Biography of George Washington for Kids: Meet the American President - FreeSchool

You're watching FreeSchool! Today we're going to learn about the

American

president

,

George

Washington

.

George

Washington

, the first

president

of the united states, was born February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was homeschooled until he was 16, when he left home to become a surveyor. A surveyor is someone who maps and inspects land.

Washington

was a talented cartographer, making dozens of maps in his lifetime. When he was 20, his older brother died, and

Washington

inherited his family's estate at Mt. Vernon. At age 22, he became a major in the militia. By age 23, he was promoted to colonel, and was in command of all the soldiers in Virginia. At this time,

George

Washington

and his men were fighting on the same side as the British in the French and Indian war. In 1758,

Washington

left the militia and went home to Mt. Vernon. He got married, and was elected to Virginia's house of Burgesses. The house of Burgesses was a government body of

representatives, similar to modern-day congress. During this time, the relationship between Great Britain and the

American

colonies began to be strained. The British had lost a lot of money in the French and Indian war, and they wanted to get some of it back. Unfortunately, they did this by creating new, heavy taxes that the colonists had to pay, and they did it without giving the colonists any say in the matter. When the revolutionary war started in 1775,

George

Washington

was appointed General

and Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. The British Army had more soldiers and more supplies than

Washington

, but he didn't give up! One famous battle he fought was the battle of Trenton.

Washington

took his troops across the icy Delaware river to surprise Hessian soldiers who were stationed there. The sneak attack allowed him to capture over 1,000 soldiers without much trouble. Another important victory in the Revolutionary war was at Yorktown.

Washington

and his men defeated the

British and they were forced to surrender. It was fought in 1781, and was the last major battle of the war. The

American

colonists had won. It took a few years for the newly freed colonies to create a strong government, but in 1787 the constitution was created. On April 30th, 1789,

George

Washington

was sworn in as the first

president

of the united states of america. He is the only

president

in history to be unanimously elected, which means that everyone voted for him. When his first four year

term as

President

was up, voters elected him again. In fact, he was so popular that he ran unopposed, which means that no one tried to be the

president

instead of him.

George

Washington

was so well liked that he probably could have been the

president

until he died, but he didn't want America to have a leader like a king, who was in charge for their whole life. To help make sure that

President

s after him would step down when their turn was over, he set the example and went home to mount

Vernon in 1797. On December 14, 1799,

George

Washington

died at the age of 67. He was buried on his estate at Mt. Vernon, where his body remains to this day.

George

Washington

left a lasting legacy. He is often called the 'father of our country' because he played such an important part in the founding of the united states. His picture is on dollar bills and quarters, a monument to him stands in

Washington

DC, the capital city that was named for him, and we celebrate his birthday every

February. More than 200 years after his death, he is still remembered as was written of him: "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." I hope you enjoyed learning about the

American

President

,

George

Washington

. Goodbye till next time!