George Washington
Westmoreland, 1732 — Mount Vernon, 1799
1. The Commander of Independence
A Virginia landowner and soldier with experience in the French and Indian War, Washington was appointed commander in chief of the newly created Continental Army by the Second Continental Congress in 1775, when the War of Independence against Great Britain broke out.
Despite numerous initial defeats, his consistent leadership through the harsh winters of Valley Forge and his decisive victory at Yorktown (1781), with French support, sealed American independence in 1783.
2. The First President
Unanimously elected as the first president under the new Constitution, Washington established numerous institutional precedents that endure today: the advisory cabinet, the informal two-term limit, and the tradition of the farewell address.
He voluntarily relinquished power in 1797, an exceptional gesture at the time that strengthened the young nation's republican character in contrast to European monarchical models.
3. Numismatic Legacy
Washington's portrait is the most reproduced in the history of American paper money: it appears on theOne Dollar, Red Seal (1928)from this collection, as well as on the current one dollar bill from 1869 to the present.
Notes
Biography based on standard historical sources about the American Revolutionary War and the presidency of George Washington.