George Washington, the Father of Our Country, was Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution, president of the Constitutional Convention and first President of the United States under the U.S. Constitution. Earlier presidents had been elected by Congress under the Articles of Confederation.

Washington was the son of a slave-owning planter from Virginia. His early training was as a surveyor, and he assisted in the first survey of the Shenandoah Valley. While in Barbados with his brother, who had tuberculosis he was stricken with smallpox in 1751. Upon his return he began living at Mount Vernon, eventually buying the estate.

In 1753 Major George Washington explored the Northwest while on a mission to the French Fort LeBoeuf to deliver a message asking the French to leave territory claimed by England. On this trip he noted that "Forks of the Ohio" (present-day Pittsburgh) would be an excellent site for a fort. Virginia authorized funds to build Fort Prince George at Forks of the Ohio.

After receiving a commission as a colonel (1754) from the state of Virginia he began moving northwest to build a road to the site, George Washington found out that the French had take Fort Prince George and renamed it Fort Duquesne. He established Fort Necessity as a base, then began to march on Fort Duquesne, unaware of the level of French involvement in the area. After skirmishing with French soldiers (10 dead, 22 captured), he withdrew to Fort Necessity, where French troops attacked him with overpowering force on July 3. Washington negotiated favorable terms and marched to Williamsburg the following day. He later chose to leave the army rather than face a reduction in rank (and pay) later that year.

Returning to Ft. Duquesne as a volunteer in the Virginia Regiment under Edward Braddock in 1755, Washington was struck by fever but returned in time for the Battle of Fort Duquesne. He gave assistance to the mortally wounded Braddock and his aides, who were under fire at the time, and was considered a hero by the British.

After resigning his commission in 1758, Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis, a wealthy widow, and adopted her two children. She moved to Mount Vernon and George served as a member of Virginia's House of Burgesses.

In 1774 he began service as a delegate from Virginia to both the First and Second Continental Congress. On June 14, 1775 John Adams, in the Second Continental Congress, submitted George Washington's name for Commander-in-Chief. The following day Congress appointed him head of all Continental forces. Unknown to him, during his acceptance speech Continental forces were engaged at Breed's Hill, Massachusetts in the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Washington drove the British forces out of Boston on March 17, 1776, then moved the army to New York, anticipating a British attack. After losing the Battle of Long Island on August 22, 1776 he engaged British forces in several other battles that forced him to withdraw to the west side of the Delaware River. On the night of December 24-25, 1776 American forces led by Washington crossed the river and attack Hessian troops stationed in Trenton, New Jersey the following day. On January 2, 1777 he attacked British forces in Princeton. The following year Washington would lose the city of Philadelphia but defeat the British army at Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778 as it withdrew from Philadelphia.

From that point on Washington let his generals handle tactics while he planned strategy until 1781, when he join LaFayette at Yorktown in Virginia to defeat the British under Cornwallis. On November 2, 1783 Washington said goodbye to the army, then gave his well-known goodbye at Fraunces Tavern in New York on December 4. He resigned his commission later that month.

George Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787.

On February 4, 1789 the first election in the history of the United States was held. Only 5 states held general elections (the others relied on elected official to chose delegates to the Electoral College.) Washington's election was unanimous choice, a feat he duplicated in 1792. John Adams became vice president. At the time the federal seat of government was New York City.

During his Southern tour of 1791, President George Washington attended services at the original Christ Church on Sunday, May 15. While in Savannah from May 12-15, Washington lodged at a house on the corner of Barnard and State streets on St. James (now Telfair) Square, toured the ruins of Revolutionary earthworks with General Lachlan McIntosh, was entertained on Reynolds Square, and attended a large public dinner. After Sunday services, Washington dined with Catherine Greene (widow of Nathanael Greene) at Mulberry Grove plantation north of the city before departing for Augusta.

"Whiskey Rebellion".

In July 1794, in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, a Federal marshal was attacked by a mob and a regional inspector's house was burned. On August 7, 1794, Washington called out the militia, personally leading a force of 13,000 to suppress the rebellion.

In 1793, the revolutionary government of France sent diplomat Citizen Genet, who tried to turn popular sentiment toward American involvement in the war against Great Britain. Genet was authorized to issue letters of marque and reprisal to American ships and gave authority to any French consul to serve as a prize court. Genet's activities forced Washington to ask the French government for his recall.

Vermont (1791), Kentucky (1792) and Tennessee (1796) were admitted to the United States during his term of office. Major legislation passed and signed into law during his administration include the Judiciary Act of 1789, Residence Act of 1790 , Bank Act of 1791, Coinage Act of 1792, and the Naval Act of 1794

After the inauguration of John Adams in March, 1797, George Washington returned to Mount Vernon. He died in 1799, possibly from the treatment doctors gave him for a sore throat.

A county in central Georgia and the county seat of Wilkes County, Georgia bear his name.

Notes: There are 15 copies of the Declaration of Independence, 13 for each state, one for the federal government and one for the Commander of the Continental forces (Washington). He kept his folded in his top coat pocket, next to his heart. He would read it to his men on a regular basis.