George Washington (U.S. president)

George Washington (b. February 22, 1732, in Pope's Creek, Virginia) was the first president of the United States. He served from 1789 until his resignation on March 4, 1797.^[1] He died on December 14, 1799, at his home in Mount Vernon, Virginia. He was 67 when he died.^[2]

Washington chose to never affiliate himself with a political party even though he supported many of the policies of the Federalist Party.^[3] His vice president was John Adams (1789-1797), who succeeded him upon his resignation.

Washington was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and became the country's first president in the years following the American Revolution. Since he was the first president, Washington set many precedents that are still in existence today, including the cabinet system and the inaugural address.^[4] He also signed legislation that established the first national bank.^[5]

Prior to serving as president, Washington served in the British provincial militia from 1753 to 1758 and as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783. He served in Virginia House of Burgesses from 1759 to 1775.^[1]

Biography[edit]

Timeline of life events[edit]

Below is an abbreviated outline of Washington's professional and political career:^[1]

1732: Born in Pope's Creek, Virginia
1734: Washington's father moves the family to Little Hunting Creek Plantation, which will be later called Mount Vernon
1749: Appointed public surveyor for Culpeper County, Virginia
1753: Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia appoints Washington to a position in the Virginia Militia
1754: Washington appointed lieutenant colonel in the Virginia Regiment. Washington and his troops attack a French outpost which results in the death of a French diplomat and starts the French and Indian War. He surrenders Fort Necessity, resigns his commission, and moves to Mount Vernon.
1755: Becomes commander-in-chief of the Virginia forces
1759-1775: Served in the Virginia House of Burgesses
1774: Chosen as a delegate to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia
1775: Chosen as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress; he is selected to command the Continental Army in the American Revolution
1783: Washington resigns his military commission
1785: Washington becomes president of the Potomac Company
1787: Presided over the Constitutional Convention
1789: Elected president of the United States
1792: Re-elected as president of the United States
March 4, 1797: Washington resigns as president
1798–1799: Commander-in-chief of the United States Army
December 14, 1799: Washington dies at Mount Vernon of a throat infection

Before the presidency[edit]

Washington was born in Pope's Creek, Virginia, on February 22, 1732, to tobacco planter Augustine Washington and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington. His father died when he was 11 years old. In 1743, Washington attempted to join the British Navy but his mother did not give him permission to go. At 17 years old, Washington was appointed public surveyor for Culpeper County, Virginia, and held that position until 1752. On his only trip abroad, Washington traveled with his half-brother, Lawrence, in 1751 to Barbados in hope that it would help Lawrence's declining health. Washington contracted smallpox on the trip and his brother's health failed to improve. His brother died in the summer of 1752.^[1]

Washington was appointed to the Virginia Militia in 1753 by Governor Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia and was sent to the Ohio Valley to deliver a message from the governor to French military forces demanding them to leave the area. In 1754, Washington and his troops attacked a French scouting party which led to the death of Joseph Coulon de Jumonville and ignited the start of the French and Indian War. Following the attack, the French attacked Washington at Fort Necessity in July 1754 and he was forced to surrender. Embarrassed by the defeat, Washington resigned his commission and returned to Mount Vernon. In 1755, Washington served as a volunteer aide for General Braddock. During the Battle of the Monongahela, British troops retreated in disarray but Washington showed great leadership and courage. Governor Dinwiddie rewarded Washington's conduct and made him commander-in-chief of the Virginia forces. Following his marriage to Martha in 1759, Washington worked as a farmer at Mount Vernon until the American Revolution began in 1775. While he was a farmer, he also served in the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1759 to 1775.

In 1774, Washington was chosen as a delegate to represent Virginia in the First Continental Congress. One year later, he was chosen as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress. While there, he was selected to command the Continental Army in the American Revolution. He served in that position until 1783. In 1781, the British surrendered at Yorktown to end the American Revolution. Washington became president of the Potomac Company in 1785, which sought to improve transportation on the Potomac River. Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and was one of 39 delegates to sign the United States Constitution.

Presidency[edit]

In 1789, Washington was elected as the first president of the United States with 69 electoral votes. John Adams received 34 electoral votes and 10 other candidates split 35 electoral votes. Prior to the ratification of the 12th Amendment in 1804, the candidate who received the most electoral votes became president and the second place candidate became vice-president.

Following his election, Washington established precedents that shaped the American presidency. In his first year in office, Washington signed the Judiciary Act of 1789, which established the federal court system in the United States. During his presidency, Washington appointed three chief justices and eight associate justices to the Supreme Court, the most of any president in the country's history.^[6] Also during his first term in office, Washington signed the country's first copyright law, created the U.S. Postal Service, and established the first national bank in order to deal with the debt incurred from the American Revolution.^[7]

Washington was re-elected to a second term in 1792. He received 132 electoral votes, John Adams received 77 electoral votes, George Clinton received 50 electoral votes, and two other candidates split 5 electoral votes. In 1791, Washington, on the recommendation of his Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, imposed an excise tax on distilled spirits to help bring down the national debt. Opposition to the tax came to a head in 1794 when uprisings broke out in Western Pennsylvania among farmers and distillers. To quell the uprisings, Washington led the U.S. militia to Pennsylvania to put an end to the Whiskey Rebellion. By the time that they reached Pittsburgh, the rebels had dispersed, ending the uprisings. The tax was repealed by then-President Thomas Jefferson in 1802.^[8] Also during his second term in office, Washington signed legislation related to the slave trade. In 1793, Washington signed the Fugitive Slave Act, which allowed slave owners to retrieve runaway slaves if they were caught in the northwest. He also signed the Slave Trade Act of 1794, which limited the importation of slaves to the United States.^[9]

Post-presidency[edit]

After Washington resigned from the presidency on March 4, 1797, he returned to Mount Vernon. He served as commander-in-chief of the United States Army from 1798 to 1799. He died on December 14, 1799, from a throat infection at his home in Mount Vernon.

Personal[edit]

Washington was married to Martha Dandridge Custis Washington from 1759 until his death in 1799. Washington had no biological children but helped his wife raise two step-children as well as four step-grandchildren.^[10]

Elections[edit]

1792 presidential election[edit]

In 1792, Washington defeated John Adams (Federalist), George Clinton (Anti-Federalist), Thomas Jefferson, and Aaron Burr in the general election for the United States presidency. Candidates in the 1792 election are labeled as Federalists or Anti-Federalists according to whether they supported or opposed ratification of the Constitution. No official federal parties existed at the time of the 1792 presidential election. Candidates did not begin to run for office as members of a political party until the 1796 election.^[11]

U.S. presidential election, 1792
Party		Candidate	Electoral votes
	None	George Washington Incumbent	132
	None	John Adams	77
	None	George Clinton	50
	None	Thomas Jefferson	4
	None	Aaron Burr	1
Total Votes			264
Election results via: United States Office of the Federal Register - 1792 official election results

1789 presidential election[edit]

In 1789, Washington defeated John Adams (Federalist) and 10 other candidates in the general election for the United States presidency. No official federal parties existed at the time of the 1789 presidential election.^[12]

U.S. presidential election, 1789
Party		Candidate	Electoral votes
	None	George Washington	69
	None	John Adams	34
	None	John Jay	9
	None	R.H. Harrison	6
	None	John Rutledge	6
	None	John Hancock	4
	None	George Clinton	3
	None	Samuel Huntington	2
	None	John Milton	2
	None	James Armstrong	1
	None	Benjamin Lincoln	1
	None	Edward Telfair	1
Total Votes			138
Election results via: United States Office of the Federal Register - 1789 official election results

State of the Union addresses[edit]

Every year in office, the president of the United States addresses Congress on the present state of affairs as well as the administration's goals for the coming year.^[13] Following are transcripts from Washington's State of the Union addresses.

External links[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

Political offices
Preceded by —	President of the United States 1789 - 1797	Succeeded by John Adams (Federalist)

[bio-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Mount Vernon, "George Washington," accessed May 28, 2018

[death-2] Mount Vernon, "The Death of George Washington," accessed May 28, 2018

[3] History.com, "Federalist Party," accessed May 28, 2018

[4] [https://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/teacher_lessons/3branches/18.htm Truman Library, "WHY DOES THE PRESIDENT NEED A CABINET?," accessed May 28, 2018]

[5] PBS.org, "Establishing a National Bank," accessed May 28, 2018

[6] Committee on the Judiciary, "The Supreme Court of the United States - History," accessed July 2, 2018

[7] Mount Vernon, "President Washington's First Term (1789-1792)," accessed July 2, 2018

[8] Mount Vernon, "Whiskey Rebellion," accessed July 2, 2018

[9] Presidential Power, George Washington Timeline, "accessed July 2, 2018

[10] Mount Vernon, "Raised by the Washingtons," accessed May 28, 2018

[11] Encyclopædia Britannica, "United States presidential election of 1796," accessed May 28, 2018

[12] Encyclopædia Britannica, "United States presidential election of 1789," accessed May 28, 2018

[13] Congressional Research Service, "The President’s State of the Union Address: Tradition, Function, and Policy Implications," January 24, 2014

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