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 firstpresident
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, andWashington
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 ofrepresentatives, 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 Generaland 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 theBritish 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 firstpresident
of the united states of america. He is the onlypresident
in history to be unanimously elected, which means that everyone voted for him. When his first four yearterm 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 thepresident
instead of him.George
Washington
was so well liked that he probably could have been thepresident
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 thatPresident
s after him would step down when their turn was over, he set the example and went home to mountVernon 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 inWashington
DC, the capital city that was named for him, and we celebrate his birthday everyFebruary. 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