George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787

George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) was the successful Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and later became the first President of the United States, an office to which he was elected twice (1789-1797). Washington first gained prominence as an officer during the French and Indian War, as a leader of colonial militia supporting the British Empire. After leading the American victory in the Revolutionary War, he refused to lead a military regime, retur ...

Including:

• George Washington - Early life
• George Washington - French and Indian War: 1753-1773
• George Washington - American Revolution: 1774-1783
• George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787
• George Washington - Presidency: 1789-1797
• George Washington - Cabinet
• George Washington - Supreme Court appointments
• George Washington - Major presidential acts
• George Washington - States admitted to the Union
• George Washington - Farewell Address
• George Washington - Retirement and death
• George Washington - After his death
• George Washington - Monuments and memorials
• George Washington - Summary of military career
• George Washington - Personal information
• George Washington - Washington and slavery
• George Washington - Religious beliefs
• George Washington - Trivia
• George Washington - Scholarly secondary sources
• George Washington - Notes

Read more here: » George Washington: Encyclopedia - George Washington

On December 23, 1783 General George Washington resigned his commission as Commander in Chief of the Army to the Congress, which was then meeting at the Maryland State House in Annapolis. This action was of great significance for the young nation, establishing the precedent that civilian elected officials, rather than military officers, possessed ultimate authority. Washington was a firm republican, believing that the people are sovereign and that no one should ever come to power in America b ...

See also:

George Washington, George Washington - Early life, George Washington - French and Indian War: 1753-1773, George Washington - American Revolution: 1774-1783, George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787, George Washington - Presidency: 1789-1797, George Washington - Cabinet, George Washington - Supreme Court appointments, George Washington - Major presidential acts, George Washington - States admitted to the Union, George Washington - Farewell Address, George Washington - Retirement and death, George Washington - After his death, George Washington - Monuments and memorials, George Washington - Summary of military career, George Washington - Personal information, George Washington - Washington and slavery, George Washington - Religious beliefs, George Washington - Trivia, George Washington - Scholarly secondary sources, George Washington - Notes

Read more here: » George Washington: Encyclopedia II - George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787

On December 23, 1783, General Washington resigned his commission as Commander in Chief of the Army to the Congress, which was then meeting at the Maryland State House in Annapolis. This action was of great significance for the young nation, establishing the precedent that civilian elected officials, rather than military officers, possessed ultimate authority. Washington firmly believed that the people are sovereign and that no one should ever come to power in America b ...

See also:

George Washington, George Washington - Early life, George Washington - French and Indian War: 1754-1763, George Washington - American Revolution: 1774-1783, George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787, George Washington - Presidency: 1789-1797, George Washington - Cabinet, George Washington - Supreme Court appointments, George Washington - Major presidential acts, George Washington - States admitted to the Union, George Washington - Retirement and death, George Washington - After his death, George Washington - Monuments and memorials, George Washington - Summary of military career, George Washington - Personal information, George Washington - Washington and slavery, George Washington - Religious beliefs, George Washington - Trivia, George Washington - Notes

Read more here: » George Washington: Encyclopedia II - George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787

George Washington was elected unanimously by the Electoral College in 1789, and remains the only person ever to be elected president unanimously (a feat which he duplicated in 1792). As runner-up with 34 votes, John Adams became Vice President-elect. The First U.S. Congress voted to pay Washington a salary of $25,000 a year—a significant sum in 1789. Washington was perhaps the wealthiest American at the time; his western lands were potentially valuable--but no one lived on them as yet. He declined his salary. It was part of his self-struct ...

See also:

George Washington, George Washington - Early life, George Washington - French and Indian War: 1754-1763, George Washington - American Revolution: 1774-1783, George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787, George Washington - Presidency: 1789-1797, George Washington - Cabinet, George Washington - Supreme Court appointments, George Washington - Major presidential acts, George Washington - States admitted to the Union, George Washington - Retirement and death, George Washington - After his death, George Washington - Monuments and memorials, George Washington - Summary of military career, George Washington - Personal information, George Washington - Washington and slavery, George Washington - Religious beliefs, George Washington - Trivia, George Washington - Notes

Read more here: » George Washington: Encyclopedia II - George Washington - Presidency: 1789-1797

Main article: Washington Administration George Washington was elected unanimously by the Electoral College in 1789, and remains the only person ever to be elected president unanimously (a feat which he duplicated in 1792). As runner-up with 34 votes, John Adams became Vice President-elect. The First U.S. Congress voted to pay Washington a salary of $25,000 a year—a significant sum in 1789. Washington was perhaps the wealthiest American at the time; his western lands were potentially valuable--but no one lived on them a ...

See also:

George Washington, George Washington - Early life, George Washington - French and Indian War: 1753-1773, George Washington - American Revolution: 1774-1783, George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787, George Washington - Presidency: 1789-1797, George Washington - Cabinet, George Washington - Supreme Court appointments, George Washington - Major presidential acts, George Washington - States admitted to the Union, George Washington - Farewell Address, George Washington - Retirement and death, George Washington - After his death, George Washington - Monuments and memorials, George Washington - Summary of military career, George Washington - Personal information, George Washington - Washington and slavery, George Washington - Religious beliefs, George Washington - Trivia, George Washington - Scholarly secondary sources, George Washington - Notes

Read more here: » George Washington: Encyclopedia II - George Washington - Presidency: 1789-1797

By 1774, Washington had become one of the colonies' wealthiest men. In that year, he was chosen as a delegate from Virginia to the First Continental Congress. Although the American Revolution had not yet devolved into open warfare, tensions between the colonies and Great Britain continued to rise, and Washington attended the Second Continental Congress, in 1775, in military uniform—the only delegate to do so, somewhat promoting his availability as potential commander of the colonial forces. He strongly supported independence, and had much ...

See also:

George Washington, George Washington - Early life, George Washington - French and Indian War: 1754-1763, George Washington - American Revolution: 1774-1783, George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787, George Washington - Presidency: 1789-1797, George Washington - Cabinet, George Washington - Supreme Court appointments, George Washington - Major presidential acts, George Washington - States admitted to the Union, George Washington - Retirement and death, George Washington - After his death, George Washington - Monuments and memorials, George Washington - Summary of military career, George Washington - Personal information, George Washington - Washington and slavery, George Washington - Religious beliefs, George Washington - Trivia, George Washington - Notes

Read more here: » George Washington: Encyclopedia II - George Washington - American Revolution: 1774-1783

Washington was a man of great personal integrity, with a deeply held sense of duty, honor and patriotism. He was courageous and farsighted, holding the Continental Army together through eight hard years of war and numerous privations, sometimes by sheer force of will. Washington was notable for his modesty and carefully controlled ambition. He never accepted pay during his military service with the Continental Army, and was genuinely reluctant to assume any of the offices thrust upon him. When John Adams recommended him to the Contine ...

See also:

George Washington, George Washington - Early life, George Washington - French and Indian War: 1754-1763, George Washington - American Revolution: 1774-1783, George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787, George Washington - Presidency: 1789-1797, George Washington - Cabinet, George Washington - Supreme Court appointments, George Washington - Major presidential acts, George Washington - States admitted to the Union, George Washington - Retirement and death, George Washington - After his death, George Washington - Monuments and memorials, George Washington - Summary of military career, George Washington - Personal information, George Washington - Washington and slavery, George Washington - Religious beliefs, George Washington - Trivia, George Washington - Notes

Read more here: » George Washington: Encyclopedia II - George Washington - Personal information

Congressman Henry Light Horse Harry Lee, a Revolutionary War comrade, famously eulogized Washington as "a citizen, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." Washington set many precedents that established tranquility in the presidential office in the years to come. His choice to peacefully relinquish the presidency to John Adams, after serving two terms in office, is ...

See also:

George Washington, George Washington - Early life, George Washington - French and Indian War: 1754-1763, George Washington - American Revolution: 1774-1783, George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787, George Washington - Presidency: 1789-1797, George Washington - Cabinet, George Washington - Supreme Court appointments, George Washington - Major presidential acts, George Washington - States admitted to the Union, George Washington - Retirement and death, George Washington - After his death, George Washington - Monuments and memorials, George Washington - Summary of military career, George Washington - Personal information, George Washington - Washington and slavery, George Washington - Religious beliefs, George Washington - Trivia, George Washington - Notes

Read more here: » George Washington: Encyclopedia II - George Washington - After his death

After retiring from the presidency in March 1797, Washington returned to Mount Vernon with a profound sense of relief. He established a distillery there and became probably the largest distiller of whiskey in the nation at the time, producing 11,000 gallons of whiskey and a profit of $7,500 in 1798. During that year, Washington was appointed Lieutenant General in the United States Army (then the highest possible rank) by President John Adams. Washington's appointment was to serve as a warning to France, with which war seemed imminent. ...

See also:

George Washington, George Washington - Early life, George Washington - French and Indian War: 1754-1763, George Washington - American Revolution: 1774-1783, George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787, George Washington - Presidency: 1789-1797, George Washington - Cabinet, George Washington - Supreme Court appointments, George Washington - Major presidential acts, George Washington - States admitted to the Union, George Washington - Retirement and death, George Washington - After his death, George Washington - Monuments and memorials, George Washington - Summary of military career, George Washington - Personal information, George Washington - Washington and slavery, George Washington - Religious beliefs, George Washington - Trivia, George Washington - Notes

Read more here: » George Washington: Encyclopedia II - George Washington - Retirement and death

At twenty-two years of age, Washington fired some of the first shots of what would become a war between colonial powers. The trouble began in 1753, when France began building a series of forts in the Ohio Country, a region also claimed by Virginia. This was part of an overall strategy by the French, with the support of the indigenous population, to destabilize the American frontier and tie up British military forces in the American colonies. Robert Dinwiddie, the governor of Virginia, had young Major Washington deliver a letter to the French ...

See also:

George Washington, George Washington - Early life, George Washington - French and Indian War: 1754-1763, George Washington - American Revolution: 1774-1783, George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787, George Washington - Presidency: 1789-1797, George Washington - Cabinet, George Washington - Supreme Court appointments, George Washington - Major presidential acts, George Washington - States admitted to the Union, George Washington - Retirement and death, George Washington - After his death, George Washington - Monuments and memorials, George Washington - Summary of military career, George Washington - Personal information, George Washington - Washington and slavery, George Washington - Religious beliefs, George Washington - Trivia, George Washington - Notes

Read more here: » George Washington: Encyclopedia II - George Washington - French and Indian War: 1754-1763

Washington was a man of great personal integrity, with a deeply held sense of duty, honor and patriotism. He was courageous and farsighted, holding the Continental Army together through eight hard years of war and numerous privations, sometimes by sheer force of will. Washington was notable for his modesty and carefully controlled ambition. He never accepted pay during his military service with the Continental Army, and was genuinely reluctant to assume any of the offices thrust upon him. When John Adams recommended him to the Contine ...

See also:

George Washington, George Washington - Early life, George Washington - French and Indian War: 1753-1773, George Washington - American Revolution: 1774-1783, George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787, George Washington - Presidency: 1789-1797, George Washington - Cabinet, George Washington - Supreme Court appointments, George Washington - Major presidential acts, George Washington - States admitted to the Union, George Washington - Farewell Address, George Washington - Retirement and death, George Washington - After his death, George Washington - Monuments and memorials, George Washington - Summary of military career, George Washington - Personal information, George Washington - Washington and slavery, George Washington - Religious beliefs, George Washington - Trivia, George Washington - Scholarly secondary sources, George Washington - Notes

Read more here: » George Washington: Encyclopedia II - George Washington - Personal information

At twenty-two years of age, George Washington fired some of the first shots of what would become a war between colonial powers. The trouble began in 1753, when France began building a series of forts in the Ohio Country, a region also claimed by Virginia. This was part of an overall strategy by the French, with the support of the indigenous population, to destabilize the American frontier and tie up British military forces in the American colonies. Robert Dinwiddie, the governor of Virginia, had young Major Washington deliver a letter to the ...

See also:

George Washington, George Washington - Early life, George Washington - French and Indian War: 1753-1773, George Washington - American Revolution: 1774-1783, George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787, George Washington - Presidency: 1789-1797, George Washington - Cabinet, George Washington - Supreme Court appointments, George Washington - Major presidential acts, George Washington - States admitted to the Union, George Washington - Farewell Address, George Washington - Retirement and death, George Washington - After his death, George Washington - Monuments and memorials, George Washington - Summary of military career, George Washington - Personal information, George Washington - Washington and slavery, George Washington - Religious beliefs, George Washington - Trivia, George Washington - Scholarly secondary sources, George Washington - Notes

Read more here: » George Washington: Encyclopedia II - George Washington - French and Indian War: 1753-1773

According to the Julian calendar, Washington was born on February 11, 1731; according to the Gregorian calendar, which was adopted during Washington's life and is used today, he was born on February 22, 1732 (Washington's Birthday is celebrated on the Gregorian date.) At the time of his birth, the English year began March 25 (Annunciation Day, or Lady Day), hence the difference in his birth year. His birthplace was Pope's Creek Plantation, south of ...

See also:

George Washington, George Washington - Early life, George Washington - French and Indian War: 1753-1773, George Washington - American Revolution: 1774-1783, George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787, George Washington - Presidency: 1789-1797, George Washington - Cabinet, George Washington - Supreme Court appointments, George Washington - Major presidential acts, George Washington - States admitted to the Union, George Washington - Farewell Address, George Washington - Retirement and death, George Washington - After his death, George Washington - Monuments and memorials, George Washington - Summary of military career, George Washington - Personal information, George Washington - Washington and slavery, George Washington - Religious beliefs, George Washington - Trivia, George Washington - Scholarly secondary sources, George Washington - Notes

Read more here: » George Washington: Encyclopedia II - George Washington - Early life

By 1774, Washington had become one of the colonies' wealthiest men. In that year, he was chosen as a delegate from Virginia to the First Continental Congress. Although the American Revolution had not yet devolved into open warfare, tensions between the colonies and Great Britain continued to rise, and Washington attended the Second Continental Congress, in 1775, in military uniform—the only delegate to do so. He strongly supported independence. The Second Continental Congress needed to select as commander in chief of its newly forme ...

See also:

George Washington, George Washington - Early life, George Washington - French and Indian War: 1753-1773, George Washington - American Revolution: 1774-1783, George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787, George Washington - Presidency: 1789-1797, George Washington - Cabinet, George Washington - Supreme Court appointments, George Washington - Major presidential acts, George Washington - States admitted to the Union, George Washington - Farewell Address, George Washington - Retirement and death, George Washington - After his death, George Washington - Monuments and memorials, George Washington - Summary of military career, George Washington - Personal information, George Washington - Washington and slavery, George Washington - Religious beliefs, George Washington - Trivia, George Washington - Scholarly secondary sources, George Washington - Notes

Read more here: » George Washington: Encyclopedia II - George Washington - American Revolution: 1774-1783

After retiring from the presidency in March 1797, Washington returned to Mount Vernon with a profound sense of relief. He established a distillery there and became probably the largest distiller of whiskey in the nation at the time, producing 11,000 gallons of whiskey and a profit of $7,500 in 1798. During that year, Washington was appointed Lieutenant General in the United States Army (then the highest possible rank) by President John Adams. Washington's appointment was to serve as a warning to France, with which war seemed imminent. ...

See also:

George Washington, George Washington - Early life, George Washington - French and Indian War: 1753-1773, George Washington - American Revolution: 1774-1783, George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787, George Washington - Presidency: 1789-1797, George Washington - Cabinet, George Washington - Supreme Court appointments, George Washington - Major presidential acts, George Washington - States admitted to the Union, George Washington - Farewell Address, George Washington - Retirement and death, George Washington - After his death, George Washington - Monuments and memorials, George Washington - Summary of military career, George Washington - Personal information, George Washington - Washington and slavery, George Washington - Religious beliefs, George Washington - Trivia, George Washington - Scholarly secondary sources, George Washington - Notes

Read more here: » George Washington: Encyclopedia II - George Washington - Retirement and death

Congressman Henry Light Horse Harry Lee, a Revolutionary War comrade, famously eulogized Washington as "a citizen, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." Washington set many precedents that established tranquility in the presidential office in the years to come. His choice to peacefully relinquish the presidency to John Adams, after serving two terms in office, is ...

See also:

George Washington, George Washington - Early life, George Washington - French and Indian War: 1753-1773, George Washington - American Revolution: 1774-1783, George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787, George Washington - Presidency: 1789-1797, George Washington - Cabinet, George Washington - Supreme Court appointments, George Washington - Major presidential acts, George Washington - States admitted to the Union, George Washington - Farewell Address, George Washington - Retirement and death, George Washington - After his death, George Washington - Monuments and memorials, George Washington - Summary of military career, George Washington - Personal information, George Washington - Washington and slavery, George Washington - Religious beliefs, George Washington - Trivia, George Washington - Scholarly secondary sources, George Washington - Notes

Read more here: » George Washington: Encyclopedia II - George Washington - After his death

According to the Julian calendar, Washington was born on February 11, 1731; according to the Gregorian calendar, which was adopted during Washington's life and is used today, he was born on February 22, 1732 (Washington's Birthday is celebrated on the Gregorian date.) At the time of his birth, the English year began March 25 (Annunciation Day, or Lady Day), hence the difference in his birth year. His birthplace was Pope's Creek Plantation, south of ...

See also:

George Washington, George Washington - Early life, George Washington - French and Indian War: 1754-1763, George Washington - American Revolution: 1774-1783, George Washington - Virginia Planter 1783-1787, George Washington - Presidency: 1789-1797, George Washington - Cabinet, George Washington - Supreme Court appointments, George Washington - Major presidential acts, George Washington - States admitted to the Union, George Washington - Retirement and death, George Washington - After his death, George Washington - Monuments and memorials, George Washington - Summary of military career, George Washington - Personal information, George Washington - Washington and slavery, George Washington - Religious beliefs, George Washington - Trivia, George Washington - Notes

Read more here: » George Washington: Encyclopedia II - George Washington - Early life