George Washington's Life

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. His father was a prosperous farmer and his grandparents emigrated from England to Virginia in the 1650s.  Washington did not have formal schooling and started his first job as a surveyor when he was 16 in 1748. He inherited Mount Vernon at age 21 when his Uncle Lawrence died. At the same time Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia sent Washington on a mission to keep the French out o the Ohio Valley. In 1755 he became commander-in-chief of the Virginia forces and led them to victory in the French and Indian War. George Washington married Martha Custis, a young and wealthy widow. They did not have any children, but they had two stepchildren from Washington's wife's first marriage. In 1774 he served as a delegate to the first Continental Congress. He was unanimously elected commander-in-chief of the American forces. He helped write the peace treaty ending the American Revolution that was signed in 1783. George Washington was named president of the Federal Convention in 1783 and in 1789 he was unanimously elected President at age 57. As the first president, he had to decide how to carry out the duties of the executive branch of government. Washington felt this position should be devoid of politics and represent all of the Americans. The first Cabinet was made up of Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State; Edmund Randolf, Attorney General; Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, and Henry Knox, Secretary of War. Washington stayed in office for two terms and declined to serve a third term. He died at his home of a strep infection at his home, Mount Vernon, on December 14, 1799, the end of the eighteenth century. Note: George Washington was President from 1789 through 1797 and the Vice President was John Adams.