George Washington hard losses in Pennsylvania Yet even after these defeats and spending a brutal winter in Valley Forge Washington was able to rally his troops to defeat the British at Yorktown which was the final battle of the conflict In peacetime following the conclusion of the war Washington was chosen to preside over the Constitutional Convention which drafted the new nation’s abiding set of laws and rules the U S Constitution Writing the Constitution was a process that involved many arguments and debates and required a lot of compromise As head of the conven tion Washington was charged with making sure that discussions didn’t get out of hand and leading all parties to the successful com pletion of their task The fate of the new nation depended on it Once the Constitution was completed all eyes immediately turned to Washington to serve as the first president of the United States and he was unanimously elected to the office Under his political leadership the country added more states to the Union established a federal financial system and adopted the Bill of Rights Washington set the tone for U S foreign relations when he issued the Proclamation of Neutrality in 1793 8
Introduction and showed great diplomacy when settling boundary disputes with Britain and Spain in the years that followed In addition to having fame and power Washington also was a common man Citizens of the United States could relate to him He was a family man with a wife and stepchildren A successful landowner and farmer Washington frequently got his own hands dirty working in the fields and in his orchards He was popular with his neighbors His home at Mount Vernon was the site of many parties and social gatherings Washington was well-known for being a military and political leader He was also a working man and a gracious host These traits have combined to make Washington a beloved figure in his time and for all time 9
Chapter 1 Early Life Early Life Early Life and Career and Career and Career and Career and Career and Career G eorge Washington occupies a pre eminent place among the heroes of American history As a military leader he guided the colonial forces to victory against Great Britain in the American Revolution After the war he was a delegate to and presiding offi cer of the Constitutional Convention and helped secure ratifi cation of the United States Constitution When the state electors met to select the fi rst president Washington was the unanimous choice and in his eight years as president 1789 97 he did much to establish a strong central government Before becoming the Father of His Country as he is often called Washington was a young boy growing up on plantations and a farm in Virginia 10
Early Life and Career 1657 Childhood and Youth In John Washington George Washington’s great-grandfather came to Virginia from England John obtained a grant of 150 acres 61 hectares in Westmoreland County on the Potomac River He soon saw a future in the wilderness upriver In 1674 John secured a second grant of 5,000 acres The fi rst president was born at the Wakefi eld estate in Virginia It is now George Washington Birthplace National Monument National Park Service 11
