervaded relations between the sexes, Washington was known as an interested and engaged communicator with women.

DANCING WITH GENERAL WASHINGTON   A Love Letter

7. Washington was the first to sign the United States Constitution

Washington delivering his inaugural address April 1789, in the old city hall, New-York / painted by T.H. Matteson. Library of Congress.

During the American Revolution, George Washington witnessed firsthand the serious shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation . 

In 1787, Washington traveled to Philadelphia to attend a convention assembled to recommend changes to the Confederation. He was unanimously chosen to preside over the Constitutional Convention , a job that took four months.

He spoke very little in the convention, but few delegates were more determined to devise a government endowed with real energy and authority. And as the president of the convention, Washington was given the privilege of being the first to add his name to this governing document.

VIDEO: WASHINGTON AND THE CONSTITUTION

Justice Kennedy on Washington

8. He was unanimously elected president, twice

“Washington's Inauguration at Philadelphia.” Painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863–1930). Library of Congress.

Washington’s leadership during the Revolution  and Constitutional Convention , unimpeachable character, and his demonstrated willingness not to abuse power made him the ideal presidential candidate.

Even his lack of biological children  eliminated the concerns of some who worried about the establishment of an American monarchy.

During the first election in 1789 , Washington won the electors of all ten eligible states. In 1792 , Washington received all 132 electoral votes, winning each of the fifteen states.

10 Facts about Washington’s Presidency

9. Washington was a true agricultural innovator and pioneer

"Life of George Washington," by Junius Brutus Stearns, 1853. Library of Congress.

Throughout his life, Washington exhibited a keen interest and eye for useful technologies of all sorts.

He established himself as an innovative farmer,  who switched from tobacco to wheat as his main cash crop in the 1760s. In an effort to improve his farming operation, he diligently experimented with new crops, fertilizers, crop rotation, tools, and livestock breeding.

Leveraging a fine donkey sent to him as a gift  from the King of Spain, Washington became one of the foremost breeders and promoters of the American mule.

As president, Washington signed the patent for a new automated mill technology. Intrigued by the design, Washington had the Oliver Evans automated mill technology installed in  his gristmill .

He also found time to design a new 16-sided, two-story threshing barn that greatly improved the process of separating wheat from chaff.

Washington the Farmer    Lessons in Leadership

10. Washington is the only slave-owning president who freed his slaves

In his will, Washington arranged to free those enslaved persons belonging to him upon his wife’s death. (MVLA)

George Washington inherited his first slaves when he was 11  years old.

Washington’s attitude toward slavery gradually changed  as he grew older and especially as he fought for liberty in the American Revolution.

In his will, he arranged to free those slaves belonging to him upon his wife’s death (about 123) and, as was required by law, his estate paid for the care of former Mount Vernon slaves for decades after his death.

Unfortunately, it applied to fewer than half of the people in bondage at Mount Vernon. Those owned by the estate of Martha's deceased husband , Daniel Parke Custis, could not legally be freed or sold and were inherited by Martha Washington’s grandchildren after her death.

Many Washington and Custis enslaved people had married and formed families together. For them, separation from loved ones tainted celebrations of newfound freedom.

Washington’s Will   Washington on Slavery

How Much Do You Know About Washington?

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George Washington

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Suggested Essay Topics

When Washington resigned his command of the Continental Army, Jefferson said: "The moderation and virtue of one man probably prevented this Revolution from being closed by a subversion of the liberty it was intended to establish." Yet when Washington became president, Jefferson believed he was too conservative. Did Washington ultimately preserve or limit the spread of liberty in America?

How did Washington's vision of America differ from that of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson?

Why do you think there are no political leaders like Washington today? Be sure to support your argument with historical facts.

Of the acts for which Washington is considered a hero–leading the army in the Revolutionary War, resigning his command after the war, leading the nation as president, freeing his slaves upon his death, and so on–which do think is the most important? Why?

Which did Washington value more, stability or democracy? Justify your answer.

Later in life Washington admitted that if the North and South should ever split in two he would join the North. Why do you think he said this? Support your answer with evidence from his life.

Discuss Washington's notion of duty. Is it obsolete?

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He was born February 22,1732 in Westmoreland county Virginia,(knott,http://millercenter.org/president/biography/washington-life-in-brief). George Washington father died when he was 11 years of age and left him with

George Mcclellan Essay

George McClellan. Born December 3rd, 1826 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. He is famously known for being a Union leader during the Civil War, but he has had several other accomplishments while serving in the United States Armed Forces. He graduated the Military Academy (West Point) in 1846, and shortly after that, he fought in the Mexican War. Following his service in that war, he began teaching military engineering at West Point.

Examples Of George Washington's Precedents

George Washington used his actions and words to set his precedents and became the 1st president of the United States. Some precedents that he set were creating the first executive order, creating a cabinet and lastly vetoing the laws. He became president considering his great leadership and work ethic. George Washington wanted to make America great again. In order to do that he had to set a plan and go with it.

Summary Of The Greatness Of George Washington By Gordon Wood

George Washington is considered one of the most important figures in American history. In his article, "The Greatness of George Washington," Gordon Wood explores why Washington is still revered today, despite the criticisms he faced during his lifetime. Wood argues that Washington's greatness lies in his ability to embody the ideals of the American Revolution and his commitment to republican virtue. Wood notes that Washington's contemporaries were often critical of him.

George Washington's Failures

George Washington had many roles throughout his life: planter, army general, statesman, and husband. In the end, however, his time as President of the United States proved to be his most challenging role. Although Washington had little desire to govern the new republic and continuously doubted his ability, he also knew that he was the only person the American people trusted enough to act as their leader. During his time as president, George Washington encountered many challenges, including establishing a new system of government, facing enormous financial debt from the War of Independence, and disagreement about how to proceed with regards to foreign policy and domestic conflicts.

How Did George Washington Influence American History

His father was Augustine Washington and his mother was Mary Ball Washington. After George’s father died when he was 11, he inherited ten slaves and helped his mother maintain the plantation that they lived on. He was homeschooled, he had a lower amount of education than any of the other Founding Fathers. Washington finished his school education when he was fifteen and did not go to college. When he was seventeen, he wanted to join the British Navy but his mother disapproved.

More about Short Biography: George Washington

Related topics.

• United States
• President of the United States
• American Revolutionary War
• American Revolution
• Continental Army
• American Civil War

91 George Washington Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best george washington topic ideas & essay examples, 🎓 simple & easy george washington essay titles, 📌 most interesting george washington topics to write about, ❓ questions about george washington.

• George Washington and Abraham Lincoln: Similarities and Differences George Washington and Abraham Lincoln appear to be the most prominent personalities in the entire history of the United States. Considering the fact that George Washington and Abraham Lincoln lived in different historical periods, it […]
• George Washington’s Achievements and Farewell Address Washington was a successful leader because he promoted democracy, led the country through the revolutionary war, and achieved most of the goals which he had promised the people. We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• George Washington: Life and Achievements His role in the French and Indian War was significant, as he was a commander of the Virginia Regiment, raised to oppose the French in the Ohio Valley.
• George Washington’s and John Adams’s Policies George Washington is the first popularly elected President of the United States of America, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, a participant in the War of Independence, and the founder of the American institution of the […]
• “Farewell Address” by George Washington The significant aspect of the president’s speech was the value of unity, loyalty to party over the nation, and the danger of foreign entanglements.
• George Washington’s Leadership Style and Character From an in-depth analysis of his presidency and leadership the three events, it is worth noting that Washington was a visionary leader and a skilful individual whose patriotism, courage and dedication to the people and […]
• Napoleon’s Siege of Toulon and Washington’s Siege of Boston General Jean Francois Carteaux led the first phase of the siege with the assistance of the “Carmagnoles” army troops. On the other hand, General Jean Francois Cornu de La Poype led the Alpine Maritime Army […]
• Washington’s Farewell Speech Analysis With the help of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, Washington composed a letter in Philadelphia in what later became described as the “Farewell Address”.
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• Why Washington Warned Against Political Parties Washington warned against the formation of many regional-based political parties because it would jeopardize the unity of purpose of the country.
• Madonna Enthroned and Washington Crossing the Delaware: Art Analysis However, artists during the Renaissance sought a rebirth, and this aspect explains Giotto’s attempt to incorporate elements of humanism in this painting by portraying the Virgin as a queen.
• Colonialism Questions: George Washington and Monroe Declaration He believed that the US was in danger if it would entangle itself in the foreign affairs of other nations particularly those from Europe. The convention of 1800 saw an end to all the treaties […]
• George Washington: The First President of the Great Free Country He was recognized not only as the commander in chief but also as one of the leaders who assisted in crafting the new constitution.
• Americans, Here Me Now: G. Washington’s Farewell He explained the different advantages to each region of the United States and understood that the only way to align a complete nation was for these regions to recognize each others’ contribution to the whole.
• The Death of George Washington He is considered to be one of the most prominent politicians in the history of the United States. The twentieth century was marked with increased attention to the death of George Washington.
• The Heroic Deeds of George Washington This presentation explores the heroic deeds of George Washington. The most admired qualities of George Washington include courage, confidence, and statesmanship.
• George Washington: Leader in the United States In this regard, the founders of the American nation were simply hypocrites who never had the interests of the poor and Africans at heart.
• George Washington and Neo-Classical Imagery George Washington continued to warn the nation of the potential dangers that threaten public unity such as political ties with foreigners and division of states based on geographical discriminations.
• George Washington: Servant Leadership and Communication To him, the Americans were the master in this new country, and they had the power of choosing the person they wanted to serve them as their president.
• The Life of George Washington Truett Due to the strong conviction of the church leadership and its congregation, he was persuaded to become a minister in 1890.
• Post American Revolution Period: Washington Presidency The formation of the National Government during the years of 1789-1815 was associated with many challenging situations, and it was characterized by the opposition of the Federalists and Republicans, among which the important roles were […]
• Washington, Jefferson and Parker’ Role in the US History As one of the founding fathers of the US and the third president of the post independence America, Thomas Jefferson is attributed with several achievements which permanently changed the history of the US in a […]
• General George Washington. Life of the Commander in Chief Ever strategic, Washington was quick to support fellow commanders of the American troops as seen in some of his letters to Major General Greene and other George Washington’s leadership skills came to the fore once […]
• Washington’s Farewell Address: The Importance of Unity to the American People On top of that, Washington underscores the importance of education in development of a nation. Though he is leaving office, Washington wants Americans to know that they are moving in the good direction.
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• An Analysis of George Washington’s Involvement in the Beginning of the American Revolution
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• What Mistakes Did George Washington Make During the Revolutionary War?
• What Leadership Qualities Did George Washington Demonstrate?
• Does George Washington Deserve the Title Father of the United States?
• What Was the Foreign and Domestic Policy Under George Washington?
• What Was George Washington’s Farewell Address to the People of the United States of America?
• Could George Washington Have Abolished Slavery?
• What Are the Years of George Washington’s Presidency?
• How Did George Washington Help Shape Patriotic Identity?
• Why Is George Washington Called the Founding Father of the United States?
• What Is George Washington’s Contribution to the Development of American Statehood?
• What Made George Washington a Good Military Leader?
• What Was George Washington’s Most Important Leadership Quality?
• Where Is George Washington Buried?
• In Which Other Countries Besides the United States Are There Monuments to George Washington?
• What Is George Washington’s Most Famous Quote?
• What Are the Most Important Domestic Achievements of George Washington?
• What Was George Washington’s Presidential Plan?
• What Personal Economic Disadvantages of George Washington Prevented Him From Abolishing Slavery?
• What Is George Washington’s Family Tree?
• George Washington: What Was the Decisive Factor in the American Victory Over the British?
• How 22-Year-Old George Washington Inadvertently Sparked a World War?
• What Was George Washington’s Racial Attitude?
• How Did George Washington’s Understanding of Military Tactics and Geography Help Defeat the British?
• How Should the Events of the French and Indian War Be Used to Reflect the Legacy of George Washington?
• What Events Shaped the Future of George Washington?
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Simple Tips On Writing The George Washington Essay

Table of Contents

So, George Washington University (GWU) can be tough to get in. It’s an elite university, chartered by the U.S. Congress since 1821.

GWU accepts only those who are curious, talented, and brave. Those who are sure they can make a difference and who are ready to change the world from the freshman year. The perfect George Washington essay shows that you can analyze, plan, and perform realistic solutions for complicated situations.

Students worldwide know and love GWU for its campuses and programs. The best are government, international affairs, public policy, and journalism. There is also an Honor program, which differs because of:

• The small classes . You’ll study in a group with up to 19 other students.
• You’ll get access to the Honors residential community .
• Off-campus activities are available.
• Exclusive Honors courses .

…and many more.

To apply for the Honors program and achieve all those privileges, you need to write an admission essay .

George Washington essay: what’s it all about?

To get into GWU, you’ll need to write a proper, well-formed essay in the special, George Washington writing style. Usually, it contains 250 to 500 words, depending on the prompt. This is the most crucial part of your application.

Since 2015 an essay has more impact on the final result, than all other tests. That’s because, in GWU, they want to see independent, initiative learners with leadership qualities.

Your essay is a chance to prove an admissions committee you are the one worth the place in this prestigious university.

Base your work on your story, your unique life experience that would demonstrate your best qualities. It’s a chance to show yourself in a positive light.

There is a variety of prompts to choose from, so you’ll have the possibility to select a topic you like and are good at. You should show that you are a mature, independent person, positive-thinker.

To apply for the Honors program , you need to write another essay, on a different topic.

We’ll cover those topics a bit later in our short overview.

Shortest advise on how to write GWU essay

To impress the admission committee, you need to combine the excellent test scores and an outstanding essay that will prove you’re worth the place in GWU.

…Well, how can you write that essay and show your best in merely 250 words?

Here are some tips:

• Be bold and clear . Don’t get into a trap of the abstract terms and vague telling.
• Make a story out of your life experience . To cover up the prompt, choose an important story from your life and tell it like you would expose it to your friend.
• Show yourself in a positive light . Try to be a mature, adult person in the eyes of the admission committee.
• Start small . Don’t try to rewrite the World History or solve a global problem in your essay. Better show how you understand the importance of small, realistic changes.
• Make your essay structured . The main idea has to be traced through all your text.

Remember: you don’t need to be a world-known hero to impress the admission committee.

What actually matters is your ability to persuade people, make small changes, maintain a sustainable friendship, or go through a hard time with a head held high.

George Washington essay prompts and how to deal with them

The essay prompts of GWU are oriented on your skills of independent and creative thinking.

There are three kinds of George Washington essay prompts:

• Those for all students are named the necessary prompts . Their main goal is seeing strong leadership qualities and analytical skills in the future student’s minds.
• Prompts for the Honors Program . These are made to make the admission committee understand the real student’s concern about getting into GWU Honors. It’s essential to have a clear and convincing motivation of attending the Honors, other than the program’s prestige.
• If you want to apply to the School of Media and Public Affairs , you need to be familiar with the best examples of the news media style. An interview with yourself is a perfect way to show your experience.

So each prompt shows your abilities and motivation from different sides.

You better think of your strongest traits and choose the prompt that highlights them accurately.

The use of George Washington University essay examples

Essays needed to get into GWU usually look like standard essays, around 250-500 words long. In the first paragraph, you describe the situation that happened to you or the historical moment, that has led you to the choice of this topic.

Don’t get caught in defining the problems of history. Better briefly tell why it matters to you personally. Spend the rest of your essay describing some actions you’re going to take to change the situation.

…Important!

While writing an essay to the School of Public Affairs , don’t ask any questions in your text. They take too much space.

Focus on the answers.

Here are a couple of George Washington University essay examples for your inspiration.

George Washington leadership essay

Prompt 2 belongs to the kind of leadership essays. Its goal is to examine your ability to think globally but practically, provide rational solutions to existing problems, and engage others in your activities.

When writing this essay, it would be great to include a narrative about the situation when you engaged others into a meaningful dialogue, that mattered. The best outcome, of course, would be a massive change of something in the result.

You can also take a long-term friendship as a basis for a George Washington leadership essay. Tell about the way you and your friend changed because of this friendship and your ability to maintain healthy relationships.

Don’t panic if you didn’t happen to participate in political debates or elsewhere.

Remember, that even a casual dialogue, where you’ve faced the complete opposite point of view and discussed it, – counts.

Don’t make up a story about how you persuaded this person to accept your point of view with just one dialogue.

Changes take time, and GWU admission committee understands it. Let’s see an example of the essay well-done.

George Washington short essay

There is no option to submit a shorter essay. But for those who don’t like to write a whole lot of words, two necessary prompts need to be written in up to 250 words.

Also, if you’d love to apply the School of Media and Public Affairs , you need to submit an interview with yourself written in the style of the top media worldwide like the New York Times.

To submit an excellent George Washington short essay, you need to keep things short, not fall into the details or the history of questions you describe.

Be brief and bold, don’t hedge. Let’s see some examples of the essays well written.

On balance…

There’s a whole bunch of work you need to do before applying to the elite society of GWU. But these efforts will pay off very short.

Studying at George Washington University will make you a part of an exclusive circle of world leaders.

Here’re our very last and best short tips for you:

• Don’t lie in your essay, create a unique work, do not steal or copy anything from the others.
• Tell about your life experience or what matters to you personally .
• Don’t try to change the world or solve global problems in a single 250-words essay.
• Stand your ground .

Forget about the fear of failure! Our trained professionals can craft any kind of essay for you, just order it. Right here. Hit the button.

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George Washington: Hero Tales from American History

The brilliant historian of the English people [*] has written of Washington, that "no nobler figure ever stood in the fore-front of a nation's life." In any book which undertakes to tell, no matter how slightly, the story of some of the heroic deeds of American history, that noble figure must always stand in the fore-front. But to sketch the life of Washington even in the barest outline is to write the history of the events which made the United States independent and gave birth to the American nation. Even to give alist of what he did, to name his battles and recount his acts as president, would be beyond the limit and the scope of this book. Yet it is always possible to recall the man and to consider what he was and what he meant for us and for mankind He is worthy the study and the remembrance of all men, and to Americans he is at once a great glory of their past and an inspiration and an assurance of their future.

* John Richard Green.

To understand Washington at all we must first strip off all the myths which have gathered about him. We must cast aside into the dust-heaps all the wretched inventions of the cherry-tree variety, which were fastened upon him nearly seventy years after his birth. We must look at him as he looked at life and the facts about him, without any illusion or deception, and no man in history can better stand such a scrutiny.

Born of a distinguished family in the days when the American colonies were still ruled by an aristocracy, Washington started with all that good birth and tradition could give. Beyond this, however, he had little. His family was poor, his mother was left early a widow, and he was forced after a very limited education to go out into the world to fight for himself He had strong within him the adventurous spirit of his race. He became a surveyor, and in the pursuit of this profession plunged into the wilderness, where he soon grew to be an expert hunter and backwoodsman. Even as a boy the gravity of his character and his mental and physical vigor commended him to those about him, and responsibility and military command were put in his hands at an age when most young men are just leaving college. As the times grew threatening on the frontier, he was sent on a perilous mission to the Indians, in which, after passing through many hardships and dangers, he achieved success. When the troubles came with France it was by the soldiers under his command that the first shots were fired in the war which was to determine whether the North American continent should be French or English. In his earliest expedition he was defeated by the enemy. Later he was with Braddock, and it was he who tried, to rally the broken English army on the stricken field near Fort Duquesne. On that day of surprise and slaughter he displayed not only cool courage but the reckless daring which was one of his chief characteristics. He so exposed himself that bullets passed through his coat and hat, and the Indians and the French who tried to bring him down thought he bore a charmed life. He afterwards served with distinction all through the French war, and when peace came he went back to the estate which he had inherited from his brother, the most admired man in Virginia.

At that time he married, and during the ensuing years he lived the life of a Virginia planter, successful in his private affairs and serving the public effectively but quietly as a member of the House of Burgesses. When the troubles with the mother country began to thicken he was slow to take extreme ground, but he never wavered in his belief that all attempts to oppress the colonies should be resisted, and when he once took up his position there was no shadow of turning. He was one of Virginia's delegates to the first Continental Congress, and, although he said but little, he was regarded by all the representatives from the other colonies as the strongest man among them. There was something about him even then which commanded the respect and the confidence of every one who came in contact with him.

It was from New England, far removed from his own State, that the demand came for his appointment as commander-in-chief of the American army. Silently he accepted the duty, and, leaving Philadelphia, took command of the army at Cambridge. There is no need to trace him through the events that followed. From the time when he drew his sword under the famous elm tree, he was the embodiment of the American Revolution, and without him that revolution would have failed almost at the start. How he carried it to victory through defeat and trial and every possible obstacle is known to all men.

When it was all over he found himself facing a new situation. He was the idol of the country and of his soldiers. The army was unpaid, and the veteran troops, with arms in their hands, were eager to have him take control of the disordered country as Cromwell had done in England a little more than a century before. With the army at his back, and supported by the great forces which, in every community, desire order before everything else, and are ready to assent to any arrangement which will bring peace and quiet, nothing would have been easier than for Washington to have made himself the ruler of the new nation. But that was not his conception of duty, and he not only refused to have anything to do with such a movement himself, but he repressed, by his dominant personal influence, all such intentions on the part of the army. On the 23d of December, 1783, he met the Congress at Annapolis, and there resigned his commission. What he then said is one of the two most memorable speeches ever made in the United States, and is also memorable for its meaning and spirit among all speeches ever made by men. He spoke as follows:

"Mr. President:—The great events on which my resignation depended having at length taken place, I have now the honor of offering my sincere congratulations to Congress, and of presenting myself before them, to surrender into their hands the trust committed to me and to claim the indulgence of retiring from the service of my country.

Happy in the confirmation of our independence and sovereignity and pleased with the opportunity afforded the United States of becoming a respectable nation, I resign with satisfaction the appointment I accepted with diffidence; a diffidence in my abilities to accomplish so arduous a task, which, however, was superseded by a confidence in the rectitude of our cause, the support of the supreme power of the Union, and the patronage of Heaven.

The successful termination of the war has verified the most sanguine expectations, and my gratitude for the interposition of Providence and the assistance I have received from my countrymen increases with every review of the momentous contest.

While I repeat my obligations to the Army in general, I should do injustice to my own feelings not to acknowledge, in this place, the peculiar services and distinguished merits of the Gentlemen who have been attached to my person during the war. It was impossible that the choice of confidential officers to compose my family should have been more fortunate. Permit me, sir, to recommend in particular those who have continued in service to the present moment as worthy of the favorable notice and patronage of Congress.

I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my official life by commending the interests of our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God, and those who have the superintendence of them to His holy keeping.

Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of action, and, bidding an affectionate farewell to this august body, under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my commission and take my leave of all the employments of public life."

The great master of English fiction, writing of this scene at Annapolis, says: "Which was the most splendid spectacle ever witnessed—the opening feast of Prince George in London, or the resignation of Washington? Which is the noble character for after ages to admire—yon fribble dancing in lace and spangles, or yonder hero who sheathes his sword after a life of spotless honor, a purity unreproached, a courage indomitable and a consummate victory?"

Washington did not refuse the dictatorship, or, rather, the opportunity to take control of the country, because he feared heavy responsibility, but solely because, as a high-minded and patriotic man, he did not believe in meeting the situation in that way. He was, moreover, entirely devoid of personal ambition, and had no vulgar longing for personal power. After resigning his commission he returned quietly to Mount Vernon, but he did not hold himself aloof from public affairs. On the contrary, he watched their course with the utmost anxiety. He saw the feeble Confederation breaking to pieces, and he soon realized that that form of government was an utter failure. In a time when no American statesman except Hamilton had yet freed himself from the local feelings of the colonial days, Washington was thoroughly national in all his views. Out of the thirteen jarring colonies he meant that a nation should come, and he saw—what no one else saw—the destiny of the country to the westward. He wished a nation founded which should cross the Alleghanies, and, holding the mouths of the Mississippi, take possession of all that vast and then unknown region. For these reasons he stood at the head of the national movement, and to him all men turned who desired a better union and sought to bring order out of chaos. With him Hamilton and Madison consulted in the preliminary stages which were to lead to the formation of a new system. It was his vast personal influence which made that movement a success, and when the convention to form a constitution met at Philadelphia, he presided over its deliberations, and it was his commanding will which, more than anything else, brought a constitution through difficulties and conflicting interests which more than once made any result seem well-nigh hopeless. When the Constitution formed at Philadelphia had been ratified by the States, all men turned to Washington to stand at the head of the new government. As he had borne the burden of the Revolution, so he now took up the task of bringing the government of the Constitution into existence. For eight years he served as president. He came into office with a paper constitution, the heir of a bankrupt, broken-down confederation. He left the United States, when he went out of office, an effective and vigorous government. When he was inaugurated, we had nothing but the clauses of the Constitution as agreed to by the Convention. When he laid down the presidency, we had an organized government, an established revenue, a funded debt, a high credit, an efficient system of banking, a strong judiciary, and an army. We had a vigorous and well-defined foreign policy; we had recovered the western posts, which, in the hands of the British, had fettered our march to the west; and we had proved our power to maintain order at home, to repress insurrection, to collect the national taxes, and to enforce the laws made by Congress. Thus Washington had shown that rare combination of the leader who could first destroy by revolution, and who, having led his country through a great civil war, was then able to build up a new and lasting fabric upon the ruins of a system which had been overthrown. At the close of his official service he returned again to Mount Vernon, and, after a few years of quiet retirement, died just as the century in which he had played so great a part was closing.

Washington stands among the greatest men of human history, and those in the same rank with him are very few. Whether measured by what he did, or what he was, or by the effect of his work upon the history of mankind, in every aspect he is entitled to the place he holds among the greatest of his race. Few men in all time have such a record of achievement. Still fewer can show at the end of a career so crowded with high deeds and memorable victories a life so free from spot, a character so unselfish and so pure, a fame so void of doubtful points demanding either defense or explanation. Eulogy of such a life is needless, but it is always important to recall and to freshly remember just what manner of man he was. In the first place he was physically a striking figure. He was very tall, powerfully made, with a strong, handsome face. He was remarkably muscular and powerful. As a boy he was a leader in all outdoor sports. No one could fling the bar further than he, and no one could ride more difficult horses. As a young man he became a woodsman and hunter. Day after day he could tramp through the wilderness with his gun and his surveyor's chain, and then sleep at night beneath the stars. He feared no exposure or fatigue, and outdid the hardiest backwoodsman in following a winter trail and swimming icy streams. This habit of vigorous bodily exercise he carried through life. Whenever he was at Mount Vernon he gave a large part of his time to fox-hunting, riding after his hounds through the most difficult country. His physical power and endurance counted for much in his success when he commanded his army, and when the heavy anxieties of general and president weighed upon his mind and heart.

He was an educated, but not a learned man. He read well and remembered what he read, but his life was, from the beginning, a life of action, and the world of men was his school. He was not a military genius like Hannibal, or Caesar, or Napoleon, of which the world has had only three or four examples. But he was a great soldier of the type which the English race has produced, like Marlborough and Cromwell, Wellington, Grant, and Lee. He was patient under defeat, capable of large combinations, a stubborn and often reckless fighter, a winner of battles, but much more, a conclusive winner in a long war of varying fortunes. He was, in addition, what very few great soldiers or commanders have ever been, a great constitutional statesman, able to lead a people along the paths of free government without undertaking himself to play the part of the strong man, the usurper, or the savior of society.

He was a very silent man. Of no man of equal importance in the world's history have we so few sayings of a personal kind. He was ready enough to talk or to write about the public duties which he had in hand, but he hardly ever talked of himself. Yet there can be no greater error than to suppose Washington cold and unfeeling, because of his silence and reserve. He was by nature a man of strong desires and stormy passions. Now and again he would break out, even as late as the presidency, into a gust of anger that would sweep everything before it. He was always reckless of personal danger, and had a fierce fighting spirit which nothing could check when it was once unchained.

But as a rule these fiery impulses and strong passions were under the absolute control of an iron will, and they never clouded his judgment or warped his keen sense of justice.

But if he was not of a cold nature, still less was he hard or unfeeling. His pity always went out to the poor, the oppressed, or the unhappy, and he was all that was kind and gentle to those immediately about him.

We have to look carefully into his life to learn all these things, for the world saw only a silent, reserved man, of courteous and serious manner, who seemed to stand alone and apart, and who impressed every one who came near him with a sense of awe and reverence.

One quality he had which was, perhaps, more characteristic of the man and his greatness than any other. This was his perfect veracity of mind. He was, of course, the soul of truth and honor, but he was even more than that. He never deceived himself He always looked facts squarely in the face and dealt with them as such, dreaming no dreams, cherishing no delusions, asking no impossibilities,—just to others as to himself, and thus winning alike in war and in peace.

He gave dignity as well as victory to his country and his cause. He was, in truth, a "character for after ages to admire."

You may also enjoy George Washington: A Child's Biography , featured in our collection, American Biographies for Kids . Visit American History to find out about other important people and how their writings helped shape the country.

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Teaching Resources

Simple George Washington Activities for Teaching About America’s First President

Are you trying to get your students as excited about George Washington as he was about leading his troops during the Revolutionary War? Us too! Teaching kids about history can be tricky, so we’ve got some creative ideas that are sure to engage and inspire a love of learning in all your little ones. From fun facts, activities, and hands-on projects that bring these lessons to life -we guarantee it’s easier than crossing the Delaware (just don’t let them know that!). Read on for our top tips on teaching easy George Washington activities in new and exciting ways.

Easy George Washington Activities: Make a Timeline

One of the best ways for students to learn about George Washington is by making a timeline of his life. Timelines help give students a better understanding of the different events that happened in Washington’s life and when they happened.

Students can make a timeline of George Washington’s life in a few different ways. One way is to use a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle, with the years on one side and the events on the other. Students can then fill in the different events that happened in Washington’s life.

Another way for students to make a timeline is to use a computer or phone. There are many different apps and websites that allow students to create timelines. These tools can be helpful because they often include images and videos, which can help students learn more about the events that happened.

Read Biographies

Reading biographies is another excellent way for kids to learn about historical figures. By reading about the life of George Washington, kids can learn about his childhood, military career, and time as president. They can also learn about his life’s important moments and accomplishments.

Biographies can also teach kids about different cultures and time periods in which the person lived. For example, by reading about George Washington, kids can learn about colonial America and the Revolutionary War. This can help them better understand American history and our country’s founding.

Reading biographies can also help kids develop empathy for others. By learning about the challenges and struggles that other people have faced, kids can better understand how to empathize with others. This is an important skill that will help them throughout their lives.

Watch Videos

Watching videos is another fun way to learn about George Washington. There are a number of different videos that can be used, depending on the age and interests of the students. For younger students, there are videos that focus on his childhood and how he became a general in the Revolutionary War. For older students, some videos discuss his role as the first president of the United States.

After watching a video or two about George Washington, have students complete a worksheet or write a short essay about what they learned. This will help them retain the information and understand why George Washington is such an important historical figure.

Play “Who Wants to be President?” or “Washington Monument.”

One way to teach easy George Washington activities is by playing games. Games are a fun and engaging way to learn; they can help students remember important facts about George Washington.

One game that kids can play to learn about George Washington is “Who Wants to be President?” In this game, students take turns pretending to be George Washington and answering questions about his life. This game is an excellent way for students to learn about the different aspects of George Washington’s life, such as his roles in the American Revolution and his time as president.

Another game that kids can play to learn about George Washington: is “Washington Monument.” In this game, students compete to build the tallest monument to George Washington. This game helps students learn about the importance of George Washington in American history and teaches them about his accomplishments.

Use Engaging Worksheets

When teaching about George Washington, it can be helpful to use worksheets as a supplemental resource. This can help keep students engaged and on track while providing additional information about the topic. Many different worksheets are available online that cover facts about George Washington.

One great way to use worksheets is to have students complete them in a social studies station. This helps reinforce the material that kids covered in class and helps students learn more about George Washington on their own. Additionally, many worksheets include puzzles or activities that can help students learn in a fun and interactive way.

Another great way to use worksheets is to have students complete them in class. This can give teachers an opportunity to check for understanding and provide additional instruction if needed. Additionally, using worksheets in class can help keep students engaged and on track.

Save Time: Easy George Washington Activities

To help students better understand who George Washington was and what he did, consider using a combination of timelines, biographies, videos, games, and worksheets. By using a variety of activities, students will be able to engage with the material in different ways and learn about George Washington. To save yourself some time creating these materials, check out my George Washington worksheet bundle that has everything you need to get started.

Easy George Washington activities Includes:

• lesson plans
• vocabulary words
• anchor chart ideas
• an interactive notebook activity or corresponding worksheet
• A nonfiction reading passage
• additional worksheets perfect for independent learning
• an end of the unit quiz to assess their understanding of the topic

Teaching your students about George Washington is easy when all the work is done for you !

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Short Essay On George Washington

Show More George Washington was born February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland county, Virginia. While Georges father was alive he lived with his family on Ferry Farm near Fredericksburg. Augustine, Georges father died in 1743 leaving the family with 10,000 acres and 50 slaves. He helped his mother maintain the family farm. There are few details on Georges early childhood learning, although many people that come from wealth their children would be taught by tutors, or went to private schools. when Washington was a teenager he showed great love for mathematics, he became a successful surveyor. He was so successful in surveying he earned himself enough money to buy his own land. In 1751, his half brother Lawrence and him went to Barbados (his only trip out of …show more content… When Washington took over the United States was very small with approximately 11 states and about only 4 million people. Washington showed much respect, fairness, and integrity he knew that the way he acted would have impact on how the next presidents should act. When other countries were fighting he always showed neutrality. John Jay signed his own presidential cabinet, and also signed to have the first national bank set up, Washington was the one who nominated John as the first Chief Justice. Washington finally retired in 1796, after two term he served and declining a third he was done! As he left he said to its in our nations best interest to stay out of foreign powers, and to maintain the highest standards. Every year on Washington's birthday they read the address. When George was done being president he moved back home, serving four decades publically took a toll on him, but he still managed to put his plantation back to the way it was before if not better than before. He caught a bad cold in December of 1799, by checking his plantations. Washington died December 16th at 67 years old, his cold turned into a really bad throat infection and that’s what eventually killed him. He was buried at Mount Vernon, which is a very well known and historic land mark. He was a very well known

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Short Essay On George Washington Carver

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