250 ANNIVERSARY WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE U S PRESIDENTS AN ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA GUIDE
250 ANNIVERSARY Today the president of the United States is arguably the most powerful elected official in the world The founders of the United States originally intended the presidency to be a narrowly restricted office Newly independent of Great Britain they distrusted executive authority because of their experience with King George III and his governors in the American Colonies Yet from the start the office of the president as defined through the practice of George Washington and his successors was vested with great authority This guide brings together in digest form the best content that’s available from Britannica Each president is described in a profile that identifies in an easy-to-access format when he served what political party he belonged to where he was born who his first lady was and much more Every profile also includes incisive insights into what each president accomplished and how history views him drawn from multiple articles created by Britannica’s content experts Several notable and sometimes unexpected facts also taken from Britannica’s content are part of every profile Links to Britannica articles videos and multimedia will satisfy readers curiosity by enabling them to dive deeper into every aspect of these presidents lives and decide for themselves how well each man rose to the challenge of facing the competing interests and needs of his fellow citizens Together these profiles provide a rich and nuanced history of the United States itself from its founding more than 200 years ago to today in a way that only Britannica can objectively accurately and with authoritative insight and perspective
250 ANNIVERSARY George Washington 1st President of the U S Federalist Party Served 1789-97 Elected 1789 and 1792 State of birth Virginia Courtesy National Gallery of Art Washington D C Gift of Jean McGinley Draper 1954 9 2 SIGNIFICANCE George Washington is known as the Father of His Country for transforming the United States from a British colony into a self-governing nation He was commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution chairman of the convention that wrote the U S Constitution and the first president of the United States He had tremendous influence over the future of not only the office of the presidency but of the United States as a whole The U S capital and a U S state are named for him as are numerous other places from neighborhood parks to cities and counties DID YOU KNOW and coin time George Washington is one of only two presidents whose face appears on a U S bill At 6 feet 2 inches 1 87 meters Washington was much taller than most men of his During his first inauguration Washington wore a brown suit made in the United States At the time of Washington’s death more than 300 enslaved people were living at his estate Mount Vernon He said that he disapproved of slavery and his wife freed them after his death and white stockings and a sword that followed the fashion of European courts FORMER POSTS commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution chairman of the Constitutional Convention VICE PRESIDENT John Adams FIRST LADY Martha Washington
