George Washington: First President of the USA
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 at Popes Creek in Westmoreland County Virginia.He was the first of six children of Augustine and Mary Ball Washington. His father was a justice of the peace and a prominent public figure who had four additional children from his first marriage to Jane Butler. The family moved to Little Hunting Creek in 1734 before eventually settling in Ferry Farm near Fredericksburg, Virginia. George Washington was an American Founding Father, military officer and politician who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Second Continental Congress as commander of the Continental Army in 1775, Washington led Patriot forces to victory in the American Revolutionary War and then served as president of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which drafted and ratified the Constitution of the United States and established the U.S. federal government. Washington has thus become commonly known as the “Father of his Country”.
Prior to becoming president, Washington’s leadership as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution (1775-1783) was instrumental in securing American independence from Great Britain. Washington played a crucial role in the creation of the U.S. Constitution by presiding over the Constitutional Convention in 1787. As the first president, Washington established many of the traditions and norms that define the office today. This includes things like the two-term limit he set for himself and the formal address of “Mr. President.” Washington helped establish a strong central government while navigating the political divisions of the time.
