George Washington 1st President
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He married a Martha Dandridge Custis a widow on January 6, 1959, therefore became the step-father of Martha's 2 children, John Parke Custis and Martha Parke Custis, from her previous marriage.
During the French and Indian War George Washington was the leader of a part of the British army. However, when the early United States declared independence from Great Britain, our founding fathers and other members of the Continental Congress declared George Washington as General of the Continental Army. As leader of the Continental Army General George Washington now had to plan and lead his soldiers into battle. However, some of the soldiers that were under his command were trained and some were not. During the American Revolution, the Continental Army was getting destroyed in each major battle. However, the army was willing to do anything that would injure the British army. In a daring move, under the cover of night General Washington took his army of 2,400 across the icy Delaware River to the British camp. They took the British by surprise and won the battle of Trenton as it was later called. This battle was soon declared a turning point because it not only struck the British hard, but it severely scared the army into retreat. Soon afterward Washington surrounded the British General, Cornwallis and won the war. In 1789, Washington was elected President of the United States of America. He was inaugurated on April 30, 1789 at age 57. He was elected under the Federalist party. He was elected for a second term, and inaugurated on March 4, 1793. He served from 1789 - 1797, which is 2 terms. This trend continued until the President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. During his terms, as the first President of the United States his limits were tested. He oversaw the beginning of organizations. During 1789, he was elected under the federalist party, and appointed Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State, Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury, and John Adams as his vice-president During 1791, a National bank was established, and a site for the White House was selected. Also Congress ratified the Bill of Rights (also known as the first ten Amendments. During 1792, Congress established a national mint. During 1793, Washington established a Proclamation of Neutrality in attempt to avoid conflict with France and Great Britain who were at war with each other. During 1794, Washington signed an unpopular treaty called the Jay Treaty with Great Britain. This treaty allowed Great Britain to inspect ships at seas in exchange for troop withdrawals in the Northwest territories. Also during 1794, a whiskey rebellion broke out after a whiskey tax was put into place. Washington with no other choice had to send troops to that area to ensure that this law was followed. Washington later retired after two terms. Later in December 1799, Washington was riding on his horse and came down with a bad cold he later died on December 14. |