No man has had a greater impact on the United States than George Washington. This quintessential American carried the country through eight long years of the American Revolution and devoted another eight years to establishing the new constitutional government as its first president. Washington was one of those rare individuals who seemed destined, almost from birth, for greatness.

George Washington’s Farewell Address begins with the words In his Farewell Address, President George Washington advised America to remain fiscally prudent and to avoid permanent foreign alliances that could pull the country into a costly war. Washington understood that in times of war the nation must incur unforeseen expenses, but he felt America should avoid “the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to discharge the debts.” But Washington’s most stringent warning was on the danger of establishing binding alliances with other countries.

George Washington’s Farewell Address begins with the words “Friends and fellow citizens,” as the President was addressing his words to the people, the true source of sovereignty in America. Washington discusses the need for America to stay united and states that the “Unity of government…is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home; your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very Liberty, which you so highly prize.”

President George Washington’s Farewell Address is one of our nation’s greatest documents. It was not really an address but rather a letter written by President Washington to his fellow citizens and first published in Claypoole’s American Daily Advertiser on September 19, 1796, near the end of his second term.

The most troublesome domestic event during George Washington’s two terms as president was the Whiskey Rebellion. The root cause of this incident was the first ever internal tax issued by the federal government. Created by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, it taxed all domestically produced distilled spirits and went into effect in March 1791. This so-called whiskey tax was very unpopular with the Scotch-Irish farmers of western Pennsylvania who felt the tax unfairly targeted westerners and that their interests were not represented in Congress.

In February 1793, tensions between revolutionary France and England erupted when France declared war on England. President Washington, hoping to find a peaceful middle ground, issued his Proclamation of Neutrality on April 22, 1793, which declared America’s friendship for both nations and hostility towards neither. On a larger scale, the proclamation established the precedent that the executive branch was the prime decision maker in American foreign policy and Washington’s neutrality proclamation became a key part of it for the next century.

On February 4, 1789, in accordance with the new Constitution, state electors voted for the President of the United States and George Washington was unanimously elected. There was no precedent to follow and no predecessor for President Washington to lean on. He had to create and learn the job as he went along, always conscious that what he did would impact how future Presidents would govern.

On December 4, 1783, General Washington gathered his officers together at Fraunces Tavern and bid them an emotional farewell. The next task was to resign his commission, no small matter for the man who had led the nation since June 1775. Washington recognized it was critical to the preservation of our republic that he relinquish his military power to civilian authority. Consequently, on December 23, Washington addressed Congress, then meeting in Annapolis, to resign his commission.

In the eight weeks since capturing Fort Ticonderoga, British General John Burgoyne had seen his army go from being invincible to facing starvation and defeat. The Americans were having issues as well. With the loss of Fort Ticonderoga, New Englanders in Congress had the perfect excuse to remove General Phillip Schuyler, who was strongly disliked, from command. He was replaced with General Horatio Gates, and General George Washington sent his best field commander, General Benedict Arnold, to assist as well. Unfortunately, Gates resented Arnold’s fame and that resentment would almost cost the Continental Army this campaign.

In December 1777, following the loss of Philadelphia, General George Washington moved his Continental Army into winter quarters about 18 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Unfortunately, there were no shelters for the 12,000 soldiers and improvised wooden huts, housing 8-12 men, were hastily erected, but barely kept out the wind. Washington, who remained with his troops throughout the long winter, sent countless requests to Congress imploring them to alleviate his men’s suffering. But Congress, without taxation authority and little influence over the states, seemed powerless to help.

In the spring of 1777, most of the British army was stationed in New York. For his next move, General William Howe decided to attack Philadelphia, the largest city in the colonies and home of the Continental Congress. Rather than march over land through New Jersey, Howe sailed his regiments up the Chesapeake Bay and landed sixty miles south of the city. Washington quickly moved to get between Howe’s army and the capital but failed to guard a ford to his north. When the British attacked on September 11, 1777, they outflanked the Americans and Washington was forced to retreat.

After achieving a great victory at the Battle of Trenton, General George Washington recrossed the Delaware River hoping for a second miracle. In response, Lord Charles Cornwallis and 6,000 Redcoats marched towards Trenton and struck back at the bold Americans, leaving a battalion at Princeton, twelve miles north. On the night of January 2, 1777, Washington, unnoticed by British sentries, moved his men around the British flank towards Princeton and attacked at dawn. Perfect.

In late December 1776, after four months of hard-fighting, the 16,000-man Continental Army had dwindled to a force of 3,000 soldiers encamped in Pennsylvania on the west side of the Delaware River. General George Washington chose this desperate moment to strike a surprise blow at the Redcoats. He would cross the river Christmas night and attack the 1,500-man Hessian garrison in Trenton, knowing that the Hessians would be recovering from a day of Christmas reverie.

Although the Continental Army forced the British to evacuate Boston, Washington’s troops faced more setbacks than successes at the start of the American Revolution. By the time of Washington’s crossing of the Delaware, the army had dwindled down to roughly 3,000 poorly clad, poorly fed and poorly armed men. Thinking the end was near, Britain’s General Howe placed his soldiers in winter quarters. He would soon find out the American Army still had some fight.

When General George Washington took command of the Continental Army, the challenges he faced were formidable. Instead of one unified force, every colony had its own militia, each at various stages of development. Consequently, training was non-existent, discipline was lax, and the men were disrespectful to their officers. By comparison, the British Army was a force of well-equipped and well-trained soldiers, led by professionals, and far more numerous than the Continentals.

George Washington was elected to Virginia’s House of Burgesses in 1758, becoming active in colonial politics. Washington was a moderate and initially took a measured but critical approach to English policies. After the Boston Tea Party in 1773, and King George’s harsh response, delegates from twelve colonies met at the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, with Washington as one of Virginia’s seven representatives. When delegates reconvened in May 1775, the American colonies were at war with England following the Battles of Lexington and Concord and found a capable leader in George Washington.

Martha Washington was born on June 2, 1731 in New Kent County, Virginia. At 18, she married Daniel Parke Custis, who died unexpectedly, leaving Martha a 26-year-old wealthy widow with two children. Martha’s parlor became the destination of many bachelors in Virginia, including George Washington. They were married in 1759 and lived a fairly quiet life at Mount Vernon until George was named the commander of the Continental Army in 1775.

George Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis, a wealthy 26-year-old widow, on January 6, 1759. They were a couple well suited for each other and made their home at Mount Vernon. Washington managed the estate with his customary zeal and energy, rising early every morning and working the land six days a week, leaving Sunday for church and entertaining friends. As was typical on plantations, enslaved people performed most of the work at Mount Vernon. Washington was opposed to the institution of slavery but did not free his slaves until he died, granting them their freedom in his will, the only founding father to do so.