George Washington

"General Washington" redirects here. For other uses, see General Washington (disambiguation) and George Washington (disambiguation).

George Washington
Portrait c. 1803
1st President of the United States
In office April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797
Vice President	John Adams
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	John Adams
7th Senior Officer of the United States Army
In office July 13, 1798 – December 14, 1799
Preceded by	James Wilkinson
Succeeded by	Alexander Hamilton
Commander in Chief of the Continental Army
In office June 19, 1775 – December 23, 1783
Appointed by	Continental Congress
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Henry Knox (as Senior Officer)
14th Chancellor of the College of William & Mary
In office April 30, 1788 – December 14, 1799
Preceded by	Richard Terrick (1776)
Succeeded by	John Tyler (1859)
Delegate from Virginia to the Continental Congress
In office September 5, 1774 – June 16, 1775
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Thomas Jefferson
Member of the Virginia House of Burgesses
In office July 24, 1758 – June 24, 1775
Preceded by	Hugh West
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Constituency	Frederick County (1758–1765) Fairfax County (1765–1775)
Personal details
Born	February 22, 1732 [O.S. February 11, 1731] Popes Creek, Virginia Colony, British America
Died	December 14, 1799(1799-12-14) (aged 67) Mount Vernon, Virginia, U.S.
Resting place	Mount Vernon, Virginia 38°42′28.4″N 77°05′09.9″W
Political party	Independent
Spouse	Martha Dandridge ​ (m. 1759)​
Relatives	Washington family
Occupation	Farmer military officer politician surveyor
Awards	Congressional Gold Medal Thanks of Congress
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Great Britain United States
Branch/service	Virginia Militia Continental Army United States Army
Years of service	1752–1758 (Virginia Militia) 1775–1783 (Continental Army) 1798–1799 (U.S. Army)
Rank	Colonel (1st Virginia Regiment) Colonel (Virginia Militia) General and Commander in Chief (Continental Army) Lieutenant General (U.S. Army) General of the Armies (promoted posthumously in 1976 by Congress)
Commands	Virginia Regiment Continental Army United States Army
Battles/wars	See list French and Indian War Battle of Jumonville Glen Battle of Fort Necessity Braddock Expedition Battle of the Monongahela Forbes Expedition American Revolutionary War Boston campaign New York and New Jersey campaign Philadelphia campaign Yorktown campaign Northwest Indian War Whiskey Rebellion

George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) was a Founding Father of the United States, military officer, and farmer who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed commander of the Continental Army in 1775, Washington led Patriot forces to victory in the American Revolutionary War. He then served as president of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which drafted the current Constitution of the United States. Washington has thus become commonly known as the "Father of His Country".

Washington's first public office, from 1749 to 1750, was as surveyor of Culpeper County in the Colony of Virginia. In 1752, he became a major in the Virginia Regiment. During the French and Indian War, Washington was promoted to lieutenant colonel and subsequently became head of the Virginia Regiment. He was later elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses and was named a delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, which appointed him commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. Washington led American forces to a decisive victory over the British in the Revolutionary War, leading the British to sign the Treaty of Paris acknowledging the independence of the United States.

Washington was twice elected president unanimously by the Electoral College in 1788 and 1792. As the first U.S. president, Washington implemented a strong, well-financed national government while remaining impartial in a fierce rivalry that emerged between cabinet members Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. During the French Revolution, he proclaimed a policy of neutrality while sanctioning the Jay Treaty. He set enduring precedents for the office of president, including republicanism, a peaceful transfer of power, the use of the title "Mr. President", and the two-term tradition. His 1796 farewell address became a preeminent statement on republicanism in which he wrote about the importance of national unity and the dangers that regionalism, partisanship, and foreign influence pose to it. As a planter of tobacco and wheat, Washington owned many slaves. He grew to oppose slavery near the end of his lifetime, and provided in his will for the manumission of his slaves.

Washington's image is an icon of American culture. He has been memorialized by monuments, a federal holiday, various media depictions, geographical locations including the national capital, the State of Washington, stamps, and currency. In 1976, Washington was posthumously promoted to the rank of General of the Armies, the highest rank in the U.S. Army. Washington consistently ranks in both popular and scholarly polls as one of the greatest presidents in American history.

Early life (1732–1752)

Further information: Washington family

Ferry Farm, the Washington family residence on the Rappahannock River in Stafford County, Virginia, where Washington spent much of his youth

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 settling in Ferry Farm near Fredericksburg, Virginia. When Augustine died in 1743, Washington inherited Ferry Farm and ten slaves; his older half-brother Lawrence inherited Little Hunting Creek and renamed it Mount Vernon.

Washington did not have the formal education his elder half-brothers received at Appleby Grammar School in England, but he did attend the Lower Church School in Hartfield. He learned mathematics and land surveying, and became a talented draftsman and mapmaker. By early adulthood, he was writing with "considerable force" and "precision". As a teenager, to practice his penmanship, Washington compiled over a hundred rules for social interaction styled Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation, copied from an English translation of a French book of manners.

Washington often visited Mount Vernon and Belvoir, the plantation of William Fairfax, Lawrence's father-in-law. Fairfax became Washington's patron and surrogate father. In 1748, Washington spent a month with a team surveying Fairfax's Shenandoah Valley property. The following year, he received a surveyor's license from the College of William & Mary. Even though Washington had not served the customary apprenticeship, Thomas Fairfax appointed him surveyor of Culpeper County, Virginia; he took his oath of office on July 20, 1749. He subsequently familiarized himself with the frontier region, and though he resigned from the job in 1750, he continued to do surveys west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. By 1752, he had bought almost 1,500 acres (600 ha) in the Valley and owned 2,315 acres (937 ha).

In 1751, Washington left mainland North America for the first and only time, when he accompanied Lawrence to Barbados, hoping the climate would cure his brother's tuberculosis. Washington contracted smallpox during that trip, which left his face slightly scarred. Lawrence died in 1752, and Washington leased Mount Vernon from his widow Anne; he inherited it outright after her death in 1761.

Colonial military career (1752–1758)

Lawrence Washington's service as adjutant general of the Virginia militia inspired George to seek a commission. Virginia's lieutenant governor, Robert Dinwiddie, appointed Washington as a major and commander of one of the four militia districts. The British and French were competing for control of the Ohio Valley: the British were constructing forts along the Ohio River, and the French between the Ohio River and Lake Erie.

In October 1753, Dinwiddie appointed Washington as a special envoy to demand French forces vacate land that was claimed by the British. Washington was also appointed to make peace with the Iroquois Confederacy, and to gather intelligence about the French forces. Washington met with Half-King Tanacharison and other Iroquois chiefs at Logstown, and gathered information about the numbers and locations of the French forts, as well as intelligence concerning individuals taken prisoner by the French. Washington was nicknamed Conotocaurius by Tanacharison. The name, meaning "devourer of villages", had been given to his great-grandfather John Washington in the late 17th century by the Susquehannock.

Washington's party reached the Ohio River in November 1753 and was intercepted by a French patrol. The party was escorted to Fort Le Boeuf, where Washington was received in a friendly manner. He delivered the British demand to vacate to the French commander Saint-Pierre, but the French refused to leave. Saint-Pierre gave Washington his official answer after a few days' delay, as well as food and winter clothing for his party's journey back to Virginia. Washington completed the precarious mission in 77 days, in difficult winter conditions, achieving a measure of distinction when his report was published in Virginia and London.

French and Indian War

Main article: George Washington in the French and Indian War

Further information: French and Indian War and Seven Years' War

Washington the Soldier, an 1834 portrait of Washington on horseback during the Battle of the Monongahela

In February 1754, Dinwiddie promoted Washington to lieutenant colonel and second-in-command of the 300-strong Virginia Regiment, with orders to confront French forces at the Forks of the Ohio. Washington set out with half the regiment in April and soon learned a French force of 1,000 had begun construction of Fort Duquesne there. In May, having established a defensive position at Great Meadows, Washington learned that the French had made camp seven miles (11 km) away; he decided to take the offensive. The French detachment proved to be only about 50 men, so on May 28 Washington led an ambush by a small force of Virginians and Indian allies. They killed the French with muskets and hatchets, including French commander Joseph Coulon de Jumonville, who had been carrying a diplomatic message for the British. The French later found their countrymen dead and scalped, blaming Washington, who had retreated to Fort Necessity.

The full Virginia Regiment joined Washington the following month with news that he had been promoted to command of the regiment and colonel on the regimental commander's death. The regiment was reinforced by an independent company of a hundred South Carolinians led by Captain James Mackay; his royal commission outranked Washington's and a conflict of command ensued. On July 3, a French force attacked with 900 men, and the ensuing battle ended in Washington's surrender. Washington did not speak French, but signed a surrender document in which he unwittingly took responsibility for "assassinating" Jumonville, later blaming the translator for not properly translating it. Colonel James Innes took command of intercolonial forces, the Virginia Regiment was divided, and Washington was offered a captaincy in one of the newly formed regiments. He refused, as it would have been a demotion, and instead resigned his commission. The "Jumonville affair" became the incident which ignited the French and Indian War.

In 1755, Washington volunteered as an aide to General Edward Braddock, who led a British expedition to expel the French from Fort Duquesne and the Ohio Country. On Washington's recommendation, Braddock split the army into one main column and a lightly equipped "flying column". Suffering from severe dysentery, Washington was left behind. When he rejoined Braddock at Monongahela, the French and their Indian allies ambushed the divided army. Two-thirds of the British force became casualties and Braddock was killed. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Gage, Washington, still very ill, rallied the survivors and formed a rear guard, allowing the remnants of the force to retreat.

During the engagement, Washington had two horses shot from under him, and his hat and coat were bullet-pierced. His conduct under fire redeemed his reputation among critics of his command in the Battle of Fort Necessity, but he was not included by the succeeding commander (Colonel Thomas Dunbar) in planning subsequent operations. The Virginia Regiment was reconstituted in August 1755, and Dinwiddie appointed Washington its commander, again with the rank of colonel. Washington clashed over seniority almost immediately, this time with Captain John Dagworthy, who commanded a detachment of Marylanders at the regiment's headquarters in Fort Cumberland. Washington, impatient for an offensive against Fort Duquesne, was convinced Braddock would have granted him a royal commission and pressed his case in February 1756 with Braddock's successor as Commander-in-Chief, William Shirley, and again in January 1757 with Shirley's successor, Lord Loudoun. Shirley ruled in Washington's favor only in the matter of Dagworthy; Loudoun humiliated Washington, refused him a royal commission, and agreed only to relieve him of the responsibility of manning Fort Cumberland.

In 1758, the Virginia Regiment was assigned to the British Forbes Expedition to capture Fort Duquesne. Washington disagreed with General John Forbes' tactics and chosen route. Forbes nevertheless made Washington a brevet brigadier general and gave him command of one of the three brigades that would assault the fort. The French had abandoned the fort and the valley before the assault, however, and Washington only saw a friendly fire incident which left 14 dead and 26 injured. Frustrated, he resigned his commission soon afterwards and returned to Mount Vernon. Under Washington, the Virginia Regiment had defended 300 miles (480 km) of frontier against twenty Indian attacks in ten months. He increased the professionalism of the regiment as it grew from 300 to 1,000 men. Though he failed to realize a royal commission, he gained self-confidence, leadership skills, and knowledge of British military tactics. The destructive competition Washington witnessed among colonial politicians fostered his later support of a strong central government.

Marriage, civilian, and political life (1759–1775)

Main article: George Washington's political evolution

Colonel George Washington, a 1772 portrait by Charles Willson Peale

Martha Dandridge Custis

On January 6, 1759, Washington, at age 26, married Martha Dandridge Custis, the 27-year-old widow of wealthy plantation owner Daniel Parke Custis, at her estate. Martha was intelligent, gracious, and experienced in managing a planter's estate, and the couple had a happy marriage. They moved to Mount Vernon, near Alexandria, where he cultivated tobacco and wheat. The marriage gave Washington control over Martha's one-third dower interest in the 18,000-acre (7,300 ha) Custis estate, and he managed the remaining two-thirds for Martha's children; the estate included 84 slaves. As a result, he became one of the wealthiest men in Virginia, which increased his social standing.

At Washington's urging, Governor Lord Botetourt fulfilled Dinwiddie's 1754 promise of land bounties to volunteer militia during the French and Indian War. In late 1770, Washington inspected the lands in the Ohio and Great Kanawha regions, and he engaged surveyor William Crawford to subdivide it. Crawford allotted 23,200 acres (9,400 ha) to Washington; Washington told the veterans that their land was hilly and unsuitable for farming, and he agreed to purchase 20,147 acres (8,153 ha), leaving some feeling they had been duped. He also doubled the size of Mount Vernon to 6,500 acres (2,600 ha) and, by 1775, had increased its slave population by more than a hundred. As a respected military hero and large landowner, Washington held local offices and was elected to the Virginia provincial legislature, representing Frederick County in the House of Burgesses for seven years beginning in 1758. He first ran for the seat in 1755 but was soundly beaten by Hugh West. When he ran in 1758, Washington plied voters with beer, brandy, and other beverages. Despite being away serving on the Forbes Expedition, he won the election with roughly 40 percent of the vote.

Early in his legislative career, Washington rarely spoke at or even attended legislative sessions. He would later become a prominent critic of Britain's taxation and mercantilist policies towards the American colonies and became more politically active starting in the 1760s. Washington imported luxuries and other goods from England, paying for them by exporting tobacco. His profligate spending combined with low tobacco prices left him £1,800 in debt by 1764, prompting him to diversify his holdings. Washington's complete reliance on London tobacco buyer and merchant Robert Cary threatened his economic security. In 1765, because of erosion and other soil problems, he changed Mount Vernon's primary cash crop from tobacco to wheat and expanded operations to include flour milling and fishing. Washington was soon counted among the political and social elite in Virginia. Washington's stepdaughter Patsy suffered from epileptic attacks from age 12, and she died at Mount Vernon in 1773. Washington canceled all business activity and remained with Martha every night for three months.

Opposition to the British Parliament and Crown

Further information: American Revolution and George Washington in the American Revolution

Washington played a central role before and during the American Revolution. Opposed to taxes imposed by the British Parliament on the Colonies without proper representation, Washington believed the Stamp Act 1765 was an "Act of Oppression" and celebrated its repeal the following year. He helped lead widespread protests against the Townshend Acts passed by Parliament in 1767, and he introduced a proposal in May 1769 which urged Virginians to boycott British goods; the Acts were mostly repealed in 1770. Washington and other colonists were also angered by the Royal Proclamation of 1763 (which banned American settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains) and British interference in American lucrative western land speculation (in which Washington was a participant).

Parliament sought to punish Massachusetts colonists for their role in the Boston Tea Party in 1774 by passing the Coercive Acts, which Washington saw as "an invasion of our rights and privileges". That July, he and George Mason drafted a list of resolutions for the Fairfax County committee, including a call to end the Atlantic slave trade, which were adopted. On August 1, Washington attended the First Virginia Convention and was selected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress. As tensions rose in 1774, he helped train militias in Virginia and organized enforcement of the Continental Association boycott of British goods instituted by the Congress.

Commander in chief of the army (1775–1783)

Further information: Military career of George Washington and Washington's aides-de-camp

General Washington, Commander of the Continental Army, a 1776 portrait by Charles Willson Peale

The American Revolutionary War broke out on April 19, 1775. Upon hearing the news, Washington was "sobered and dismayed", and he hastily departed Mount Vernon on May 4, 1775, to join the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. On June 14, 1775, Congress created the Continental Army and John Adams nominated Washington as its commander-in-chief, mainly because of his military experience and the belief that a Virginian would better unite the colonies. He was unanimously elected by Congress the next day. Washington gave an acceptance speech on June 16, declining a salary, though he was later reimbursed expenses. Washington was commissioned on June 19 as "General & Commander in chief of the army of the United Colonies and of all the forces raised or to be raised by them".

Congress chose his primary staff officers, including Artemas Ward, Horatio Gates, Charles Lee, Philip Schuyler, and Nathanael Greene. Henry Knox, a young bookkeeper, impressed Adams and Washington with ordnance knowledge and was promoted to colonel and chief of artillery. Similarly, Washington was impressed by Alexander Hamilton's intelligence and bravery. He would later promote him to colonel and appoint him his aide-de-camp.

Washington initially banned the enlistment of Black soldiers, both free and enslaved. The British saw an opportunity to divide the colonies, and the colonial governor of Virginia issued a proclamation, which promised freedom to slaves if they joined the British. Desperate for manpower by late 1777, Washington overturned his ban. By the end of the war, around one-tenth of Washington's army were Black.

Siege of Boston

Main article: Siege of Boston

Washington arriving in Boston on July 2, 1775, to take command of the Continental Army

Early in 1775, in response to the growing rebellious movement, London sent British troops to occupy Boston, led by General Thomas Gage, commander of British forces in America. Local militias surrounded the city and trapped the British troops, resulting in a standoff. Washington was instructed to take charge of the Siege of Boston on June 22, 1775. As he headed for Boston, word of his march preceded him, and he was greeted everywhere; he became a symbol of the Patriot cause. Upon Washington's arrival on July 2, 1775, he went to inspect the army, but found undisciplined militia. After consultation, he initiated Benjamin Franklin's suggested reforms: drilling the soldiers and imposing strict discipline. Washington ordered his officers to identify the skills of recruits to ensure military effectiveness, while removing incompetent officers. In October 1775, King George III declared that the colonies were in open rebellion and relieved Gage of command for incompetence, replacing him with General William Howe.

The Continental Army, reduced to only 9,600 men by January 1776 due to expiring short-term enlistments, had to be supplemented with militia. They were soon joined by Knox with heavy artillery captured from Fort Ticonderoga. When the Charles River froze over, Washington was eager to cross and storm Boston, but General Gates and others were opposed to untrained militia striking well-garrisoned fortifications. Instead, he agreed to secure the Dorchester Heights above Boston with Knox's artillery to try to force the British out. On March 9, under cover of darkness, Washington's troops bombarded British ships in Boston's harbor. On March 17, 9,000 British troops and Loyalists began a chaotic ten-day naval evacuation. Soon after, Washington entered the city with 500 men, with explicit orders not to plunder. He refrained from exerting military authority in Boston, leaving civilian matters in the hands of local authorities.

New York and New Jersey

Main article: New York and New Jersey Campaign

Battle of Long Island

Main article: Battle of Long Island

"Washington Saves His Army at Brooklyn", 1951 stamp

After the victory at Boston, Washington correctly guessed that the British would return to New York City, a Loyalist stronghold, and retaliate. He arrived there on April 13, 1776, and ordered the construction of fortifications. He also ordered his occupying forces to treat civilians and their property with respect, to avoid the abuses Bostonians suffered at the hands of British troops. The British forces, including more than a hundred ships and thousands of troops, began arriving on Staten Island on July 2 to lay siege to the city.

Howe's troop strength totaled 32,000 regulars and Hessian auxiliaries, and Washington's 23,000, mostly raw recruits and militia. In August, Howe landed 20,000 troops at Gravesend, Brooklyn, and approached Washington's fortifications. Opposing his generals, Washington chose to fight, based on inaccurate information that Howe's army had only 8,000-plus troops. In the Battle of Long Island, Howe assaulted Washington's flank and inflicted 1,500 Patriot casualties, the British suffering 400. Washington retreated to Manhattan. Howe dispatched Washington as "George Washington, Esq." to negotiate peace; Washington declined, demanding to be addressed with diplomatic protocol, as general and fellow belligerent, not as a "rebel", lest his men be hanged as such if captured. The Royal Navy bombarded the unstable earthworks on lower Manhattan Island. Despite misgivings, Washington heeded the advice of Generals Greene and Putnam to defend Fort Washington. They were unable to hold it; Washington abandoned the fort and ordered his army north to the White Plains. Howe's pursuit forced Washington to retreat across the Hudson River to Fort Lee to avoid encirclement. Howe landed his troops on Manhattan in November and captured Fort Washington, inflicting high casualties on the Americans. Washington was responsible for delaying the retreat, though he blamed Congress and General Greene. Loyalists in New York City considered Howe a liberator and spread a rumor that Washington had set fire to the city. Now reduced to 5,400 troops, Washington's army retreated through New Jersey.

Crossing the Delaware, Trenton, and Princeton

Main articles: George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, Battle of Trenton, Battle of the Assunpink Creek, and Battle of Princeton

Washington Crossing the Delaware (1851)

Washington crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania, where Major General Lee's replacement General John Sullivan joined him with 2,000 more troops. The future of the Continental Army was in doubt due to lack of supplies, a harsh winter, expiring enlistments, and desertions. Washington was disappointed that many New Jersey residents were Loyalists or skeptical about independence. Howe split up his army and posted a Hessian garrison at Trenton to hold western New Jersey and the east shore of the Delaware. Desperate for a victory, Washington and his generals devised a surprise attack on Trenton. The army was to cross the Delaware in three divisions: one led by Washington, another by General James Ewing, and the third by Colonel John Cadwalader.

Washington ordered a 60-mile search for Durham boats to transport his army, and the destruction of vessels that could be used by the British. The troops spotted Hessian positions a mile from Trenton, so Washington split his force into two columns. The Americans marched in sleet and snowfall. Many were shoeless with bloodied feet, and two died of exposure. At sunrise, Washington, aided by Colonel Knox and artillery, led his men in a surprise attack on the unsuspecting Hessians; the Hessians had 22 killed, 83 wounded, and 850 captured with supplies.

Washington retreated across the Delaware to Pennsylvania and returned to New Jersey on January 3, 1777, launching an attack on British regulars at Princeton, with 40 Americans killed or wounded and 273 British killed or captured. American Generals Hugh Mercer and John Cadwalader were being driven back by the British when Mercer was mortally wounded. Washington arrived and led the men in a counterattack which advanced to within 30 yards (27 m) of the British line. Some British troops retreated after a brief stand, while others took refuge in Nassau Hall, which became the target of Colonel Alexander Hamilton's cannons. Washington's troops charged, the British surrendered in less than an hour, and 194 soldiers laid down their arms. Howe retreated to New York City for winter. Washington took up winter headquarters in Jacob Arnold's Tavern in Morristown, New Jersey. While in Morristown, Washington's troops disrupted British supply lines and expelled them from parts of New Jersey. Strategically, Washington's victories at Trenton and Princeton were pivotal; they revived Patriot morale and quashed the British strategy of showing overwhelming force followed by offering generous terms, changing the course of the war.

Philadelphia

Main article: Philadelphia campaign

Brandywine, Germantown, and Saratoga

Main articles: Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, and Battles of Saratoga

In July 1777, British General John Burgoyne led the Saratoga campaign south from Quebec and recaptured Fort Ticonderoga intending to divide New England. However, General Howe in New York City blundered, taking his army south to Philadelphia rather than joining Burgoyne near Albany. Washington and Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette rushed to Philadelphia to engage Howe. In the Battle of Brandywine, on September 11, 1777, Howe outmaneuvered Washington and marched unopposed into the nation's capital at Philadelphia. A Patriot attack failed against the British at Germantown in October.

In Upstate New York, the Patriots were led by General Horatio Gates. Concerned about Burgoyne's movements southward, Washington sent reinforcements north with Generals Benedict Arnold and Benjamin Lincoln. On October 7, 1777, Burgoyne tried to take Bemis Heights but was isolated from support by Howe and ultimately surrendered after the Battles of Saratoga. As Washington suspected, Gates' victory emboldened his critics. Biographer John Alden maintains, "It was inevitable that the defeats of Washington's forces and the concurrent victory of the forces in upper New York should be compared." Admiration for Washington was waning.

Valley Forge and Monmouth

Main articles: Valley Forge and Battle of Monmouth

Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge, a 1907 portrait by John Ward Dunsmore

Washington and his army of 11,000 men went into winter quarters at Valley Forge north of Philadelphia in December 1777. There they lost between 2,000 and 3,000 men as a result of disease and lack of food, clothing, and shelter. By February, Washington was facing lowered morale and increased desertions among his troops. An internal revolt by his officers prompted some members of Congress to consider removing Washington from command. Washington's supporters resisted, and the matter was dropped after much deliberation.

Washington made repeated petitions to Congress for provisions. He received a congressional delegation and expressed the urgency of the situation, recommending that Congress expedite supplies; Congress agreed to strengthen and fund the army's supply lines by reorganizing the commissary department, and supplies began arriving by late February. Meanwhile, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben's incessant drilling transformed Washington's recruits into a disciplined fighting force by the end of winter camp. Washington promoted Von Steuben to Major General and made him chief of staff.

In early 1778, the French entered into a Treaty of Alliance with the Americans, which amounted to a French declaration of war against Britain. In May 1778, Howe resigned and was replaced by Sir Henry Clinton. The British evacuated Philadelphia for New York that June and Washington summoned a war council of American and French generals. He chose a partial attack on the retreating British at the Battle of Monmouth. Generals Charles Lee and Lafayette moved with 4,000 men, without Washington's knowledge, and bungled their first attack on June 28. Washington relieved Lee and achieved a draw after an expansive battle. At nightfall, the British continued their retreat to New York, and Washington moved his army outside the city.

West Point espionage

Main articles: Culper Ring and Military career of Benedict Arnold, 1777–1779

Washington became America's first spymaster by designing an espionage system against the British. In 1778, Major Benjamin Tallmadge formed the Culper Ring at Washington's direction to covertly collect information about the British in New York.

Washington had disregarded incidents of disloyalty by Benedict Arnold, who had distinguished himself in many campaigns, including his invasion of Quebec and the Battle of Saratoga. In 1780, Arnold began supplying British spymaster John André with sensitive information intended to compromise Washington and capture West Point, a key American defensive position on the Hudson River. After repeated requests, Washington agreed to give Arnold command of West Point in August. On September 21, Arnold met André and gave him plans to take over the garrison. While returning to British lines, André was captured by militia who discovered the plans; hearing the news of André's capture on September 24, Arnold escaped to New York. Upon being told about Arnold's treason, Washington recalled the commanders positioned under Arnold at key points around the fort to prevent any complicity. He assumed personal command at West Point and reorganized its defenses. André's trial for espionage ended in a death sentence, and Washington offered to return him to the British in exchange for Arnold, but Clinton refused. André was hanged on October 2, 1780.

Southern theater and Yorktown

Main article: Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War

See also: Siege of Yorktown

Generals Washington and Rochambeau give final orders before launching the Siege of Yorktown in Yorktown, Virginia in September 1781.

In late 1778, General Clinton launched a Southern invasion against Savannah. They repelled an attack by American patriots and French naval forces, which bolstered the British war effort. Washington's troops went into quarters at Morristown, New Jersey, for their worst winter of the war, with temperatures well below freezing and the troops again lacking provisions. In January 1780, Clinton attacked Charles Town, South Carolina, defeating General Benjamin Lincoln. By June, they occupied the South Carolina Piedmont. Clinton returned to New York and left 8,000 troops under the command of General Charles Cornwallis. Congress replaced Lincoln with Horatio Gates; after his defeat in the Battle of Camden, Gates was replaced by Nathanael Greene, Washington's initial choice, but the British had firm control of the South. Washington was reinvigorated, however, when Lafayette returned from France with more ships, men, and supplies, and 5,000 veteran French troops led by Marshal Rochambeau arrived at Newport, Rhode Island in July 1780. French naval forces then landed, led by Admiral de Grasse.

On March 1, 1781, Congress ratified the Articles of Confederation. General Clinton sent Benedict Arnold, now a British Brigadier General with 1,700 troops, to Virginia to capture Portsmouth and conduct raids on Patriot forces; Washington sent Lafayette south to counter Arnold's efforts. Washington initially hoped to bring the fight to New York, drawing off British forces from Virginia and ending the war there, but Rochambeau advised him that Cornwallis in Virginia was the better target. De Grasse's fleet arrived off the Virginia coast, cutting off British retreat. Seeing the advantage, Washington made a feint towards Clinton in New York, then headed south to Virginia. The siege of Yorktown in October 1781 was a decisive victory by the combined forces of the Continental Army commanded by Washington, the French Army commanded by General Comte de Rochambeau, and the French Navy commanded by Admiral de Grasse. On August 19, Washington and Rochambeau began a march to Yorktown, known now as the "celebrated march". Washington was in command of an army of 7,800 Frenchmen, 3,100 militia, and 8,000 Continentals. Inexperienced in siege warfare, he often deferred to the judgment of General Rochambeau. Despite this, Rochambeau never challenged Washington's authority as the battle's commanding officer.

By late September, Patriot-French forces surrounded Yorktown, trapping the British Army, while the French navy emerged victorious at the Battle of the Chesapeake. The final American offensive began with a shot fired by Washington. The siege ended with a British surrender on October 19, 1781; over 7,000 British soldiers became prisoners of war. Washington negotiated the terms of surrender for two days, and the official signing ceremony took place on October 19. As a gesture of goodwill, Washington held a dinner for the American, French, and British generals, all of whom fraternized on friendly terms. Although the peace treaty did not happen for two years following the end of the battle, Yorktown proved to be the last significant battle or campaign of the Revolutionary War, with the British Parliament agreeing to cease hostilities in March 1782.

Demobilization and resignation

Main article: George Washington's resignation as commander-in-chief

General George Washington Resigning His Commission, an 1824 portrait by John Trumbull

When peace negotiations began in April 1782, both the British and French began gradually evacuating their forces. With the American treasury empty, unpaid and mutinous soldiers forced the adjournment of Congress. In March 1783, Washington successfully calmed the Newburgh Conspiracy, a planned mutiny by American officers. Washington submitted an account of $450,000 in expenses which he had advanced to the army, equivalent to $9.53 million in 2023. The account was settled, though it was allegedly vague about large sums and included expenses his wife had incurred through visits to his headquarters.

The Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783, and Britain officially recognized American independence. Washington disbanded his army, giving a farewell address to his soldiers on November 2. During this time, Washington oversaw the evacuation of British forces in New York and was greeted by parades and celebrations.

In early December 1783, Washington bade farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern and resigned as commander-in-chief soon thereafter. In a final appearance in uniform, he gave a statement to the Congress: "I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my official life, by commending the interests of our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God, and those who have the superintendence of them, to his holy keeping." Washington's resignation was acclaimed at home and abroad and showed a skeptical world that the new republic would not degenerate into chaos. The same month, Washington was appointed president-general of the Society of the Cincinnati, a newly established hereditary fraternity of Revolutionary War officers.

Early republic (1783–1789)

Further information: Confederation Period and Articles of Confederation

Return to Mount Vernon

"I am not only retired from all public employments but I am retiring within myself, and shall be able to view the solitary walk and tread the paths of private life with heartfelt satisfaction ... I will move gently down the stream of life, until I sleep with my fathers."

— George Washington in a letter to Lafayette.
February 1, 1784.

Washington was longing to return home after spending just ten days at Mount Vernon out of 8+1⁄2 years of war. He arrived on Christmas Eve, delighted to be "free of the bustle of a camp and the busy scenes of public life". He was fêted during a visit to his mother at Fredericksburg in February 1784, and he received a constant stream of visitors paying their respects at Mount Vernon.

Washington reactivated his interests in the Great Dismal Swamp and Potomac canal projects begun before the war, though neither paid him any dividends, and he undertook a 34-day, 680-mile (1,090 km) trip to check on his land holdings in the Ohio Country. He oversaw the completion of remodeling work at Mount Vernon, which transformed his residence into the mansion that survives to this day—although his financial situation was not strong. Creditors paid him in depreciated wartime currency, and he owed significant amounts in taxes and wages. Mount Vernon had made no profit during his absence, and he saw persistently poor crop yields due to pestilence and bad weather. His estate recorded its eleventh year running at a deficit in 1787. In 1784, Washington declined an invitation from Lafayette to visit France because he could not afford the trip.

To make his estate profitable again, Washington undertook a new landscaping plan and succeeded in cultivating a range of fast-growing trees and native shrubs. He also began breeding mules after being gifted a Spanish jack by King Charles III of Spain in 1784. There were few mules in the United States at that time, and he believed that they would revolutionize agriculture and transportation.

Constitutional Convention of 1787

Main article: Constitutional Convention (United States)

Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, a 1940 portrait by Howard Chandler Christy depicting Washington as the presiding officer at the Constitutional Convention in 1787

Before returning to private life in June 1783, Washington called for a strong union. Though he was concerned that he might be criticized for meddling in civil matters, he sent a circular letter to the states, maintaining that the Articles of Confederation was no more than "a rope of sand". He believed the nation was on the verge of "anarchy and confusion", was vulnerable to foreign intervention, and that a national constitution would unify the states under a strong central government.

When Shays' Rebellion erupted in Massachusetts over taxation, Washington was further convinced that a national constitution was needed. Some nationalists feared that the new republic had descended into lawlessness, and they met on September 11, 1786, at Annapolis to ask Congress to revise the Articles of Confederation. One of their biggest efforts was getting Washington to attend. Congress agreed to a Constitutional Convention to be held in Philadelphia in 1787, with each state to send delegates. Washington was chosen to lead the Virginia delegation, but he declined. He had concerns about the legality of the convention and consulted James Madison, Henry Knox, and others. They persuaded him to attend as his presence might induce reluctant states to send delegates and smooth the way for the ratification process while also giving legitimacy to the convention. On March 28, Washington told Governor Edmund Randolph that he would attend the convention but made it clear that he was urged to attend.

Washington arrived in Philadelphia on May 9, 1787, though a quorum was not attained until May 25. Benjamin Franklin nominated Washington to preside over the convention, and he was unanimously elected to serve as president general. The convention's state-mandated purpose was to revise the Articles of Confederation; the new government would be established when the resulting document was "duly confirmed by the several states". Randolph introduced Madison's Virginia Plan on May 27; it called for an entirely new constitution and a sovereign national government, which Washington highly recommended. On July 10, Washington wrote to Alexander Hamilton: "I almost despair of seeing a favorable issue to the proceedings of our convention and do therefore repent having had any agency in the business." Nevertheless, he lent his prestige to the work of the other delegates, unsuccessfully lobbying many to support ratification of the Constitution. The final version was voted on and signed by 39 of 55 delegates on September 17, 1787.

First presidential election

Main article: 1788–1789 United States presidential election

Just prior to the first presidential election of 1789, in 1788 the Board of Visitors of the College of William & Mary decided to re-establish the position of Chancellor, and elected Washington to the office on January 18. The College Rector Samuel Griffin wrote to Washington inviting him to the post, and in a letter dated April 30, 1788, Washington accepted the position of the 14th Chancellor of the College of William & Mary. He continued to serve through his presidency until his death.

The delegates to the Convention for the first presidential election anticipated a Washington presidency and left it to him to define the office once elected. The state electors under the Constitution voted for the president on February 4, 1789. A Congressional quorum was reached on April 5, the votes were tallied the next day, and Washington won the majority of every state's electoral votes. He was informed of his election as president by Congressional Secretary Charles Thomson. John Adams was elected vice president. Despite feeling "anxious and painful sensations" about leaving Mount Vernon, Washington departed for New York City on April 16 to be inaugurated.

Presidency (1789–1797)

Main article: Presidency of George Washington

The Washington cabinet
Office	Name	Term
President	George Washington	1789–1797
Vice President	John Adams	1789–1797
Secretary of State	John Jay (acting)	1789–1790
	Thomas Jefferson	1790–1793
Edmund Randolph	1794–1795
Timothy Pickering	1795–1797
Secretary of the Treasury	Alexander Hamilton	1789–1795
Oliver Wolcott Jr.	1795–1797
Secretary of War	Henry Knox	1789–1794
	Timothy Pickering	1795
James McHenry	1796–1797
Attorney General	Edmund Randolph	1789–1794
	William Bradford	1794–1795
Charles Lee	1795–1797

First term

Further information: History of Washington, D.C.; American School (economics); Whiskey Rebellion; Northwest Indian War; Treaty of New York (1790); and Cabinet of the United States

Washington was inaugurated on April 30, 1789, taking the oath of office at Federal Hall in New York City. His coach was led by militia and a marching band and followed by statesmen and foreign dignitaries in an inaugural parade, with a crowd of 10,000. Robert R. Livingston administered the oath, using a Bible provided by the Masons, after which the militia fired a 13-gun salute. Washington read a speech in the Senate Chamber, asking "that Almighty Being ... consecrate the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States". Though he wished to serve without a salary, Congress insisted that he accept it, later providing Washington $25,000 per year to defray costs of the presidency, equivalent to $6.39 million today.

Washington wrote to James Madison: "As the first of everything in our situation will serve to establish a precedent, it is devoutly wished on my part that these precedents be fixed on true principles." To that end, he preferred the title "Mr. President" over more majestic names proposed by the Senate, including "His Excellency" and "His Highness the President". His executive precedents included the inaugural address, messages to Congress, and the cabinet form of the executive branch.

Washington was an able administrator and judge of talent and character. The old Confederation lacked the powers to handle its workload and had weak leadership, no executive, a small bureaucracy of clerks, large debt, worthless paper money, and no power to establish taxes. He had the task of assembling an executive and relied on Tobias Lear for advice selecting its officers. Congress created executive departments in 1789, including the State Department in July, the War Department in August, and the Treasury Department in September. Washington appointed Edmund Randolph as Attorney General, Samuel Osgood as Postmaster General, Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State, Henry Knox as Secretary of War, and Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury. Washington's cabinet became a consulting and advisory body, not mandated by the Constitution. Washington restricted cabinet discussions to topics of his choosing, without participating in the debate. He occasionally requested cabinet opinions in writing and expected department heads to agreeably carry out his decisions. He tolerated opposing views, despite fears that a democratic system would lead to political violence. He opposed the divisiveness of political parties and remained non-partisan throughout his presidency (the only United States president to do so), but he was sympathetic to a Federalist form of government and leery of the Republican opposition.

Domestic affairs under Washington addressed far-ranging issues which included the selection of a permanent U.S. capital, the passing of the Tariff of 1789, curtailment of the Whiskey Rebellion, assessing the rise of party politics in federal government, the passage of several constitutional amendments including the Bill of Rights, as well as continuing debate concerning the issues of slavery. and policies concerning expansion into Native American territory. Washington exercised great restraint in using his veto power, writing that "I give my Signature to many Bills with which my Judgment is at variance." His closest advisors formed two factions, portending the First Party System. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton formed the Federalist Party to promote national credit and a financially powerful nation. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson opposed Hamilton's agenda and founded the Jeffersonian Republicans. Washington favored Hamilton's agenda, however, and it ultimately went into effect—resulting in bitter controversy. Washington proclaimed November 26, 1789, as a day of Thanksgiving to encourage national unity.

Second term

Portrait of Thomas Jefferson

Washington initially planned to retire after his first term, weary of office and in poor health. After dealing with the infighting in his own cabinet and with partisan critics, he showed little enthusiasm for a second term, and Martha wanted him not to run. Washington's nephew George Augustine Washington, managing Mount Vernon in his absence, was critically ill, further increasing Washington's desire to retire. Many, however, urged him to run for a second term. Madison told him that his absence would only allow the dangerous political rift in his cabinet and the House to worsen. Jefferson also pleaded with him not to retire, agreeing to drop his attacks on Hamilton. Hamilton maintained that Washington's absence would be "deplored as the greatest evil" to the country. With the election of 1792 nearing, Washington agreed to run. On February 13, 1793, the Electoral College unanimously re-elected Washington president by a vote of 77 to 50. He was sworn into office by Associate Justice William Cushing on March 4, 1793, in Congress Hall in Philadelphia. Washington gave a brief address before immediately retiring to the President's House.

On April 22, 1793, when the French Revolutionary Wars broke out, Washington issued a proclamation which declared American neutrality. He was resolved to pursue "a conduct friendly and impartial toward the belligerent Powers" while also warning Americans not to intervene in the conflict. Although Washington recognized France's revolutionary government, he eventually asked French minister to the United States Edmond-Charles Genêt be recalled. Genêt was a diplomatic troublemaker who was openly hostile toward Washington's neutrality policy. He procured four American ships as privateers to strike at Spanish forces (British allies) in Florida while organizing militias to strike at other British possessions. However, his efforts failed to draw the United States into the conflict.

Hamilton formulated the Jay Treaty to normalize trade relations with Britain while removing them from western forts, and also to resolve financial debts remaining from the Revolution. Chief Justice John Jay acted as Washington's negotiator and signed the treaty on November 19, 1794. Washington supported the treaty because it avoided war, but was disappointed that its provisions favored Britain. He mobilized public opinion and secured ratification in the Senate but faced frequent public criticism. The British agreed to abandon their forts around the Great Lakes, and the United States modified the boundary with Canada. The government liquidated numerous pre-Revolution debts, and the British opened the British West Indies to American trade. The treaty secured peace with Britain and a decade of prosperous trade; however, Jefferson claimed that it angered France and "invited rather than avoided" war. Relations with France deteriorated afterward and, two days before Washington's term ended, the French Directory declared the authority to seize American ships, leaving succeeding president John Adams with prospective war.

On July 31, 1793, Jefferson submitted his resignation from cabinet. Hamilton resigned from office in January 1795 and was replaced by Oliver Wolcott Jr. Washington's relationship with his Secretary of War Henry Knox deteriorated after rumors that Knox had profited from contracts for the construction of U.S. frigates which had been commissioned under the Naval Act of 1794 to combat Barbary pirates, forcing Knox to resign. In the final months of his presidency, Washington was assailed by his political foes and a partisan press who accused him of being ambitious and greedy. He came to regard the press as a disuniting, "diabolical" force of falsehoods. At the end of his second term, Washington retired for personal and political reasons, dismayed with personal attacks, and to ensure that a truly contested presidential election could be held. He did not feel bound to a two-term limit, but his retirement set a significant precedent.

Farewell Address

Main article: George Washington's Farewell Address

Washington's Farewell Address, published by the American Daily Advertiser on September 19, 1796

In May 1792, in anticipation of his retirement, Washington instructed James Madison to prepare a "valedictory address", an initial draft of which was entitled the "Farewell Address". In May 1796, Washington sent the manuscript to Alexander Hamilton, who did an extensive rewrite, while Washington provided final edits. On September 19, 1796, David Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser published the final version.

Washington stressed that national identity was paramount, as a united America would safeguard freedom and prosperity. He warned the nation of three eminent dangers: regionalism, partisanship, and foreign entanglements, and said the "name of AMERICAN... must always exalt the just pride of patriotism". Washington warned against foreign alliances and their influence in domestic affairs, and bitter partisanship and the dangers of political parties. He counseled friendship and commerce with all nations, but advised against involvement in European wars. He stressed the importance of religion, asserting that "religion and morality are indispensable supports" in a republic.

He closed the address by reflecting on his legacy:

Though in reviewing the incidents of my Administration I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that my country will never cease to view them with indulgence, and that, after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest.

After initial publication, many Republicans, including Madison, criticized the Address and described it as an anti-French campaign document, with Madison believing that Washington was strongly pro-British. In 1839, Washington biographer Jared Sparks maintained that Washington's "Farewell Address was printed and published with the laws, by order of the legislatures, as an evidence of the value they attached to its political precepts, and of their affection for its author." In 1972, Washington scholar James Flexner referred to the Farewell Address as receiving as much acclaim as Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence and Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. In 2010, historian Ron Chernow called the "Farewell Address" one of the most influential statements on republicanism.

Post-presidency (1797–1799)

Further information: Post-presidency of George Washington

Retirement

The Lansdowne portrait (1796)

Washington retired to Mount Vernon in March 1797 and devoted time to his plantations and other business interests. His plantation operations were only minimally profitable, and his lands in the west (Piedmont) yielded little income; he attempted to sell these but without success. He became an even more committed Federalist. He vocally supported the Alien and Sedition Acts and convinced Federalist John Marshall to run for Congress to weaken the Jeffersonian hold on Virginia.

Washington grew restless in retirement, prompted by tensions with France; in a continuation of the French Revolutionary Wars, French privateers began seizing American ships in 1798, and relations deteriorated with France and led to the "Quasi-War". Washington wrote to Secretary of War James McHenry offering to organize President Adams' army. Adams nominated him for a lieutenant general commission on July 4, 1798, and the position of commander-in-chief of the armies. Washington served as the commanding general from July 13, 1798, until his death 17 months later. He participated in planning for a provisional army, but avoided involvement in details. In advising McHenry of potential officers, he appeared to reinforce his break with Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans: "you could as soon scrub the blackamoor white, as to change the principles of a profest Democrat; and that he will leave nothing unattempted to overturn the government of this country." Washington delegated the active leadership of the army to Hamilton. No army invaded the United States during this period, and Washington did not assume a field command.

Washington was known to be rich because of the well-known "glorified façade of wealth and grandeur" at Mount Vernon, but nearly all his wealth was in the form of land and slaves rather than ready cash. To supplement his income, he erected a distillery for whiskey production. He bought land parcels to spur development around the new Federal City named in his honor, and he sold individual lots to middle-income investors rather than multiple lots to large investors, believing they would more likely commit to making improvements. At the time of his death, his estate was worth an estimated $780,000 in 1799, equivalent to $14.29 million in 2023. Washington's peak net worth was $587 million, including 300 slaves. Washington held title to more than 65,000 acres of land in 37 different locations.

Death and burial

Washington on his Deathbed, an 1851 portrait by Junius Brutus Stearns

See also: Finances of George Washington

On December 12, 1799, Washington inspected his farms on horseback in inclement weather. He returned home late and had guests for dinner, sitting down for the meal without changing his damp clothes. He had a sore throat the next day but was well enough to mark trees for cutting. That evening, Washington complained of chest congestion. The next morning, however, he awoke to an inflamed throat and difficulty breathing. He ordered estate overseer George Rawlins to remove nearly a pint of his blood (bloodletting was a common practice of the time). His family summoned doctors James Craik, Gustavus Richard Brown, and Elisha C. Dick. A fourth doctor, William Thornton, arrived some hours after Washington died. Brown initially believed Washington had quinsy; Dick thought the condition was a more serious "violent inflammation of the throat". They continued the process of bloodletting to approximately five pints, but Washington's condition deteriorated further. Dick proposed a tracheotomy, but the other physicians were not familiar with that procedure and disapproved. Washington instructed Brown and Dick to leave the room, while he assured Craik, "Doctor, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go."

Washington's death came more swiftly than expected. On his deathbed, out of fear of being entombed alive, he instructed his private secretary Tobias Lear to wait three days before his burial. According to Lear, Washington died between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on December 14, 1799, with Martha seated at the foot of his bed. His last words were "'Tis well", from his conversation with Lear about his burial.

The diagnosis of Washington's illness and the immediate cause of his death have been subjects of debate since his death. The published account of doctors Craik and Brown stated that his symptoms were consistent with "cynanche trachealis", a term then used to describe severe inflammation of the upper windpipe, including quinsy. Accusations have persisted since Washington's death concerning medical malpractice. Modern medical authors largely have concluded that he likely died from severe epiglottitis complicated by the treatments, including multiple doses of calomel, a purgative, and extensive bloodletting which likely caused hypovolemic shock.

Congress immediately adjourned for the day upon news of Washington's death, and the Speaker's chair was shrouded in black the next morning. Hamilton wrote about his death: "If virtue can secure happiness in another world, he is happy." The funeral was held four days after his death on December 18, 1799, at Mount Vernon, where his body was interred. Cavalry and foot soldiers led the procession, and six colonels served as the pallbearers. The Mount Vernon funeral service was restricted mostly to family and friends. Reverend Thomas Davis read the funeral service by the vault with a brief address, followed by a ceremony performed by members of Washington's Masonic lodge in Alexandria, Virginia. Word of his death traveled slowly, but as it reached other regions of the nation, church bells rang in the cities and many businesses closed. Memorial processions were held in major cities of the United States. Martha wore a black mourning cape for one year, and she burned her correspondence with Washington to protect its privacy, though five letters between the couple are known to have survived.

The sarcophagi of George (right) and Martha Washington at the entrance to their tomb in Mount Vernon

Washington was buried in the Washington family vault at Mount Vernon. In 1830, a disgruntled ex-employee of the estate attempted to steal what he thought was Washington's skull, prompting the construction of a more secure vault. In his will, Washington had left instructions for the construction of a new vault as the old family vault was crumbling and needed repair even before his death. A new vault was constructed at Mount Vernon the following year to receive the remains of George and Martha and other relatives. In 1832, a joint Congressional committee debated moving his body from Mount Vernon to a crypt in the United States Capitol. The crypt had been built by architect Charles Bulfinch in the 1820s during the reconstruction after the Burning of Washington in the War of 1812. Southern opposition was intense, antagonized by an ever-growing rift between North and South; many were concerned that Washington's remains could end up on "a shore foreign to his native soil" if the country became divided, and Washington's remains stayed in Mount Vernon. On October 7, 1837, Washington's remains, still in the original lead coffin, were placed within a marble sarcophagus designed by William Strickland and constructed by John Struthers. The sarcophagus was sealed and encased with planks, and an outer vault was constructed around it. The outer vault has the sarcophagi of both George and Martha Washington; the inner vault has the remains of other Washington relatives.

Philosophy and views

Slavery

Main article: George Washington and slavery

Further information: Slavery in the colonial United States, Slavery in the United States, and Abolitionism in the United States

Washington the Farmer at Mount Vernon, an 1851 portrait by Junius Brutus Stearns

Washington owned slaves and there were conflicts in his position concerning his slaves throughout his life. During Washington's lifetime over 577 slaves lived and worked at Mount Vernon. He inherited some, gained control of 84 dower slaves upon his marriage to Martha, and purchased at least 71 slaves between 1752 and 1773. From 1786, he rented slaves; at the time of his death he was renting 41.

Slavery was deeply ingrained in the economic and social fabric of the Colony of Virginia. Prior to the Revolutionary War, Washington's view on slavery was the same as most Virginia planters of the time. Beginning in the 1760s, however, Washington gradually grew to oppose it. His first doubts were prompted by his transition from tobacco to grain crops, which left him with a costly surplus of slaves, causing him to question the system's economic efficiency. In a 1778 letter to Lund Washington, he made clear his desire "to get quit of Negroes". The next year, Washington stated his intention not to separate enslaved families as a result of "a change of masters". His growing disillusionment with the institution was spurred by the principles of the Revolution and revolutionary friends such as Lafayette and Hamilton. Most historians agree the Revolution was central to the evolution of Washington's attitudes on slavery; Kenneth Morgan writes that after 1783, "[Washington] began to express inner tensions about the problem of slavery more frequently, though always in private". As president, he remained publicly silent on the topic of slavery, believing it was a nationally divisive issue that could undermine the union. He gave moral support to a plan proposed by Lafayette to purchase land and free slaves to work on it, but declined to participate in the experiment. Washington privately expressed support for emancipation to prominent Methodists Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury in 1785 but declined to sign their petition. In personal correspondence the next year, he made clear his desire to see the institution of slavery ended by a gradual legislative process, a view that correlated with the mainstream antislavery literature published in the 1780s that Washington possessed.

Runaway advertisement for Ona Judge, enslaved servant in Washington's presidential household

Washington emancipated 123 slaves, one of the few large slave-holding Virginians during the Revolutionary Era to do so. However, he remained dependent on slave labor to work his farms. He significantly reduced his purchases of slaves after the war but continued to acquire them in small numbers. Historian Ron Chernow maintains that overseers were required to warn slaves before resorting to the lash and needed Washington's written permission for whipping, though his extended absences did not always permit this. During his presidency, Washington brought several of his slaves to the federal capital. When the capital moved from New York City to Philadelphia in 1791, the president began rotating his slave household staff periodically between the capital and Mount Vernon. This was done deliberately to circumvent Pennsylvania's Slavery Abolition Act, which stated that any slave who lived there for more than six months was automatically freed. In May 1796, Martha's personal and favorite slave Ona Judge escaped. At Martha's behest, Washington attempted to capture Ona, using a Treasury agent, but failed. In February 1797, Washington's personal slave Hercules Posey escaped from Mount Vernon to the North and was never found. In February 1786, Washington took a census of Mount Vernon and recorded 224 slaves. By 1799, the slave population at Mount Vernon totaled 317, including 143 children. Washington owned 124 slaves, leased 40, and held 153 for his wife's dower interest. Washington supported many slaves who were too young or too old to work, greatly increasing Mount Vernon's slave population and causing the plantation to operate at a loss.

Based on his private papers and on accounts from his contemporaries, Washington slowly developed a cautious sympathy toward abolitionism that eventually ended with his will freeing his long-time valet Billy Lee, and freeing the rest of his personally owned slaves outright upon Martha's death. On January 1, 1801, one year after George Washington's death, Martha Washington signed an order to free his slaves. Many of them, having never strayed far from Mount Vernon, were reluctant to leave; others refused to abandon spouses or children still held as dower slaves by the Custis estate and also stayed with or near Martha. Following Washington's instructions in his will, funds were used to feed and clothe the young, aged, and infirm slaves until the early 1830s.

Religious and spiritual views

Main article: Religious views of George Washington

Washington as a Freemason

Washington was descended from Anglican minister Lawrence Washington, whose troubles with the Church of England may have prompted his heirs to emigrate to America. He was baptized as an infant in April 1732 and was a devoted member of the Anglican Church. He served more than 20 years as a vestryman and churchwarden at Fairfax Parish and Truro Parish in Virginia. He privately prayed and read the Bible daily, and publicly encouraged prayer. He may have taken communion regularly prior to the Revolution, but he did not do so afterwards.

Washington referred to God in American Enlightenment terms, including Providence, the Creator, the Almighty, and the Divine Author. He believed in a divine power who watched over battlefields, influenced the outcome of war, protected his life, and was involved in American politics and specifically the creation of the United States. Historian Ron Chernow has argued that Washington avoided evangelistic Christianity or hellfire-and-brimstone speech along with communion or anything inclined to "flaunt his religiosity", saying that he "never used his religion as a device for partisan purposes or in official undertakings". At the same time, Washington frequently quoted from the Bible or paraphrased it, and often referred to the Anglican Book of Common Prayer.

Washington emphasized religious toleration. He publicly attended services of different Christian denominations and prohibited anti-Catholic celebrations in the Army. He engaged workers at Mount Vernon without regard for religious belief or affiliation. While president, he acknowledged major religious sects and gave speeches on religious toleration. He was distinctly rooted in the ideas, values, and modes of thinking of the Enlightenment, but he harbored no contempt of organized Christianity and its clergy. In 1793, speaking to members of the New Church in Baltimore, Washington said, "We have abundant reason to rejoice that in this Land the light of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry and superstition."

Freemasonry was a widely accepted institution in the late 18th century, known for advocating moral teachings. Washington was attracted to the Masons' dedication to the Enlightenment principles of rationality, reason, and brotherhood. American Masonic lodges did not share the anti-clerical views of the controversial European lodges. A Masonic lodge was established in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in September 1752, and Washington was initiated two months later at the age of 20 as one of its first Entered Apprentices. Within a year, he progressed through its ranks to become a Master Mason. Washington had high regard for the Masonic Order, but his lodge attendance was sporadic. In 1777, a convention of Virginia lodges asked him to be Grand Master of the newly established Grand Lodge of Virginia, but he declined due to his commitments leading the Continental Army. After 1782, he frequently corresponded with Masonic lodges and members, and served as charter Master of Alexandria Masonic lodge No. 22 in 1788–89.

Personal life

Washington's 1751 bout with smallpox is thought to have rendered him sterile, though it is equally likely that Martha "sustained injury during the birth of Patsy, her final child, making additional births impossible." The couple lamented not having any children together. The two raised Martha's children John Parke Custis (Jacky) and Martha Parke Custis (Patsy), and later Jacky's two youngest children Eleanor Parke Custis (Nelly) and George Washington Parke Custis (Washy), along with numerous nieces and nephews. Some descendants of West Ford, a slave of John Augustine Washington's, maintain (based on family oral history) that Ford was fathered by George Washington, though historians dispute his paternity.

Washington was somewhat reserved in personality, but was known for having a strong presence. He made speeches and announcements when required, but he was not a noted orator nor debater. He was taller than most of his contemporaries; accounts of his height vary from 6 ft (1.83 m) to 6 ft 3.5 in (1.92 m). He was known for his great strength. He had grey-blue eyes and long reddish-brown hair. He did not wear a powdered wig; instead he wore his hair curled, powdered, and tied in a queue in the fashion of the day.

Though generally in good physical condition throughout his life, Washington suffered from severe tooth decay and ultimately lost all his teeth but one. He had several sets of false teeth during his presidency. Contrary to common lore, these were not made of wood, but of metal, ivory, bone, animal teeth, and human teeth possibly obtained from slaves. His dental problems left him in constant pain, which he treated with laudanum.

Washington was a talented equestrian. Thomas Jefferson described him as "the best horseman of his age". He collected thoroughbreds at Mount Vernon; his two favorite horses were Blueskin and Nelson. He enjoyed hunting. He was an excellent dancer and frequently attended the theater. He drank alcohol in moderation but was morally opposed to excessive drinking, smoking tobacco, gambling, and profanity.

Legacy

Further information: Legacy of George Washington and Historical rankings of presidents of the United States

See also: Cultural depictions of George Washington

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Washington is one of the most influential figures in American history since he served as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, a hero of the Revolution, and the first president of the United States. Various historians maintain that he also was a dominant factor in America's founding. Revolutionary War comrade Henry Lee eulogized him as "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen". He set many precedents for the national government and the presidency in particular, and he was called the "Father of His Country" as early as 1778. Polls have consistently placed Washington among the highest-ranked of presidents.

Washington became an international symbol for liberation and nationalism as the leader of the first successful revolution against a colonial empire. He was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences on January 31, 1781. In 1879, Congress proclaimed Washington's Birthday to be a federal holiday. In 1976, he was posthumously appointed General of the Armies of the United States during the American Bicentennial. President Gerald Ford stated that Washington would "rank first among all officers of the Army, past and present". On March 13, 1978, Washington was militarily promoted to the rank of General of the Armies.

In 1809, Mason Locke Weems wrote a hagiographic biography to honor Washington. Historian Ron Chernow maintains that Weems attempted to humanize Washington, making him look less stern, and to inspire "patriotism and morality" and to foster "enduring myths", such as Washington's refusal to lie about damaging his father's cherry tree. Weems' accounts have never been proven or disproven. Historian John Ferling, however, maintains that Washington remains the only founder and president ever to be referred to as "godlike", and points out that his character has been the most scrutinized by historians. Biographer Douglas Southall Freeman concluded, "The great big thing stamped across that man is character." Expanding on Freeman's assessment, historian David Hackett Fischer defined Washington's character as "integrity, self-discipline, courage, absolute honesty, resolve, and decision, but also forbearance, decency, and respect for others".

In the 21st century, Washington's reputation has been critically scrutinized. Ron Chernow describes Washington as always trying to be even-handed in dealing with Indigenous peoples, hoping they would abandon their itinerant hunting life and adapt to fixed agricultural communities in the manner of white settlers. He also maintains that Washington never advocated outright confiscation of tribal land or the forcible removal of tribes. By contrast, Colin G. Calloway wrote that, "Washington had a lifelong obsession with getting Indian land, either for himself or for his nation, and initiated policies and campaigns that had devastating effects in Indian country." He stated:

The growth of the nation demanded the dispossession of Indian people. Washington hoped the process could be bloodless and that Indian people would give up their lands for a "fair" price and move away. But if Indians refused and resisted, as they often did, he felt he had no choice but to "extirpate" them and that the expeditions he sent to destroy Indian towns were therefore entirely justified.

Along with other Founding Fathers, Washington has been condemned for holding enslaved people. Though he expressed the desire to see the abolition of slavery come through legislation, he did not initiate or support any initiatives for bringing about its end. This has led to calls from some activists to remove his name from public buildings and his statue from public spaces.

Namesakes and monuments

Further information: List of memorials to George Washington and List of statues of George Washington

The Washington Monument

Many places and monuments have been named in honor of Washington, most notably the capital city of Washington, D.C. and the state of Washington. On February 21, 1885, the Washington Monument was dedicated, a 555-foot (169 m) marble obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Washington appears as one of four U.S. presidents on the Shrine of Democracy, a colossal statue by Gutzon Borglum on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. The George Washington Bridge was designed by chief civil engineer Othmar Ammann and provides a major link between New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. A number of secondary schools and universities are named in honor of Washington, including George Washington University and Washington University in St. Louis.

Washington appears on contemporary U.S. currency, including the one-dollar bill, the Presidential one-dollar coin and the quarter-dollar coin (the Washington quarter). Washington and Benjamin Franklin appeared on the nation's first postage stamps in 1847. Washington has since appeared on many postage issues, more than any other person.

Washington issue of 1862

Washington–Franklin issue of 1917

Washington quarter dollar

Washington Presidential one-dollar coin

Washington on the 2009 dollar bill

See also

Further information: List of George Washington articles

• Electoral history of George Washington
• The Washington Papers

Sources

For a selected list of published works treating Washington, see Bibliography of George Washington.

Books

• Adams, Randolph Greenfield (1928). "Arnold, Benedict". In Johnson, Allen (ed.). Dictionary of American Biography. Scribner.
• Akers, Charles W. (2002). "John Adams". In Graff, Henry (ed.). The Presidents: A Reference History (3rd ed.). Scribner. pp. 23–38. ISBN 978-0684312262.
• Alden, John R. (1996). George Washington: A Biography. Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 978-0807121269.
• Anderson, Fred (2007). Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754–1766. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0307425393.
• Avlon, John (2017). Washington's Farewell: The Founding Father's Warning to Future Generations. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1476746463.

• Banning, Lance (1974). Woodward, C. Vann (ed.). Responses of the Presidents to Charges of Misconduct. Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0440059233.
• Bassett, John Spencer (1906). The Federalist System, 1789–1801. Harper & Brothers.
• Bell, William Gardner (1992) [1983]. Commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff, 1775–2005: Portraits & Biographical Sketches of the United States Army's Senior Officer. Center of Military History, United States Army. ISBN 978-0160359125.
• Boller, Paul F. (1963). George Washington & Religion. Southern Methodist University Press.
• Boorstin, Daniel J. (2010). The Americans: The National Experience. Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0307756473.
• Bordewich, Fergus M. (2016). The First Congress. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-45169193-1.
• Brumwell, Stephen (2012). George Washington: Gentleman Warrior. Quercus Publishers. ISBN 978-1849165464.

• Calloway, Colin G. (2018). The Indian World of George Washington: The First President, the First Americans, and the Birth of the Nation. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0190652166.
• Carlson, Brady (2016). Dead Presidents: An American Adventure into the Strange Deaths and Surprising Afterlives of Our Nations Leaders. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0393243949.
• Chernow, Ron (2005). Alexander Hamilton. Penguin Press. ISBN 978-1-101-20085-8.
• —— (2010). Washington: A Life. Penguin Press. ISBN 978-1594202667.
• Coakley, Robert W. (1996) [1989]. The Role of Federal Military Forces in Domestic Disorders, 1789–1878. Diane Publishing. pp. 43–49. ISBN 978-0788128189.
• Coe, Alexis (2020). You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington. Viking Press. ISBN 978-0735224100.
• Cooke, Jacob E. (2002). "George Washington". In Graff, Henry (ed.). The Presidents: A Reference History (3rd ed.). Scribner. pp. 1–21. ISBN 978-0684312262.
• Craughwell, Thomas J. (2009). Stealing Lincoln's Body. Harvard University Press. pp. 77–79. ISBN 978-0674024588.
• Cresswell, Julia, ed. (2010). Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199547937.
• Cunliffe, Marcus (1958). George Washington: Man and Monument. Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0316164344.

• Dalzell, Robert F. Jr.; Dalzell, Lee Baldwin (1998). George Washington's Mount Vernon: At Home in Revolutionary America. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195121148.
• Davis, Burke (1975). George Washington and the American Revolution. Random House. ISBN 978-0394463889.

• Elkins, Stanley M.; McKitrick, Eric (1995) [1993]. The Age of Federalism. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195093810.

• Ellis, Joseph J. (2004). His Excellency: George Washington. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-1400040315.
• —— (2000). Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0375705243.
• Ellis, Richard J. (1999). Founding the American Presidency. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-8476-9499-0.
• Farner, Thomas P. (1996). New Jersey in History: Fighting to Be Heard. Down the Shore Publishing. ISBN 978-0945582380.
• Ferling, John E. (1988). The First of Men: A Life of George Washington. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199752751.
• —— (2002). Setting the World Ablaze: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and the American Revolution. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195134094.
• —— (2007). Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199758470.
• —— (2009). The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon. Bloomsbury Press. ISBN 978-1608191826.
• —— (2013). Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry That Forged a Nation. Bloomsbury Press. ISBN 978-1608195428.
• Fischer, David Hackett (2004). Washington's Crossing. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195170344.
• Fishman, Ethan M.; Pederson, William D.; Rozell, Mark J. (2001). George Washington: Foundation of Presidential Leadership and Character. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0275968687.
• Fitzpatrick, John C. (1936). "Washington, George". In Malone, Dumas (ed.). Dictionary of American Biography. Vol. 19. Scribner. pp. 509–527.

• Fleming, Thomas (2007). The Perils of Peace: America's Struggle for Survival After Yorktown. Smithsonian. ISBN 978-0061139109.

• Flexner, James Thomas (1965). George Washington: the Forge of Experience, (1732–1775). Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0316285971.
• —— (1967). George Washington in the American Revolution, 1775–1783. Little, Brown.
• —— (1969). George Washington and the New Nation (1783–1793). Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0316286008.
• —— (1972). George Washington: Anguish and Farewell (1793–1799). Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0316286022.
• —— (1974). Washington: The Indispensable Man. Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0316286053.
• —— (1991). The Traitor and the Spy: Benedict Arnold and John André. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0815602637.
• Frazer, Gregg L. (2012). The Religious Beliefs of America's Founders Reason, Revelation, and Revolution. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0700618453.
• Ford, Worthington Chauncey; Hunt, Gaillard; Fitzpatrick, John Clement (1904). Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789: 1774. Vol. 1. U.S. Government Printing Office.
• Freedman, Russell (2008). Washington at Valley Forge. Holiday House. ISBN 978-0823420698.
• Freeman, Douglas Southall (1968). Harwell, Richard Barksdale (ed.). Washington. Scribner.
• —— (1952). George Washington: Victory with the help of France, Volume 5. Eyre and Spottiswoode.

• Gaff, Alan D. (2004). Bayonets in the Wilderness: Anthony Wayne's Legion in the Old Northwest. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0806135854.
• Genovese, Michael A. (2009). Kazin, Michael (ed.). The Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History, Vols. I & II. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1400833566.
• Gregg, Gary L.; Spalding, Matthew, eds. (1999). Patriot Sage: George Washington and the American Political Tradition. ISI Books. ISBN 978-1882926381.
• Grizzard, Frank E. Jr. (2002). George Washington: A Biographical Companion. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1576070826.
• —— (2005). George!: A Guide to All Things Washington. Mariner Pub. ISBN 978-0976823889.

• Hayes, Kevin J. (2017). George Washington, A Life in Books. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0190456672.
• Henderson, Donald (2009). Smallpox: The Death of a Disease. Prometheus Books. ISBN 978-1591027225.
• Henriques, Peter R. (2006). Realistic Visionary: A Portrait of George Washington. University Press of Virginia. ISBN 978-0813927411.
• —— (2020). First and Always: A New Portrait of George Washington. University of Virginia Press. ISBN 978-0813944807.
• Higginbotham, Don (2001). George Washington Reconsidered. University Press of Virginia. ISBN 978-0813920054.
• Hindle, Brooke (2017) [1964]. David Rittenhouse. Princeton University Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-1400886784.
• Hirschfeld, Fritz (1997). George Washington and Slavery: A Documentary Portrayal. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 978-0826211354.

• Isaacson, Walter (2003). Benjamin Franklin, an American Life. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0743260848.
• Irving, Washington (1857). The Life of George Washington, Vol. 5. G. P. Putnam and Son.

• Jensen, Merrill (1948). The Articles of Confederation: An Interpretation of the Social-Constitutional History of the American Revolution, 1774–1781. University of Wisconsin Press.
• Jillson, Calvin C.; Wilson, Rick K. (1994). Congressional Dynamics: Structure, Coordination, and Choice in the First American Congress, 1774–1789. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0804722933.
• Johnstone, William (1919). George Washington, The Christian. The Abingdon Press.

• Ketchum, Richard M. (1999) [1973]. The Winter Soldiers: The Battles for Trenton and Princeton. Henry Holt. ISBN 978-0805060980.
• —— (1975). Eagle and Sword: The Federalists and the Creation of the Military Establishment in America, 1783–1802. Free Press. pp. 225–242. ISBN 978-0029175514.

• Lancaster, Bruce; Plumb, John H. (1985). The American Revolution. American Heritage Press. ISBN 978-0828102810.
• Lear, Tobias (1799). "Tobias Lear to William Augustine Washington". In Ford, Worthington Chauncey (ed.). The Writings of George Washington. Vol. 14. G. Putnam & Sons (published 1893). pp. 257–258.
• Lengel, Edward G. (2005). General George Washington: A Military Life. Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6081-8.
• Levy, Philip (2013). Where the Cherry Tree Grew: The Story of Ferry Farm, George Washington's Boyhood Home. Macmillan. ISBN 978-1250023148.
• Lightner, Otto C.; Reeder, Pearl Ann, eds. (1953). Hobbies, Volume 58. Lightner Publishing Company. p. 133.

• Mann, Barbara Alice (2008). George Washington's War on Native America. University of Nevada Press. ISBN 978-0803216358. Archived from the original on July 25, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
• McCullough, David (2005). 1776. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0743226714.
• Middlekauff, Robert (2015). Washington's Revolution: The Making of America's First Leader. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1101874240.
• Morrison, Jeffery H. (2009). The Political Philosophy of George Washington. JHU Press. ISBN 978-0801891090.
• Murray, Robert K.; Blessing, Tim H. (1994). Greatness in the White House: Rating the Presidents, from Washington Through Ronald Reagan (2nd, updated ed.). Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 978-0271010892.
• Nagy, John A. (2016). George Washington's Secret Spy War: The Making of America's First Spymaster. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-1250096821.
• Novak, Michael; Novak, Jana (2007). Washington's God: Religion, Liberty, and The Father of Our Country. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-05126-7.
• Nowlan, Robert A. (2014). The American Presidents, Washington to Tyler What They Did, What They Said, What Was Said About Them, with Full Source Notes. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476601182.

• Palmer, Dave Richard (2010). George Washington and Benedict Arnold: A Tale of Two Patriots. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1596981645.
• Parry, Jay A.; Allison, Andrew M. (1991). The Real George Washington: The True Story of America's Most Indispensable Man. National Center for Constitutional Studies. ISBN 978-0880800136.
• Parsons, Eugene (1898). George Washington: A Character Sketch. H. G. Campbell publishing Company.
• Philbrick, Nathaniel (2016). Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0143110194.
• Puls, Mark (2008). Henry Knox: Visionary General of the American Revolution. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0230611429.

• Randall, Willard Sterne (1997). George Washington: A Life. Henry Holt & Co. ISBN 978-0805027792.
• Randall, Willard Sterne (1990). Benedict Arnold: Patriot and Traitor. New York : Barnes & Noble. ISBN 978-0-7607-1272-6.
• Randall, Willard Sterne (2000). Alexander Hamilton: A Life. Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0060195496.
• Rasmussen, William M. S.; Tilton, Robert S. (1999). George Washington: The Man Behind the Myths. University Press of Virginia. ISBN 978-0813919003.
• Rose, Alexander (2006). Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0553804218.

• Schwarz, Philip J., ed. (2001). Slavery at the home of George Washington. Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. ISBN 978-0931917387.
• Spalding, Matthew; Garrity, Patrick J. (1996). A Sacred Union of Citizens: George Washington's Farewell Address and the American Character. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. ISBN 978-0847682621.
• Sparks, Jared (1839). The Life of George Washington. F. Andrews.
• Sobel, Robert (1968). Panic on Wall Street: A History of America's Financial Disasters. Beard Books. ISBN 978-1-8931-2246-8.
• Smith, Justin H (1907). Our Struggle for the Fourteenth Colony, vol 1. G.P. Putnam's Sons.
• Smith, Justin H. (1907). Our Struggle for the Fourteenth Colony, vol 2. G.P. Putnam's Sons.
• Stavish, Mark (2007). Freemasonry: Rituals, Symbols & History of the Secret Society. Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 978-0738711485.
• Strickland, William (1840). The Tomb of Washington at Mount Vernon. Carey & Hart.
• Subak, Susan (2018). The Five-Ton Life. Our Sustainable Future. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803296886.

• Taylor, Alan (2016). American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750–1804. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0393354768.
• Thompson, Mary (2008). In The Hands of a Good Providence. University Press of Virginia. p. 40. ISBN 978-0813927633. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
• Twohig, Dorothy (2001). ""That Species of Property": Washington's Role in the Controversy over Slavery". In Higginbotham, Don (ed.). George Washington Reconsidered. University Press of Virginia. pp. 114–138. ISBN 978-0813920054. Archived from the original on November 19, 2019. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
• Unger, Harlow Giles (2013). "Mr. President": George Washington and the Making of the Nation's Highest Office. Da Capo Press, A Member of the Perseus Book Group. ISBN 978-0306822414.
• Van Doren, Carl (1941). Secret History of the American Revolution: An Account of the Conspiracies of Benedict Arnold and Numerous Others Drawn from the Secret Service. Garden City Pub. Co.

• Waldman, Carl; Braun, Molly (2009). Atlas of the North American Indian (3 ed.). Facts On File, Inc. ISBN 978-0816068593.
• Washington, George (1888). Joseph M. Toner (ed.). Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation. W. H. Morrison.
• Weems, Mason Locke (1918). A History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits of General George Washington, with Curious Anecdotes, Equally Honourable to Himself and Exemplary to His Young Countrymen. J.B. Lippincott.
• Wiencek, Henry (2003). An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0374175269.
• Willcox, William B.; Arnstein, Walter L. (1988). The Age of Aristocracy 1688 to 1830 (Fifth ed.). D.C. Heath and Company. ISBN 978-0669134230.
• Wood, Gordon S. (1992). The Radicalism of the American Revolution. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0679404934.
• —— (2001). Higginbotham, Don (ed.). George Washington Reconsidered. University Press of Virginia. ISBN 978-0813920054.
• Wulf, Andrea (2012). Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0307390684.

Journals

• Breen, Eleanor E.; White, Esther C. (2006). "A Pretty Considerable Distillery: Excavating George Washington's Whiskey Distillery" (PDF). Quarterly Bulletin of the Archeological Society of Virginia. 61 (4): 209–20. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 24, 2011.
• Cheatham, Michael L. (2008). "The Death of George Washington: An End to the Controversy?". American Surgery. 74 (8): 770–774. doi:10.1177/000313480807400821. PMID 18705585. S2CID 31457820.
• Estes, Todd (2000). "Shaping the Politics of Public Opinion: Federalists and the Jay Treaty Debate". Journal of the Early Republic. 20 (3): 393–422. doi:10.2307/3125063. JSTOR 3125063.
• —— (2001). "The Art of Presidential Leadership: George Washington and the Jay Treaty". The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. 109 (2): 127–158. JSTOR 4249911.
• Furstenberg, François (2011). "Atlantic Slavery, Atlantic Freedom: George Washington, Slavery, and Transatlantic Abolitionist Networks". The William and Mary Quarterly. 68 (2). Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture: 247–286. doi:10.5309/willmaryquar.68.2.0247. JSTOR 10.5309/willmaryquar.68.2.0247.

• Gardner, Andrew G. (2013). "How Did Washington Make His Millions?". CW Journal. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
• Heydt, Bruce (2005). "'Vexatious Evils': George Washington and the Conway Cabal". American History. 40 (5): 50–73.

• Kohn, Richard H. (1970). "The Inside History of the Newburgh Conspiracy: America and the Coup d'Etat". The William and Mary Quarterly. 27 (2): 187–220. doi:10.2307/1918650. JSTOR 1918650.
• —— (1972). "The Washington Administration's Decision to Crush the Whiskey Rebellion" (PDF). The Journal of American History. 59 (3): 567–584. doi:10.2307/1900658. JSTOR 1900658. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015.
• Morens, David M. (1999). "Death of a President". New England Journal of Medicine. 341 (24): 1845–1849. doi:10.1056/NEJM199912093412413. PMID 10588974.
• Morgan, Kenneth (2000). "George Washington and the Problem of Slavery". Journal of American Studies. 34 (2): 279–301. doi:10.1017/S0021875899006398. JSTOR 27556810. S2CID 145717616.
• Morgan, Philip D. (2005). ""To Get Quit of Negroes": George Washington and Slavery". Journal of American Studies. 39 (3). Cambridge University Press: 403–429. doi:10.1017/S0021875805000599. JSTOR 27557691. S2CID 145143979.
• Newton, R.S.; Freeman, Z.; Bickley, G., eds. (1858). "Heroic Treatment—Illness and Death of George Washington". The Eclectic Medical Journal. 1717: 273.

• Peabody, Bruce G. (2001). "George Washington, Presidential Term Limits, and the Problem of Reluctant Political Leadership". Presidential Studies Quarterly. 31 (3): 439–453. doi:10.1111/j.0360-4918.2001.00180.x. JSTOR 27552322.
• Riley, Edward M. (1948). "St. George Tucker's Journal of the Siege of Yorktown, 1781". The William and Mary Quarterly. 5 (3): 375–395. doi:10.2307/1923466. JSTOR 1923466.
• Vadakan, Vibul V. (Winter–Spring 2005). "A Physician Looks At The Death of Washington". The Early America Review. 6 (1). ISSN 1090-4247. Archived from the original on December 16, 2005.
• Urwin, Gregory J. W. (October 19, 2021). "The Yorktown Tragedy: Washington's Slave Roundup". The Journal of the American Revolution. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2024.

External links

• George Washington's Mount Vernon
• The Papers of George Washington, subset of Founders Online from the National Archives
• Works by George Washington at Project Gutenberg
• In Our Time: Washington & the American Revolution, BBC Radio 4 discussion with Carol Berkin, Simon Middleton, & Colin Bonwick (June 24, 2004)
• Great Lives: George Washington, BBC Radio 4 discussion with Matthew Parris, Michael Rose, & Frank Grizzard (October 21, 2016)
• George Washington on C-SPAN
• Scholarly coverage of Washington at the Miller Center, University of Virginia