![]() At age 21, in Fredericksburg, Washington became a Master Mason in the organization of Freemasons, a fraternal organization that was a lifelong influence. He was charged with training the militia in the quarter assigned him. Washington was appointed a district adjutant general in the Virginia militia in 1752, which made him Major Washington at the age of 20. George Washington in General uniform, artist unknown After Lawrence's death in 1752, George inherited part of his estate and took over some of Lawrence's duties as adjutant of the colony. ![]() This was the only time George Washington traveled outside what is now the United States. ![]() In 1751, George and his half-brother traveled to Barbados, staying at Bush Hill House, hoping for an improvement in Lawrence's tuberculosis. In 1749, he was appointed to his first public office, surveyor of newly created Culpeper County, and through his half-brother, Lawrence Washington, he became interested in the Ohio Company, which aimed to exploit Western lands. ![]() Washington embarked upon a career as a planter and in 1748 was invited to help survey Baron Fairfax's lands west of the Blue Ridge. In his youth, Washington worked as a surveyor, and acquired what would become invaluable knowledge of the terrain around his native state of Virginia. He was educated in the home by his father and older brother. George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, the first son of Augustine Washington and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington, on the family's Pope's Creek Estate near present-day Colonial Beach in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Washington died in 1799, and in his funeral oration, Henry Lee said that of all Americans, he was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." Washington has been consistently ranked by scholars as one of the greatest U.S. His devotion to civic virtue made him an exemplary figure among early American politicians. Washington is seen as a symbol of the United States and republicanism in practice. George Washington by Charles Willson Peale, 1772 *This is the earliest known depiction of Washington that art historians have discovered so far Washington's farewell address was a primer on republican virtue and a stern warning against involvement in foreign wars. Although never officially joining the Federalist Party, he supported its programs and was its inspirational leader. Washington avoided the temptation of war and began a decade of peace with Britain via the Jay Treaty in 1795 he used his prestige to get it ratified over intense opposition from the Jeffersonians. He supported plans to build a strong central government by funding the national debt, implementing an effective tax system, and creating a national bank. His Proclamation of Neutrality of 1793 provided a basis for avoiding any involvement in foreign conflicts. He sought to create a great nation capable of surviving in a world torn asunder by war between Britain and France. Washington became President of the United States in 1789 and established many of the customs and usages of the new government's executive department. Following the end of the war in 1783, Washington retired to his plantation on Mount Vernon.Īlarmed in the late 1780s at the many weaknesses of the new nation under the Articles of Confederation, he presided over the Philadelphia Convention that drafted the United States Constitution in 1787. Negotiating with Congress, the colonial states, and French allies, he held together a tenuous army and a fragile nation amid the threats of disintegration and failure. ![]() As a result of his strategy, Revolutionary forces captured the two main British combat armies - Saratoga and Yorktown. He revived the patriot cause, however, by crossing the Delaware River in New Jersey and defeating the surprised enemy units. The following year, he forced the British out of Boston, but was defeated when he lost New York City later that year. Washington was chosen to be the commander-in-chief of the American revolutionary forces in 1775. George Washington was the first President of the United States, (1789-1797), after leading the Continental Army to victory over the Kingdom of Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). George Washington by Gilbert Stuart, 1795 ![]()
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