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George Washington

First President of the United States
Born in 1732 - Died in 1799


George Washington<BR>
George Washington became known as "The Father of Our Country". He is an important person in the history of the United States.

George's great-grandfather came from England and became a landowner in America. He owned more than 5,000 acres of land. George's father, Augustine, settled in Westmoreland County, Virginia. This is where George was born to Augustine and his second wife, Mary Ball. They had five more children after George was born.

He only went to school for 7 or 8 years, and his favorite subject was arithmetic.

His father died when he was 11, and he helped his mother take care of the plantation.* He grew very tall; 6 feet and 2 inches, and he liked to show how far he could throw rocks.

When he was sixteen he went to live with his half brother, Lawrence, who had inherited Mount Vernon from their father. Later on George would inherit the estate from Lawrence since Lawrence did not have any surviving children. George married a widow,* Martha Custis. They never had children of their own, but they raised Martha's two children, John Parke Custis, who was called "Jacky", and Martha "Patsy" Custis. Then after Jacky's death in the war, they adopted two of his children, their grandchildren.

Men came to Philadelphia to meet with the First Continental Congress. Washington thought he would be a good man to be general of the army, so he showed up in a uniform he had designed himself. The men agreed he would be the best person for the job.

The people of America wanted to be free of the rule of England and fought for that freedom.

Washington was a good general. At one time Congress could not pay the soldiers and the soldiers started to rebel. The general spoke to them about the need to keep fighting and he said he himself would accept no pay until the war was won. The soldiers began to cry and there was no talk of mutiny* after that day.

picture2 Washington was always trying to become a better person. He worked to learn how to write neatly so people could read his writing easily. To improve his manners, he copied 110 rules or sayings written by a French priest. One of his favorites was: "When walking with a great man, don't walk right beside him, but somewhat behind. Stay close enough that he may speak easily to you."

The people wanted to make him king, but he thought the country needed a different kind of government. They elected him president in 1789. He received a unanimous* vote by the men who were doing the electing. Every one of them voted for him.

He served for two terms; 8 years, as president. The people wanted him to run for a third term, but he said, "No", and went back to the plantation.

He later returned and became Commander in Chief of the Army.

In 1799 he became ill with a sore throat. The doctors in those days did not know how to treat an illness, and some think their treatment caused his death.

It is said of Washington he was "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen".

This biography by Patsy Stevens, a retired teacher, was written in 2001.


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Activities

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Dictionary

From Word Central's Student Dictionary
by Merriam - Webster

(Pronunciation note: the schwa sound is shown by ə)

original
Function: adjective
1 : relating to or being the origin or beginning
: FIRST EARLIEST

plantation
Pronunciation: plan-'tA-shən
Function: noun
1 : a group of plants and especially trees planted and cared for
2 : a settlement in a new country or region : COLONY
3 : a planted area; especially : an agricultural estate worked by laborers...

widow
Pronunciation: 'wid-O
Function: noun
: a woman who has lost her husband by death

mutiny
Pronunciation: 'myoot-ən-E, 'myoot-nE
Function: noun
: refusal to obey authority; especially : a military outbreak against the officer in charge
synonym see REBELLION - mutiny verb...

unanimous
Pronunciation: yu-'nan-ə-məs
Function: adjective
1 : being of one mind : agreeing completely
the councilors were unanimous in their approval of the report
2 : agreed to by all


Research Links

George and Martha Washington Portraits


Martha Washington
family history

Washington Crosses the Delaware
Eye Witness to History

The Death of George Washington
Eye Witness to History

George Washington's
Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior


Was George Washington a Christian?
Christian Answers.net

George Washington Papers
at the Library of Congress

The Life of George Washington

The Life of George Washington - the Movie
Early America.com

George Washington
Ducksters

Mount Vernon estate and gardens

George Washington Printables

George Washington
American Presidents, Life Portraits
Listen to stories about this president.

George Washington Lesson Plan
Lesson Snips.com
(You must register to access lessons.)

The American Revolution Lesson Plan
Lesson Snips.com

At biography.com search for George Washington.
Scroll the panel for the "Video & Audio Results".

Presidential Coloring Pages

Information about all the U.S. Presidents




Videos





Books
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Library

A LIBRARY OF
ONLINE BOOKS and BOOK PREVIEWS


Order the following books from Amazon.

George Washington, picture book
by James Lantos (full view) Order here)

George Washington: Frontier Colonel
by Sterling North (selected pages) Order here

George Washington, Compass Point Book
by Andrew Santella (selected pages) Order here

George Washington: Father of the Nation
by Tracie Egan (selected pages) Order here

George Washington
by Tamara L. Britton (selected pages Order here

George Washington
by Rick Burke (selected pages) Order here

George Washington, Spymaster:
How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War

by Thomas B. Allen, Cheryl Harness (selected pages) Order here

George Washington, First Biographies
by Cassie Mayer (selected pages) Order here

George Washington, Bio Graphics
by Rod Espinosa (selected pages) Order here

George Washington, Buddy Books
by Christy Devillier (selected pages) Order here

George Washington
by Kristin Thoennes Keller (selected pages) Order here

George Washington: The Life of an American Patriot
by David West, Jackie Gaff (selected pages) Order here

George Washington, Presidential Leaders
by Jeremy Roberts (selected pages) Order here

George Washington for Kids: His Life and Times with 21 Activities
by Brandon Marie Miller (selected pages) Order here

George Washington, Our First President
by Sneed B. Collard (selected pages) Order here

America in the Time of George Washington: 1747 To 1803
by Sally Senzell Isaacs (selected pages)Order here

George Washington, A Life of Leadership
by Robin Nelson (selected pages) Order here

George Washington
by Edward F. Dolan (selected pages) Order here

George Washington, America's Patriot
by Renee Taft Meloche (selected pages) Order here

Chasing George Washington
by The Kennedy Center, Ronald Kidd (selected pages) Order here

The Life George Washington
by Washington Irving (full view)

George Washington, Leading a New Nation
by Matt Doeden, Cynthia Martin (selected pages)

George Washington, An American Life
by Laurie Calkhoven (selected pages)

Childhood of Famous Americans - George Washington
by Augusta Stevenson (selected pages)

George Washington, First Biographies
by Barbara Knox (selected pages)

George Washington, Farmer, Soldier, President
by Pamela Hill Nettleton (selected pages)

George Washington, Photo Illustrated Biographies
by T. M. Usel (selected pages)

A Picture Book of George Washington
by Alexandra Wallner, John C. Wallner (selected pages)

Credits and Solutions

Photograph of Washington portrait by Rembrandt Peale taken by my son Elton Smith.

* Word Search Solution

* Word Match Solution

Puzzles on these pages courtesy of
Songs of Praise and Armored Penguin

Page Comments
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2020-05-20
George Washington is intristing
Thea Clarckerson
2017-02-19
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daniel
2016-06-27
The President of the United States is both an honor and considered one of the world's most powerful people. <a href="www.theuspresidents.org/all-presidents-in-order/">The US Presidents List</a> responsibilities include being the commander-in-chief of the military and leading the nation with the largest economy.
Josh
2016-04-14
Awesome!
Peter
2015-04-05
Awesome website. This is a fantastic source for President George Washington

www.theuspresidents.org
2014-07-24
Great site! I recommend moving the Williamsburg link down the page and featuring the MountVernon.org website in a more prominent position.
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