View source for George Washington

{{Short description|Founding Father and first United States president}}
{{redirect|General Washington||General Washington (disambiguation)|and|George Washington (disambiguation)}}
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{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image               = Gilbert Stuart Williamstown Portrait of George Washington.jpg
| alt                 = Head and shoulders portrait of George Washington
| caption             = Portrait {{circa|1803}}
| order               = 1st
| office              = President of the United States
| vicepresident       = John Adams
| term_start          = April 30, 1789
| term_end            = March 4, 1797
| predecessor         = ''Office established''
| successor           = [[John Adams]]
| order1              = 7th
| office1             = Senior Officer of the United States Army
| president1          = John Adams
| term_start1         = July 13, 1798
| term_end1           = December 14, 1799
| predecessor1        = [[James Wilkinson]]
| successor1          = [[Alexander Hamilton]]
| office2             = [[Commander in Chief]] of the [[Continental Army]]
| appointer2          = [[Continental Congress]]
| term_start2         = June 19, 1775
| term_end2           = December 23, 1783
| predecessor2        = ''Office established''
| successor2          = [[Henry Knox]] (as [[Senior Officer of the United States Army|Senior Officer]])
| order3              = 14th
| office3             = Chancellor of the College of William & Mary
| president3          = [[James Madison (bishop)|James Madison]]
| term_start3         = April 30, 1788
| term_end3           = December 14, 1799
| predecessor3        = [[Richard Terrick]] (1776)
| successor3          = [[John Tyler]] (1859)
| office4             = [[List of delegates to the Continental Congress|Delegate]] from [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia]] {{nowrap|to the [[Continental Congress]]}}
| term_start4         = September 5, 1774
| term_end4           = June 16, 1775
| predecessor4        = ''Office established''
| successor4          = [[Thomas Jefferson]]
| office5             = Member of the {{nowrap|[[House of Burgesses|Virginia House of Burgesses]]}}
| term_start5         = July 24, 1758
| term_end5           = June 24, 1775
| predecessor5        = Hugh West
| successor5          = ''Office abolished''
| constituency5       = {{plainlist|
* [[Frederick County, Virginia|Frederick County]] {{nowrap|(1758–1765)}}
* [[Fairfax County, Virginia|Fairfax County]] {{nowrap|(1765–1775)}}
}}
| birth_date          = {{OldStyleDateDY|February 22,|1732|February 11, 1731}}
| birth_place         = [[George Washington Birthplace National Monument|Popes Creek]], [[Virginia Colony]], [[British America]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1799|12|14|1732|2|22}}
| death_place         = [[Mount Vernon]], Virginia, U.S.
| resting_place       = Mount Vernon, Virginia
| resting_place_coordinates = {{coord|38|42|28.4|N|77|05|09.9|W|region:US-VA_type:landmark|display=inline}}
| party               = [[Independent politician|Independent]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Martha Washington|Martha Dandridge]]|January 6, 1759}}
| parents             = {{plainlist|
* [[Augustine Washington]]
* [[Mary Ball Washington]]
}}
| relatives           = [[Washington family]]
| awards              = {{plainlist|
* [[Congressional Gold Medal]]
* [[Thanks of Congress]]{{sfn|Randall|1997|p=303}}
}}
| occupation          = {{hlist|Farmer|military officer|statesman|surveyor}}
| signature           = George Washington signature.svg
| signature_alt       = Cursive signature in ink
| allegiance          = {{plainlist|
* [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]
* United States
}}
| branch              = {{plainlist|
* [[Virginia Militia]]
* [[Continental Army]]
* [[United States Army]]
}}
| serviceyears        = {{plainlist|
* 1752–1758 (Virginia Militia)
* 1775–1783 (Continental Army)
* 1798–1799 (U.S. Army)
}}
| rank                = {{indented plainlist|
* Colonel (1st [[Virginia Regiment]])
* [[Colonel (United Kingdom)|Colonel]] (Virginia Militia)
* [[Major general (United States)|General]] and [[Commander-in-chief|Commander in Chief]] (Continental Army)
* [[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lieutenant General]] (U.S. Army)
* [[General of the Armies]] (promoted posthumously in 1976 by Congress)
}}
| commands            = {{plainlist|
* [[Provincial troops in the French and Indian Wars#Virginia|Virginia Regiment]]
* Continental Army
* United States Army
}}
| battles             = {{collapsible list|title = {{nobold|''See list''}}|
{{tree list}}
* [[French and Indian War]]
** [[Battle of Jumonville Glen]]
** [[Battle of Fort Necessity]]
** [[Braddock Expedition]]
** [[Battle of the Monongahela]]
** [[Forbes Expedition]]
* [[American Revolutionary War]]
** [[Boston campaign]]
** [[New York and New Jersey campaign]]
** [[Philadelphia campaign]]
** [[Yorktown campaign]]
* [[Northwest Indian War]]
* [[Whiskey Rebellion]]
{{tree list/end}}
}}
}}

'''George Washington''' (February 22, 1732{{spnd}}{{nowrap|December 14}}, 1799) was a [[Founding Father of the United States]], military officer, and farmer who served as the first [[president of the United States]] from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the [[Second Continental Congress]] as commander of the [[Continental Army]] in 1775, Washington led [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]] forces to victory in the [[American Revolutionary War]] and then served as president of the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention]] in 1787, which drafted the current [[Constitution of the United States]]. Washington has thus become commonly known as the "[[Father of the Nation|Father of his Country]]".

Washington's first public office, from 1749 to 1750, was as [[surveyor]] of [[Culpeper County, Virginia|Culpeper County]] in the [[Colony of Virginia]]. In 1752, he received military training and was granted the rank of major in the [[Virginia Regiment]]. During the [[French and Indian War]], Washington was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1754 and subsequently became head of the Virginia Regiment in 1755. He was later elected to the [[Virginia House of Burgesses]] and was named a delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, which appointed him [[Commanding General of the United States Army|commander-in-chief of the Continental Army]]. Washington led American forces to a decisive victory over the [[British Army during the American Revolutionary War|British in the Revolutionary War]], leading the British to sign the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]], which acknowledged the sovereignty and independence of the United States. He [[George Washington's resignation as commander-in-chief|resigned his commission]] in 1783 after the conclusion of the Revolutionary War.

Washington played an indispensable role in adopting and ratifying the Constitution, which replaced the [[Articles of Confederation]] in 1789. He was then twice elected president unanimously by the [[United States Electoral College|Electoral College]] in 1788 and 1792. As the first U.S. president, Washington implemented a strong, well-financed national government while remaining impartial in a fierce rivalry that emerged between cabinet members [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[Alexander Hamilton]]. During the [[French Revolution]], he proclaimed [[Proclamation of Neutrality|a policy of neutrality]] while additionally sanctioning the [[Jay Treaty]]. He set enduring precedents for the [[Executive Office of the President of the United States|office of president]], including [[Republicanism in the United States|republicanism]], a [[peaceful transfer of power]], the use of the title "[[President (government title)#United States|Mr. President]]", and the [[Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution#Background|two-term tradition]]. His 1796 [[George Washington's Farewell Address|farewell address]] became a preeminent statement on republicanism in which he wrote about the importance of national unity and the dangers that regionalism, partisanship, and foreign influence pose to it. As a planter of tobacco and wheat, [[George Washington and slavery|Washington owned or rented many slaves]], but ultimately grew to oppose slavery, and provided in his will for the emancipation of his slaves.

Washington's image is an icon of [[American culture]]. He [[List of memorials to George Washington|has been memorialized]] by monuments, a [[Presidents' Day|federal holiday]], [[Cultural depictions of George Washington|various media depictions]], geographical locations including [[Washington, D.C.|the national capital]], the [[State of Washington]], [[Presidents of the United States on U.S. postage stamps#George Washington|stamps]], and [[United States dollar|currency]]. In 1976, Washington was posthumously promoted to the rank of [[general of the Armies]], the highest rank in the [[U.S. Army]]. Washington consistently ranks in both popular and scholarly polls as one of the greatest presidents in American history.

==Early life (1732–1752)==
<!-- linked from redirect "Early life of George Washington"-->
{{Further|Washington family|British America}}
[[File:Residence of the Washington Family on the Rappahannock.jpg|left|thumb|[[Ferry Farm]], the [[Washington family]] residence on the [[Rappahannock River]] in [[Stafford County, Virginia]], where Washington spent much of his youth]]
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732,{{efn|Contemporaneous records used the [[Old Style and New Style dates|Old Style]] Julian calendar and the [[New Year#Historical European new year dates|Annunciation Style]] of enumerating years, recording his birth as February 11, 1731. The British [[Calendar (New Style) Act 1750]] implemented in 1752 altered the official British dating method to the Gregorian calendar with the start of the year on January{{nbsp}}1 (it had been March 25). These changes resulted in dates being moved forward 11 days and an advance of one year for those between January{{nbsp}}1 and March 25. For a further explanation, see [[Old Style and New Style dates]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The history of the calendar |url=https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/history-calendar-julian-gregorian-when-why/ |magazine=[[BBC History]] |issue=January 2014 |access-date=August 30, 2023 |archive-date=August 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830112331/https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/history-calendar-julian-gregorian-when-why/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}} at [[George Washington Birthplace National Monument|Popes Creek]] in [[Westmoreland County, Virginia]].{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=3–6}} He was the first of six children of [[Augustine Washington|Augustine]] and [[Mary Ball Washington]].{{sfnm|Ferling|2002|1p=3|Chernow|2010|2pp=5–7}} His father was a [[justice of the peace]] and a prominent public figure who had four additional children from his first marriage to Jane Butler.{{sfnm|Ferling|2009|1p=9|Chernow|2010|2pp=6–8}} The family moved to [[Little Hunting Creek]] in 1734 before eventually settling in [[Ferry Farm]] near [[Fredericksburg, Virginia]]. When Augustine died in 1743, Washington inherited Ferry Farm and ten slaves; his older half-brother [[Lawrence Washington (1718–1752)|Lawrence]] inherited Little Hunting Creek and renamed it [[Mount Vernon]].<ref name=Slavery-at-Mount-Vernon>{{cite web|title=Ten Facts About Washington & Slavery|url=http://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/ten-facts-about-washington-slavery/|website=George Washington's Mount Vernon|publisher=[[Mount Vernon Ladies' Association]]|access-date=May 22, 2018|archive-date=May 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522195218/http://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/ten-facts-about-washington-slavery/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Owners of Mount Vernon |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/the-estate-gardens/the-mansion/owners-of-mount-vernon/ |publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association |website=George Washington's Mount Vernon |access-date=August 30, 2023 |archive-date=August 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830100625/https://www.mountvernon.org/the-estate-gardens/the-mansion/owners-of-mount-vernon/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Washington did not have the formal education his elder brothers received at [[Appleby Grammar School]] in England, but he did attend the [[Lower Church]] School in [[Hartfield, Virginia|Hartfield]]. He learned mathematics, including [[trigonometry]], and land [[surveying]], and became a talented draftsman and [[Cartography|mapmaker]]. By early adulthood, he was writing with "considerable force" and "precision".{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=10–12|Ferling|2002|2p=14|Ferling|1988|3pp=5–6}} As a teenager, to practice his penmanship, Washington compiled over a hundred rules for social interaction styled ''Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation'', copied from an English translation of a French book of manners.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/the-rules-of-civility-and-decent-behaviour/ |publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association |website=George Washington's Mount Vernon |access-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-date=May 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521191407/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/the-rules-of-civility-and-decent-behaviour/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Washington often visited Mount Vernon and [[Belvoir (plantation)|Belvoir]], the plantation of [[William Fairfax]], Lawrence's father-in-law. Fairfax became Washington's patron and surrogate father. In 1748, Washington spent a month with a team surveying Fairfax's [[Shenandoah Valley]] property.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=10, 19|Ferling|2002|2pp=14–15|Randall|1997|3p=36}} The following year, he received a surveyor's license from the [[College of William & Mary]].{{efn|Washington received his license through the college, whose charter gave it the authority to appoint Virginia county surveyors. There is no evidence that he actually attended classes there.<ref name=professional-surveys>{{cite web|title=George Washington's Professional Surveys|website=Founders Online|publisher=U.S. National Archives|url=https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-01-02-0004#document_page|access-date=July 11, 2019|archive-date=November 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106220101/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-01-02-0004#document_page|url-status=live}}</ref>}} Even though Washington had not served the customary apprenticeship, [[Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron|Thomas Fairfax]] appointed him surveyor of [[Culpeper County, Virginia]], where he took his oath of office on July 20, 1749. He subsequently familiarized himself with the frontier region, and though he resigned from the job in 1750, he continued to do surveys west of the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]].<ref name=professional-surveys/> By 1752, he had bought almost {{convert|1500|acre|ha|-2}} in the Valley and owned {{convert|2315|acre|ha}}.{{sfnm|Fitzpatrick|1936|1loc=v. 19, p. 510|Chernow|2010|2pp=22–23}}

In 1751, Washington left mainland North America for the first and only time, when he accompanied Lawrence to [[Barbados]], hoping the climate would cure his brother's tuberculosis.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=24}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/washingtons-youth/journey-to-barbados |title=Washington's Journey to Barbados |website=Washington's Mount Vernon |first=Jack D. Jr. |last=Warren |publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association |access-date=April 12, 2024 |archive-date=February 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227114119/https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/washingtons-youth/journey-to-barbados/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Washington contracted [[smallpox]] during that trip, which left his face slightly scarred.{{sfnm|Flexner|1974|1p=8|Chernow|2010|2p=25}} Lawrence died in 1752, and Washington leased Mount Vernon from his widow Anne; he inherited it outright after her death in 1761.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=26, 98}}

==Colonial military career (1752–1758)==
Lawrence Washington's service as adjutant general of the [[Virginia militia]] inspired George to seek a commission. Virginia's lieutenant governor, [[Robert Dinwiddie]], appointed Washington as a major and commander of one of the four militia districts. The British and French were competing for control of the [[Ohio River|Ohio Valley]]: the British were constructing forts along the Ohio River, and the French between the [[Ohio River]] and [[Lake Erie]].{{sfnm|Anderson|2007|1pp=31–32|Chernow|2010|2pp=26–27, 31}}

In October 1753, Dinwiddie appointed Washington as a special envoy. He had sent Washington to demand French forces to vacate land that was claimed by the British. Washington was also appointed to make peace with the [[Iroquois Confederacy]], and to gather further intelligence about the French forces.{{sfn|Ferling|2009|pp=15–16}} Washington met with Half-King [[Tanacharison]], and other Iroquois chiefs, at [[Logstown]], and gathered information about the numbers and locations of the French forts, as well as intelligence concerning individuals taken prisoner by the French. Washington was nicknamed [[Town Destroyer|Conotocaurius]] by Tanacharison. The name, meaning "devourer of villages", had been given to his great-grandfather [[John Washington]] in the late 17th century by the [[Susquehannock]].<ref>{{cite web| title=Conotocarious| url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/conotocarious/| publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association| website=George Washington's Mount Vernon| access-date=August 9, 2021| archive-date=August 9, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809164326/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/conotocarious/| url-status=live}}</ref>

Washington's party reached the Ohio River in November 1753, and was intercepted by a French patrol. The party was escorted to [[Fort Le Boeuf]], where Washington was received in a friendly manner. He delivered the British demand to vacate to the French commander [[Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre|Saint-Pierre]], but the French refused to leave. Saint-Pierre gave Washington his official answer after a few days' delay, as well as food and winter clothing for his party's journey back to Virginia.{{sfnm|Ferling|2009|1pp=15–18|Lengel|2005|2pp=23–24|Randall|1997|3p=74|Chernow|2010|4pp=26–27, 31}} Washington completed the precarious mission in 77 days, in difficult winter conditions, achieving a measure of distinction when his report was published in Virginia and London.{{sfnm|Fitzpatrick|1936|1loc=19, pp. 510–511|Ferling|2009|2pp=15–18}}

===French and Indian War===
{{Main|George Washington in the French and Indian War}}
{{Further|French and Indian War|Seven Years' War}}
[[File:The Night Council At Fort Necessity from the Darlington Collection of Engraving- detail.jpg|thumb|alt=Night scene depicting Washington at center, standing among officers and Indians, around a lamp, holding a war council|An 1855 engraving of then Lieutenant Colonel Washington holding night council during the [[Battle of Fort Necessity]] in [[Fayette County, Pennsylvania]]]]
In February 1754, Dinwiddie promoted Washington to lieutenant colonel and second-in-command of the 300-strong [[Virginia Regiment]], with orders to confront French forces at the [[Point State Park|Forks of the Ohio]].{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=31–32|Ferling|2009|2pp=18–19}} Washington set out with half the regiment in April and soon learned a French force of 1,000 had begun construction of [[Fort Duquesne]] there. In May, having set up a [[Fort Necessity National Battlefield|defensive position]] at Great Meadows, he learned that the French had made camp {{convert|7|mi|km|spell=in}} away; he decided to take the offensive.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=41–42}}

The French detachment proved to be only about 50 men, so Washington advanced on May 28 with a small force of Virginians and Indian allies to ambush them.{{efn|The mid-16th-century word "Indian" described the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas. More modern terms for Indians include American Indian and Native American and Indigenous Peoples.{{sfn|Cresswell|2010|p=222}}}}{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=42}} During the [[Battle of Jumonville Glen|ambush]], French forces were killed outright with muskets and hatchets, including French commander [[Joseph Coulon de Jumonville]], who had been carrying a diplomatic message for the British. The French later found their countrymen dead and scalped, blaming Washington, who had retreated to Fort Necessity.{{sfn|Ferling|2009|pp=24–25}}

The full Virginia Regiment joined Washington at Fort Necessity the following month with news that he had been promoted to command of the regiment and colonel upon the regimental commander's death. The regiment was reinforced by an [[British Army Independent Companies in South Carolina|independent company of a hundred South Carolinians]] led by Captain [[James Mackay (British Army officer)|James Mackay]]; his royal commission outranked Washington's and a conflict of command ensued. On July 3, a French force attacked with 900 men, and the [[Battle of Fort Necessity|ensuing battle]] ended in Washington's surrender.{{sfnm|Ferling|2009|1pp=23–25|Ellis|2004|2pp=15–17}} He signed a surrender document in which he unwittingly took responsibility for "assassinating" Jumonville, later blaming the translator for not properly translating it.{{sfnm|Ferling|2009|1pp=24–25|Chernow|2010|2pp=42–45}}

In the aftermath, Colonel [[James Innes (North Carolina)|James Innes]] took command of intercolonial forces, the Virginia Regiment was divided, and Washington was offered a captaincy in one of the newly formed regiments. He refused, however, as it would have been a demotion and instead resigned his commission.{{sfn|Ferling|2009|p=26}} The "Jumonville affair" became the incident which ignited the [[French and Indian War]], later to become part of the [[Seven Years' War]].{{sfnm|Ferling|2009|1pp=19–24|Ellis|2004|2p=13|Alden|1996|3pp=13–15}}<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Preston |first1=David |title=When Young George Washington Started a War |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-young-george-washington-started-war-180973076/ |magazine=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]] |date=October 2019 |access-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-date=March 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301113338/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-young-george-washington-started-war-180973076/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Washington the soldier.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|alt=Washington on horseback in the middle of a battle scene with other soldiers|''Washington the Soldier'', an 1834 portrait of Washington on horseback during the [[Battle of the Monongahela]]]]

In 1755, Washington served voluntarily as an aide to General [[Edward Braddock]], who led a British [[Braddock Expedition|expedition]] to expel the French from Fort Duquesne and the [[Ohio Country]].{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=53}} On Washington's recommendation, Braddock split the army into one main column and a lightly equipped "flying column".{{sfnm|Alden|1996|1p=37|Ferling|1988|2pp=35–36}} Suffering from severe [[dysentery]], Washington was left behind, and when he rejoined Braddock at Monongahela the French and their Indian allies [[Battle of the Monongahela|ambushed]] the divided army. Two-thirds of the British force became casualties, including the mortally wounded Braddock. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel [[Thomas Gage]], Washington, still very ill, rallied the survivors and formed a rear guard, allowing the remnants of the force to disengage and retreat.{{sfnm|Alden|1996|1pp=37–46|Ferling|1988|2pp=35–36|Chernow|2010|3pp=57–58}}

During the engagement, he had two horses shot from under him, and his hat and coat were bullet-pierced.{{sfn|Fitzpatrick|1936|p=511}} His conduct under fire redeemed his reputation among critics of his command in the Battle of Fort Necessity,{{sfn|Ferling|2009|pp=28–30}} but he was not included by the succeeding commander (Colonel Thomas Dunbar) in planning subsequent operations.{{sfn|Alden|1996|pp=37–46}}

The Virginia Regiment was reconstituted in August 1755, and Dinwiddie appointed Washington its commander, again with the rank of colonel. Washington clashed over seniority almost immediately, this time with [[John Dagworthy]], another captain of superior royal rank, who commanded a detachment of Marylanders at the regiment's headquarters in [[Fort Cumberland (Maryland)|Fort Cumberland]].{{sfnm|Ellis|2004|1p=24|Ferling|2009|2pp=30–31}} Washington, impatient for an offensive against Fort Duquesne, was convinced Braddock would have granted him a royal commission and pressed his case in February 1756 with Braddock's successor as [[Commander-in-Chief, North America|Commander-in-Chief]], [[William Shirley]], and again in January 1757 with Shirley's successor, [[John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun|Lord Loudoun]]. Shirley ruled in Washington's favor only in the matter of Dagworthy; Loudoun humiliated Washington, refused him a royal commission and agreed only to relieve him of the responsibility of manning Fort Cumberland.{{sfn|Ferling|2009|pp=31–32, 38–39}}

In 1758, the Virginia Regiment was assigned to the British [[Forbes Expedition]] to capture Fort Duquesne.{{efn|A second Virginia regiment was raised under Colonel William Byrd III and also allocated to the expedition.{{sfn|Flexner|1965|pp=206–207}}}}{{sfnm|Flexner|1965|1p=194|Fitzpatrick|1936|2p=512}} Washington disagreed with General [[John Forbes (British Army officer)|John Forbes']] tactics and chosen route.{{sfnm|Fitzpatrick|1936|1p=512|Chernow|2010|2pp=89–90|Flexner|1965|3pp=194, 206–207}} Forbes nevertheless made Washington a [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] brigadier general and gave him command of one of the three brigades that would assault the fort. The French had abandoned the fort and the valley before the assault, however, and Washington only saw a friendly fire incident which left 14 dead and 26 injured. Frustrated, he resigned his commission soon afterwards and returned to Mount Vernon.{{sfnm|Ferling|2009|1p=43|Chernow|2010|2pp=90–91|Lengel|2005|3pp=75–76, 81}}

Under Washington, the Virginia Regiment had defended {{convert|300|mi|km}} of frontier against twenty Indian attacks in ten months.{{sfnm|Fitzpatrick|1936|1pp=511–512|Flexner|1965|2p=138|Fischer|2004|3pp=15–16|Ellis|2004|4p=38}} He increased the professionalism of the regiment as it grew from 300 to 1,000 men, and Virginia's frontier population suffered less than other colonies. Though he failed to realize a royal commission, he gained self-confidence, leadership skills, and knowledge of British military tactics. The destructive competition Washington witnessed among colonial politicians fostered his later support of a strong central government.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=92–93|Ferling|2002|2pp=32–33}}

==Marriage, civilian, and political life (1755–1775)==
{{Main|George Washington's political evolution}}
<!-- linked from redirect "George Washington between the wars" -->
{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = horizontal
| caption_align = center
| total_width = 330
| image1 = Washington 1772.jpg
| alt1 = Painting of Washington, by Charles Wilson Peale, standing in a formal pose, in a colonel's uniform, right hand inserted in shirt.
| caption1 = ''Colonel George Washington'', a 1772 portrait by [[Charles Willson Peale]]
| image2 = Martha Dandridge Custis crop.jpg
| alt2 = A mezzotint of Martha Washington, standing, wearing a formal gown, based on a 1757 portrait by John Wollaston
| caption2 = ''Martha Dandridge Custis'', a 1757 portrait by [[John Wollaston (painter)|John Wollaston]]
}}
On January 6, 1759, Washington, at age 26, married [[Martha Washington|Martha Dandridge Custis]], the 27-year-old widow of wealthy plantation owner [[Daniel Parke Custis]]. The marriage took place at Martha's estate; she was intelligent, gracious, and experienced in managing a planter's estate, and the couple had a happy marriage.{{sfnm|Ferling|2002|1pp=33–34|Wiencek|2003|2p=69}} They moved to Mount Vernon, near [[Alexandria, Virginia|Alexandria]], where he lived as a planter of tobacco and wheat and emerged as a political figure.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=97–98|Fischer|2004|2p=14}}

Washington's 1751 bout with smallpox is thought to have rendered him sterile, though it is equally likely that "Martha may have sustained injury during the birth of Patsy, her final child, making additional births impossible."{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=103}} The couple lamented not having any children together.{{efn|Some descendants of [[West Ford (slave)|West Ford]], a slave of [[John Augustine Washington]]'s, maintain (based on family [[oral history]]) that Ford was fathered by George Washington, though historians dispute his paternity.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/west-ford/ |title=West Ford |website=George Washington's Mount Vernon |publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association |access-date=October 9, 2021 |archive-date=October 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009094119/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/west-ford/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/03/14/did-george-washington-have-an-enslaved-son |last=Abramson |first=Jill |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |title=Did George Washington Have an Enslaved Son? |date=March 7, 2022 |access-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523213937/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/03/14/did-george-washington-have-an-enslaved-son |url-status=live }}</ref>}}{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=103|Flexner|1974|2pp=42–43}} Despite this, the two raised Martha's two children [[John Parke Custis]] (Jacky) and [[Martha Parke Custis]] (Patsy), and later Jacky's two youngest children [[Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis|Eleanor Parke Custis]] (Nelly) and [[George Washington Parke Custis]] (Washy), along with numerous nieces and nephews.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Coe |first=Alexis |date=June 20, 2020 |title=The Father of the Nation, George Washington Was Also a Doting Dad to His Family |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/george-washington-was-great-dad-too-180975139/ |magazine=Smithsonian |access-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-date=September 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230921133908/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/george-washington-was-great-dad-too-180975139/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The marriage gave Washington control over Martha's one-third [[dower]] interest in the {{convert|18000|acre|ha|-2|adj=on}} [[Daniel Parke Custis#Estate|Custis estate]], and he managed the remaining two-thirds for Martha's children; the estate also included 84 slaves. As a result, he became one of the wealthiest men in Virginia, which increased his social standing.{{sfn|Wiencek|2003|pp=9–10, 67–69, 80–81}}

At Washington's urging, Governor [[Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt|Lord Botetourt]] fulfilled Dinwiddie's 1754 promise of land bounties to all-volunteer militia during the French and Indian War.{{sfnm|1a1=Rasmussen|1a2=Tilton|1y=1999|1p=100|2a1=Chernow|2y=2010|2p=184}} In late 1770, Washington inspected the lands in the [[Ohio River|Ohio]] and [[Kanawha River|Great Kanawha]] regions, and he engaged surveyor [[William Crawford (soldier)|William Crawford]] to subdivide it. Crawford allotted {{convert|23200|acre|ha}} to Washington; Washington told the veterans that their land was hilly and unsuitable for farming, and he agreed to purchase {{convert|20147|acre|ha}}, leaving some feeling they had been duped.{{sfnm|Ferling|2002|1pp=44–45|Grizzard|2002|2pp=135–137}} He also doubled the size of Mount Vernon to {{convert|6500|acre|ha|-2}} and, by 1775, had increased its slave population by more than a hundred.{{sfn|Ellis|2004|pp=41–42, 48}}

As a respected military hero and large landowner, Washington held local offices and was elected to the Virginia provincial legislature, representing Frederick County in the House of Burgesses for seven years beginning in 1758.{{sfn|Ellis|2004|pp=41–42, 48}} He first ran for the seat in 1755 but was soundly beaten by Hugh West.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bish |first=Jim |date=Spring 2010 |title=Hugh West and the West Family's Momentous Role in Founding and Developing Alexandria and Fairfax and Loudoun Counties, Virginia |pages=13–14 |work=The Alexandria Chronicle |publisher=Alexandria Historical Society |url=https://alexandriahistorical.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2010_Sp_Chronicle.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423171740/https://alexandriahistorical.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2010_Sp_Chronicle.pdf |archive-date=April 23, 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=May 10, 2020 |quote=In 1755 Hugh West Jr. gave up his seat in Fairfax County and won a House of Burgess election in Frederick County defeating Colonel George Washington. This defeat was Washington's only electoral loss. Hugh West Jr. served as a Frederick County burgess until 1758 when he was defeated by Washington.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-02-02-0229 |title=To George Washington from Adam Stephen, 23 December 1755 |publisher=National Historical Publications and Records Commission (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration) |year=1755 |access-date=May 10, 2020 |quote=GW kept a copy of the Frederick County poll sheet (c.&nbsp;10 Dec., DLC:GW) in his papers with the names of the 40 men who voted for him and the names of the 271 men who voted for Hugh West and 270 who voted for Thomas Swearingen. |archive-date=May 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513003108/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-02-02-0229 |url-status=live }}</ref> When he ran in 1758, Washington plied voters with beer, brandy, and other beverages. Despite being away serving on the Forbes Expedition, he won the election with roughly 40 percent of the vote, defeating three opponents with the help of local supporters.<ref>{{cite web|title=House of Burgesses|url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/House-of-Burgesses|publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association|website=George Washington's Mount Vernon|access-date=April 25, 2020|archive-date=May 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507010445/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/house-of-burgesses/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Enclosure V: Frederick County Poll Sheet, 1758, 24 July 1758 |url=https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-05-02-0273-0006 |publisher=National Historical Publications and Records Commission (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration) |year=1758 |access-date=May 8, 2020 |archive-date=January 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123214151/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-05-02-0273-0006 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Early in his legislative career, Washington rarely spoke or even attended legislative sessions. He would later become a prominent critic of Britain's taxation policy and mercantilist policies towards the American colonies and became more politically active starting in the 1760s.{{sfn|Ferling|2009|pp=49–54, 68}}

Washington imported luxuries and other goods from England, paying for them by exporting tobacco. His profligate spending combined with low tobacco prices left him £1,800 in debt by 1764, prompting him to diversify his holdings.{{sfn|Ellis|2004|pp=49–50}} In 1765, because of erosion and other soil problems, he changed Mount Vernon's primary cash crop from tobacco to wheat and expanded operations to include corn [[George Washington's Gristmill|flour milling]] and fishing.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=141}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Tobacco |website=George Washington's Mount Vernon |publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/tobacco/ |access-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-date=September 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929074100/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/tobacco |url-status=live }}</ref>

Washington soon was counted among the political and social elite in Virginia. From 1768 to 1775, he invited some 2,000 guests to Mount Vernon, mostly those whom he considered people of rank, and was known to be exceptionally cordial toward guests.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=122}} Washington also took time for leisure with fox hunting, fishing, dances, theater, cards, backgammon, and billiards.{{sfnm|Ferling|2002|1pp=43–44|Ellis|2004|2p=44}}

Washington's stepdaughter Patsy suffered from epileptic attacks from age 12, and she died at Mount Vernon in 1773. The following day, he wrote to [[Burwell Bassett Sr.|Burwell Bassett]]: "It is easier to conceive, than to describe, the distress of this Family".{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=161}} He canceled all business activity and remained with Martha every night for three months.{{sfn|Higginbotham|2001|p=154}}

===Opposition to the British Parliament and Crown===
{{further|American Revolution|George Washington in the American Revolution}}

Washington played a central role before and during the American Revolution. His distrust of the British military had begun when he was passed over for promotion into the Regular Army. Opposed to taxes imposed by the British Parliament on the Colonies without [[Virtual representation|proper representation]],{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=136}} he and other colonists were also angered by the [[Royal Proclamation of 1763]] which banned American settlement west of the [[Allegheny Mountains]] and protected the [[North American fur trade|British fur trade]].{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=137, 148|Taylor|2016|2pp=61, 75}}

Washington believed the [[Stamp Act 1765]] was an "Act of Oppression" and celebrated its repeal the following year.{{efn|In a letter of September 20, 1765, Washington protested to "Robert Cary & Co." that the low prices he received for his tobacco and for the inflated prices he was forced to pay on second-rate goods from London.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=138|Ferling|2009|2p=68}}}} In March 1766, Parliament passed the [[Declaratory Act]] asserting that Parliamentary law superseded colonial law.{{sfn|Taylor|2016|p=103}} In the late 1760s, the interference of the British Crown in American lucrative western land speculation spurred the American Revolution.<ref name="Lehrman Institute (June 22, 2021)" /> Washington was a prosperous land speculator, and in 1767, he encouraged "adventures" to acquire backcountry western lands.<ref name="Lehrman Institute (June 22, 2021)">{{cite web|title=The Pursuit of Land|url=https://lehrmaninstitute.org/history/founders-land.html|publisher=The Lehrman Institute|date=June 22, 2021|access-date=July 11, 2021|archive-date=August 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812213751/https://lehrmaninstitute.org/history/founders-land.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Washington helped lead widespread protests against the [[Townshend Acts]] passed by Parliament in 1767, and he introduced a proposal in May 1769 which urged Virginians to boycott British goods; the Acts were mostly repealed in 1770.{{sfnm|Freeman|1968|1pp=174–176|Taylor|2016|2p=75}}

Parliament sought to punish Massachusetts colonists for their role in the [[Boston Tea Party]] in 1774 by passing the [[Intolerable Acts|Coercive Acts]], which Washington saw as "an invasion of our rights and privileges".{{sfnm|Randall|1997|1p=262|Chernow|2010|2p=166|Taylor|2016|3p=119}} He said Americans must not submit to acts of tyranny since "custom and use shall make us as tame and abject slaves, as the blacks we rule over with such arbitrary sway".{{sfn|Alden|1996|p=101}} That July, he and [[George Mason]] drafted a [[Fairfax Resolves|list of resolutions]] for the Fairfax County committee, including a call to end the [[Atlantic slave trade]], which were adopted.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=167}}

On August 1, Washington attended the [[Virginia Conventions|First Virginia Convention]]. There, he was selected as a delegate to the [[First Continental Congress]].{{sfnm|1a1=Ferling|1y=1988|1p=100|2a1=Ford|2a2=Hunt|2a3=Fitzpatrick|2y=1904|2loc=v. 19, p. 11}} As tensions rose in 1774, he helped train militias in Virginia and organized enforcement of the [[Continental Association]] boycott of British goods instituted by the Congress.{{sfnm|Ferling|1988|1p=108|Taylor|2016|2pp=126–127}}

The [[American Revolutionary War]] broke out on April 19, 1775, with the [[Battles of Lexington and Concord]] and the [[Siege of Boston]].{{sfn|Taylor|2016|p=132}} Upon hearing the news, Washington was "sobered and dismayed",{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=181}} and he hastily departed Mount Vernon on May 4, 1775, to join the [[Second Continental Congress]] in [[Philadelphia]].{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=182}}

==Commander in chief (1775–1783)==
{{further|Military career of George Washington|Washington's aides-de-camp}}
[[File:George Washington, 1776.jpg|thumb|''General Washington, Commander of the Continental Army'', a 1776 portrait by [[Charles Willson Peale]]|alt=Formal painting of General George Washington, standing in uniform, as commander of the Continental Army]]
On June 14, 1775, [[Second Continental Congress|Congress]] created the [[Continental Army]] and [[John Adams]] nominated Washington as its [[commander-in-chief]], mainly because of his military experience and the belief that a Virginian would better unite the colonies. He was unanimously elected by Congress the next day.{{sfnm|Taylor|2016|1pp=132–133|Ellis|2004|2pp=67–68|Chernow|2010|3pp=185–186|Fitzpatrick|1936|4p=514}} Washington appeared before Congress in uniform and gave an acceptance speech on June 16, declining a salary, though he was later reimbursed expenses.{{sfnm|1a1=Rasmussen|1a2=Tilton|1y=1999|1p=294|2a1=Fitzpatrick|2y=1936|2p=514|Taylor|2016|3pp=141–142|Ferling|2009|4pp=86–87}}

Washington was commissioned on June 19 and officially appointed by Congress as "General & Commander in chief of the army of the [[United Colonies]] and of all the forces raised or to be raised by them".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-01-02-0004 |title=Commission from the Continental Congress, 19 June 1775 |publisher=National Historical Publications and Records Commission (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration) |year=1775 |access-date=May 26, 2020 |archive-date=August 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815000611/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-01-02-0004 |url-status=live }}</ref> He was instructed to take charge of the [[Siege of Boston]] on June 22, 1775.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-01-02-0010 |title=Instructions from the Continental Congress, 22 June 1775 |publisher=National Historical Publications and Records Commission (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration) |year=1775 |access-date=May 26, 2020 |archive-date=March 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210327052451/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-01-02-0010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Congress chose his primary staff officers, including Major General [[Artemas Ward]], Adjutant General [[Horatio Gates]], Major General [[Charles Lee (general)|Charles Lee]], Major General [[Philip Schuyler]], and Major General [[Nathanael Greene]].{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=190–191|Ferling|2002|2p=108}} [[Henry Knox]], a young bookkeeper, impressed Adams and Washington with ordnance knowledge and was subsequently promoted to colonel and chief of artillery. Similarly, Washington was impressed by [[Alexander Hamilton]]'s intelligence and bravery. He would later promote him to colonel and appoint him his [[aide-de-camp]].{{sfnm|Ferling|2002|1pp=109–110|Puls|2008|2p=31}}

Washington initially banned the enlistment of blacks, both free and enslaved, into the Continental Army. The British saw an opportunity to divide the colonies, and the colonial governor of Virginia issued [[Dunmore's Proclamation|a proclamation]], which promised freedom to slaves if they joined the British.{{sfn|Morgan|2000|pp=290–291}} Desperate for manpower by late 1777, Washington relented and overturned his ban.<ref>{{cite web| title=Black Soldiers in the Revolutionary War| last=Collins| first=Elizabeth M.| date=March 4, 2013| url=https://www.army.mil/article-amp/97705/black_soldiers_in_the_revolutionary_war| publisher=U.S. Army| access-date=August 10, 2021| archive-date=August 10, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810152237/https://www.army.mil/article-amp/97705/black_soldiers_in_the_revolutionary_war| url-status=live}}</ref> By the end of the war, around one-tenth of Washington's army were blacks.{{sfn|Taylor|2016|p=231}} Following the British surrender, Washington sought to enforce terms of the preliminary [[Treaty of Paris (1783)]] by reclaiming slaves freed by the British and returning them to servitude. He arranged to make this request to [[Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester|Sir Guy Carleton]] on May 6, 1783. Instead, Carleton issued 3,000 freedom certificates and all former slaves in [[New York City]] were able to leave before the city was evacuated by the British in late November 1783.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Roberts |first1=Andrew |title=The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III |year=2021 |publisher=Penguin Random House |isbn=978-0241413333 |page=446}}</ref>

===Siege of Boston===
{{Main|Siege of Boston}}
[[File:Washington taking command of the American Army at Cambridge, 1775 - NARA - 532874.jpg|thumb|Washington arriving in [[Boston]] on July 2, 1775, to take command of the [[Continental Army]]]]
Early in 1775, in response to the growing rebellious movement, London sent British troops to occupy [[Boston]], led by General [[Thomas Gage]], commander of British forces in America.{{sfn|Taylor|2016|pp=121–123}} They set up fortifications, making the city impervious to attack. Local militias surrounded the city and effectively trapped the British troops, resulting in a standoff.{{sfn|Taylor|2016|pp=121–122, 143}}

As Washington headed for Boston, word of his march preceded him, and he was greeted everywhere; gradually, he became a symbol of the [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]] cause.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=193}} Upon Washington's arrival on July 2, 1775, two weeks after the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]], he set up headquarters in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]]. When he went to inspect the army, he found undisciplined militia.{{sfn|Taylor|2016|p=143}} After consultation, he initiated [[Benjamin Franklin]]'s suggested reforms: drilling the soldiers and imposing strict discipline.{{sfnm|Isaacson|2003|1p=303|Ferling|2002|2p=112|Taylor|2016|3p=143|Fitzpatrick|1936|4p=514}} Washington ordered his officers to identify the skills of recruits to ensure military effectiveness, while removing incompetent officers.{{sfn|Ferling|2002|pp=112–113, 116}} He petitioned Gage, his former superior, to release captured Patriot officers from prison and treat them humanely.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=57, 160, 166, 201}} In October 1775, King [[George III]] declared that the colonies were in open rebellion and relieved Gage of command for incompetence, replacing him with General [[William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe|William Howe]].{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=208|Taylor|2016|2pp=133–135}}

The Continental Army, reduced to only 9,600 men by January 1776 due to expiring short-term enlistments, had to be supplemented with militia. Soon, they were joined by [[Noble train of artillery|Knox with heavy artillery]] captured from [[Capture of Fort Ticonderoga|Fort Ticonderoga]].{{sfnm|Lengel|2005|1pp=124–126|Ferling|2002|2pp=116–119}} When the [[Charles River]] froze over, Washington was eager to cross and storm Boston, but General Gates and others were opposed to untrained militia striking well-garrisoned fortifications. Instead, he agreed to [[Fortification of Dorchester Heights|secure the Dorchester Heights]], {{convert|100|ft|m}} above Boston, with Knox's artillery to try to force the British out.{{sfn|Ferling|2009|p=100}}

On March 9, under cover of darkness, Washington's troops bombarded British ships in Boston harbor. On March 17, 9,000 British troops and [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalists]] began a chaotic ten-day evacuation aboard 120 ships. Soon after, Washington entered the city with 500 men, with explicit orders not to plunder the city.{{sfn|Henderson|2009|p=47}} He refrained from exerting military authority in Boston, leaving civilian matters in the hands of local authorities.{{efn|Congress initially directed the war effort in June 1776 with the committee known as "Board of War and Ordnance"; this was succeeded by the [[Board of War]] in July 1777, which eventually included members of the military.{{sfn|Freedman|2008|p=42}}}}{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=227–228|Lengel|2005|2pp=124–126|Ferling|2002|3pp=116–119|Taylor|2016|4pp=144, 153–154}}

===New York and New Jersey===
{{Main|New York and New Jersey Campaign}}

====Battle of Long Island====
{{Main|Battle of Long Island}}
[[File:Battleoflongisland.jpg|thumb|''Battle of Long Island'', an 1858 painting by [[Alonzo Chappel]]|alt=Painting by Alonzo Chappel, 1858, showing the frantic battle scene of the Battle of Long Island, with smoke in the background]]

After the victory at Boston, Washington correctly guessed that the British would return to [[New York City]], a Loyalist stronghold, and retaliate. He arrived there on April 13, 1776, and ordered the construction of fortifications to thwart the expected British attack. He also ordered his occupying forces to treat civilians and their property with respect, to avoid the abuses Bostonians suffered at the hands of British troops.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=229–230}}

Howe transported his resupplied army, with the British fleet, from [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]] to [[New York City]]. [[George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville|George Germain]], who ran the British war effort in England, believed it could be won with one "decisive blow".{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=235}} The British forces, including more than a hundred ships and thousands of troops, began arriving on [[Staten Island]] on July{{nbsp}}2 to lay siege to the city.{{sfnm|Fitzpatrick|1936|1pp=514–515|Taylor|2016|2pp=162–163}} After the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] was unanimously adopted on July 4, Washington informed his troops on July{{nbsp}}9 that Congress had declared the united colonies to be "free and independent states".{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=237}}

Howe's troop strength totaled 32,000 regulars and [[Hessian (soldier)|Hessian auxiliaries]], and Washington's consisted of 23,000, mostly raw recruits and militia.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=244–245|Taylor|2016|2pp=162–163}} In August, Howe landed 20,000 troops at [[Gravesend, Brooklyn]], and approached Washington's fortifications Opposing his generals, Washington chose to fight, based on inaccurate information that Howe's army had only 8,000-plus troops.{{sfnm|Ellis|2004|1pp=95–96|Chernow|2010|2p=244}} In the [[Battle of Long Island]], Howe assaulted Washington's flank and inflicted 1,500 Patriot casualties, the British suffering 400.{{sfn|Taylor|2016|p=164}} Washington retreated, instructing General [[William Heath]] to acquire river craft. On August 30, General [[William Alexander, Lord Stirling|William Alexander]] held off the British and gave cover while the army crossed the [[East River]] under darkness to [[Manhattan]] without loss of life or materiel, although Alexander was captured.{{sfn|McCullough|2005|pp=186–195}}
Howe was emboldened by his Long Island victory and dispatched Washington as "George Washington, Esq." in futility to negotiate peace. Washington declined, demanding to be addressed with diplomatic protocol, as general and fellow belligerent, not as a "rebel", lest his men be hanged as such if captured.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=240|Davis|1975|2pp=93–94|Taylor|2016|3p=164}} The [[Royal Navy]] bombarded the unstable earthworks on lower Manhattan Island.{{sfn|Taylor|2016|p=165}} Despite misgivings, Washington heeded the advice of Generals Greene and [[Israel Putnam|Putnam]] to defend [[Fort Washington (Manhattan)|Fort Washington]]. They were unable to hold it; Washington abandoned the fort and ordered his army north to the [[Battle of White Plains|White Plains]].{{sfnm|Davis|1975|1p=136|Chernow|2010|2p=257}}

Howe's pursuit forced Washington to retreat across the [[Hudson River]] to [[Fort Lee Historic Park|Fort Lee]] to avoid encirclement. Howe landed his troops on Manhattan in November and [[Battle of Fort Washington|captured Fort Washington]], inflicting high casualties on the Americans. Washington was responsible for delaying the retreat, though he blamed Congress and General Greene. Loyalists in New York City considered Howe a liberator and spread a rumor that Washington had set fire to the city.{{sfnm|Alden|1996|1p=137|Taylor|2016|2p=165}} Patriot morale reached its lowest when Lee was captured.{{sfnm|Taylor|2016|1pp=166–167|Farner|1996|2p=24}} Now reduced to 5,400 troops, Washington's army retreated through [[Province of New Jersey|New Jersey]], and Howe broke off pursuit to set up winter quarters in New York.{{sfnm|Fischer|2004|1pp=224–226|Taylor|2016|2pp=166–169}}

====Crossing the Delaware, Trenton, and Princeton====
{{Main|George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River|Battle of Trenton|Battle of the Assunpink Creek|Battle of Princeton}}
[[File:Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, MMA-NYC, 1851.jpg|thumb|[[Washington Crossing the Delaware (1851 paintings)|''Washington Crossing the Delaware'']], an 1851 portrait by [[Emanuel Leutze]]|alt=Famous 1851 painting by Emanuel Leutze, depicting Washington, standing in a boat with his troops, crossing the icy Delaware River, with soldiers pushing away chunks of ice]]
[[File:1819 Passage OfThe Delaware byThomasSully MFABoston.jpeg|thumb|''[[The Passage of the Delaware]]'', an 1819 portrait by [[Thomas Sully]]]]
[[File:The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton December 26 1776.jpeg|thumb|''[[The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton, December 26, 1776]]'', a [[John Trumbull]] portrait depicting the [[Battle of Trenton]]|alt=Painting showing Washington on horseback, accepting the surrender of Hessian troops after the Battle at Trenton]]

Washington crossed the [[Delaware River]] into [[Pennsylvania]], where Lee's replacement General [[John Sullivan (general)|John Sullivan]] joined him with 2,000 more troops.{{sfn|Taylor|2016|pp=166–167, 169}} The future of the Continental Army was in doubt due to lack of supplies, a harsh winter, expiring enlistments, and desertions. Washington was disappointed that many New Jersey residents were Loyalists or skeptical about independence.{{sfnm|Ketchum|1999|1p=235|Chernow|2010|2p=264}}

Howe split up his army and posted a [[Hessian (soldier)|Hessian]] garrison at [[Trenton, New Jersey|Trenton]] to hold western New Jersey and the east shore of the Delaware.{{sfn|Taylor|2016|p=169}} Desperate for a victory, Washington and his generals devised a surprise attack on Trenton. The army was to cross the Delaware in three divisions: one led by Washington (2,400 troops), another by General [[James Ewing (Pennsylvania politician)|James Ewing]] (700), and the third by Colonel [[John Cadwalader (general)|John Cadwalader]] (1,500). The force was to then split, with Washington taking the [[Pennington, New Jersey|Pennington]] Road and General Sullivan traveling south on the river's edge.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=270–273}}

Washington ordered a 60-mile search for [[Durham boat]]s to transport his army, and the destruction of vessels that could be used by the British.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=270–272|Randall|1997|2p=319}} He personally risked capture while staking out the Jersey shoreline alone leading up to the crossing. Washington [[George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River|crossed the Delaware]] on [[Christmas]] night, 1776.{{sfn|Willcox|Arnstein|1988|p=164}} His men followed across the ice-obstructed river from [[Washington Crossing Historic Park#McConkey's Ferry|McConkey's Ferry]], with 40 men per vessel. The wind churned up the waters, and they were pelted with hail, but by 3:00&nbsp;a.m. on December 26, they made it across with no losses.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=273}} Knox was delayed, managing frightened horses and about 18 field guns on flat-bottomed ferries. Cadwalader and Ewing failed to cross due to the ice and heavy currents. Once Knox arrived, Washington proceeded to Trenton, rather than risk being spotted returning his army to Pennsylvania.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=273–274|Fischer|2004|2pp=215–219|Taylor|2016|3p=171}}

The troops spotted Hessian positions a mile from Trenton, so Washington split his force into two columns, rallying his men: "Soldiers keep by your officers. For God's sake, keep by your officers." The two columns were separated at the Birmingham crossroads. General Greene's column took the upper Ferry Road, led by Washington, and General Sullivan's column advanced on River Road.{{sfn|Fischer|2004|pp=228–230}} The Americans marched in sleet and snowfall. Many were shoeless with bloodied feet, and two died of exposure. At sunrise, Washington, aided by Colonel Knox and artillery, led his men in a surprise attack on the unsuspecting Hessians and their commander, Colonel [[Johann Rall]]. The Hessians had 22 killed, including Colonel Rall, 83 wounded, and 850 captured with supplies.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=270, 275–276|Ferling|2002|2pp=146–147|Fischer|2004|3pp=170, 232–234, 254, 405}}

Washington retreated across the Delaware to Pennsylvania and returned to New Jersey on January 3, 1777, launching [[Battle of Princeton|an attack]] on British regulars at [[Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton]], with 40 Americans killed or wounded and 273 British killed or captured.{{sfnm|Fischer|2004|1p=254|Ketchum|1999|2pp=306–307|Alden|1996|3p=146}} American Generals [[Hugh Mercer]] and John Cadwalader were being driven back by the British when Mercer was mortally wounded. Washington arrived and led the men in a counterattack which advanced to within {{convert|30|yards|m}} of the British line.{{sfn|Alden|1996|p=145}}

Some British troops retreated after a brief stand, while others took refuge in [[Nassau Hall]], which became the target of Colonel [[Alexander Hamilton]]'s cannons. Washington's troops charged, the British surrendered in less than an hour, and 194 soldiers laid down their arms.{{sfnm|Ketchum|1999|1pp=361–364|Fischer|2004|2p=339|Chernow|2010|3pp=276–278}} Howe retreated to New York City where his army remained inactive until early the next year.{{sfn|Taylor|2016|p=172}} Washington took up winter headquarters in [[Arnold's Tavern|Jacob Arnold's Tavern]] in [[Morristown, New Jersey]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dryfoos |first=Delaney |date=July 5, 2018 |title=A true Fourth of July celebration: This town had a reading of Declaration of Independence |url=https://www.nj.com/morris/2018/07/reading_of_declaration_of_independence_brought_to.html |website=[[NJ.com]]}}</ref> while he received munition from the [[Hibernia mines]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Burger |first1=Joanna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MZxY7-Zx-xkC&dq=%22jacob+arnold%27s+tavern%22&pg=PA205 |title=25 Nature Spectacles in New Jersey |last2=Gochfeld |first2=Michael |year=2000 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=978-0-8135-2766-6 |page=205 |access-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408064542/https://books.google.com/books?id=MZxY7-Zx-xkC&dq=%22jacob+arnold%27s+tavern%22&pg=PA205 |url-status=live }}</ref> While in Morristown, Washington's troops disrupted British supply lines and expelled them from parts of New Jersey.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=285–286}}

During his stay in Morristown, Washington ordered the [[inoculation]] of Continental troops against smallpox. This went against the wishes of the [[Continental Congress]] who had issued a proclamation prohibiting it, but Washington feared the spread of smallpox in the army. The mass inoculation proved successful, with only isolated infections occurring and no regiments incapacitated by the disease.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lawler |first1=Andrew |title=How a smallpox epidemic nearly derailed the American Revolution |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/george-washington-beat-smallpox-epidemic-with-controversial-inoculations |work=[[National Geographic]] |date=April 16, 2020 |access-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-date=January 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105045208/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/george-washington-beat-smallpox-epidemic-with-controversial-inoculations |url-status=live }}</ref>

The British still controlled New York, and many Patriot soldiers did not re-enlist or deserted after the harsh winter campaign. Congress instituted greater rewards for re-enlisting and punishments for desertion to effect greater troop numbers.{{sfn|Fischer|2004|p=151}} Strategically, Washington's victories at Trenton and Princeton were pivotal; they revived Patriot morale and quashed the British strategy of showing overwhelming force followed by offering generous terms, changing the course of the war.{{sfnm|Taylor|2016|1p=172|Fischer|2004|2p=367}}{{sfn|Willcox|Arnstein|1988|p=164}} In February 1777, word of the American victories reached London, and the British realized the Patriots were in a position to demand unconditional independence.{{sfn|Ferling|2007|p=188}}

===Philadelphia===
{{Main|Philadelphia campaign}}

====Brandywine, Germantown, and Saratoga====
{{Main|Battle of Brandywine|Battle of Germantown|Battles of Saratoga}}

In July 1777, British General [[John Burgoyne]] led the [[Saratoga campaign]] south from Quebec through [[Lake Champlain]] and [[Siege of Fort Ticonderoga (1777)|recaptured Fort Ticonderoga]] intending to divide [[New England]], including control of the [[Hudson River]]. However, General Howe in British-occupied New York City blundered, taking his army south to [[Philadelphia]] rather than up the [[Hudson River]] to join Burgoyne near [[Albany, New York|Albany]].{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=300–301}}

Washington and [[Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette]] rushed to Philadelphia to engage Howe. In the [[Battle of Brandywine]], on September 11, 1777, Howe outmaneuvered Washington and marched unopposed into the nation's capital at Philadelphia. A Patriot [[Battle of Germantown|attack]] failed against the British at [[Germantown, Philadelphia|Germantown]] in October.{{sfnm|Randall|1997|1pp=340–341|Chernow|2010|2pp=301–304}}

In [[Upstate New York]], the Patriots were led by General [[Horatio Gates]]. Concerned about Burgoyne's movements southward, Washington sent reinforcements north with Generals [[Benedict Arnold]], his most aggressive field commander, and [[Benjamin Lincoln]]. On October 7, 1777, Burgoyne tried to take [[Battles of Saratoga|Bemis Heights]] but was isolated from support by Howe. He was forced to retreat to Saratoga and ultimately surrendered after the [[Battles of Saratoga]]. As Washington suspected, Gates' victory emboldened his critics.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=312–313}}

Biographer John Alden maintains, "It was inevitable that the defeats of Washington's forces and the concurrent victory of the forces in upper New York should be compared." Admiration for Washington was waning, including little credit from John Adams.{{sfn|Alden|1996|p=163}}<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Gelb |first1=Norman |title=Winter of Discontent |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/winter-of-discontent-81323909/ |magazine=Smithsonian |date=May 2003 |access-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229173930/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/winter-of-discontent-81323909/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Valley Forge and Monmouth====
{{Main|Valley Forge|Battle of Monmouth}}
[[File:Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge.jpg|thumb|''Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge'', a 1907 portrait by [[John Ward Dunsmore]]|alt=Painting showing Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette on horseback in a winter setting, at Valley Forge]]
[[File:BattleofMonmouth.jpg|thumb|''Washington Rallying the Troops at Monmouth'', an 1854 portrait by [[Emanuel Leutze]] depicting Washington at the [[Battle of Monmouth]]|alt=Painting showing Washington on horseback, sword raised, in the midst of battle.]]

Washington and his [[Continental Army]] of 11,000 men went into winter quarters at [[Valley Forge]] north of [[Philadelphia]] in December 1777. There they lost between 2,000 and 3,000 men as a result of disease and lack of food, clothing, and shelter.{{sfnm|Ferling|2002|1p=186|Alden|1996|2pp=165, 167|Freedman|2008|3p=30}} The British were comfortably quartered in Philadelphia, paying for supplies in [[Pound sterling|pounds sterling]], while Washington struggled with a devalued [[Early American currency|American paper currency]]. The woodlands were soon exhausted of game. By February, Washington was facing lowered morale and increased desertions among his troops.{{sfn|Alden|1996|p=165}}

An [[Conway Cabal|internal revolt]] by his officers, led by Major General [[Thomas Conway]], prompted some members of Congress to consider removing Washington from command. Washington's supporters resisted, and the matter was dropped after much deliberation.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Heydt|first=Bruce|title='Vexatious Evils': George Washington and the Conway Cabal|journal=American History|year=2005|volume=40|issue=5|pages=50–73}}</ref> Once the plot was exposed, Conway wrote an apology to Washington, resigned, and returned to France.{{sfnm|Flexner|1965|1p=138|Randall|1997|2pp=354–355}}

Washington made repeated petitions to Congress for provisions. He received a congressional delegation to check the Army's conditions and expressed the urgency of the situation, proclaiming: "Something must be done. Important alterations must be made." He recommended that Congress expedite supplies, and Congress agreed to strengthen and fund the army's supply lines by reorganizing the commissary department. By late February, supplies began arriving.{{sfn|Freedman|2008|p=42}} Meanwhile, Baron [[Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben]]'s incessant drilling transformed Washington's recruits into a disciplined fighting force by the end of winter camp.{{sfnm|Randall|1997|1pp=342, 356, 359|Ferling|2009|2p=172|Alden|1996|3p=168}} For his services, Washington promoted Von Steuben to Major General and made him chief of staff.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=336}}<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Trickey |first1=Erick |title=The Prussian Nobleman Who Helped Save the American Revolution |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/baron-von-steuben-180963048/ |magazine=Smithsonian |date=April 26, 2017 |access-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-date=May 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240527144106/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/baron-von-steuben-180963048/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In early 1778, the French responded to Burgoyne's defeat and entered into a [[Treaty of Alliance (1778)|Treaty of Alliance]] with the Americans. Congress ratified the treaty in May, which amounted to a French declaration of war against Britain.{{sfn|Taylor|2016|p=188}} In May 1778, Howe resigned and was replaced by [[Henry Clinton (British Army officer, born 1730)|Sir Henry Clinton]].{{sfn|Ferling|2007|p=296}}

The British evacuated Philadelphia for New York that June and Washington summoned a war council of American and French generals. He chose a partial attack on the retreating British at the [[Battle of Monmouth]]. Generals [[Charles Lee (general)|Charles Lee]] and Lafayette moved with 4,000 men, without Washington's knowledge, and bungled their first attack on June 28. Washington relieved Lee and achieved a draw after an expansive battle. At nightfall, the British continued their retreat to New York, and Washington moved his army outside the city.{{sfnm|Alden|1996|1pp=176–177|Ferling|2002|2pp=195–198}} Monmouth was Washington's last battle in the North.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=344}}

===West Point espionage===
{{Main|Culper Ring|Military career of Benedict Arnold, 1777–1779}}

Washington became America's first spymaster by designing an espionage system against the British.{{sfn|Nagy|2016|p=274}} In 1778, Major [[Benjamin Tallmadge]] formed the [[Culper Ring]] at Washington's direction to covertly collect information about the British in New York.{{sfn|Rose|2006|pp=75, 224, 258–261}} Washington had disregarded incidents of disloyalty by [[Benedict Arnold]], who had distinguished himself in many campaigns, including [[Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec|his invasion of Quebec]] and the [[Battle of Saratoga]].{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=378–387|Philbrick|2016|2p=35}}

In 1780, Arnold began supplying British spymaster [[John André]] with sensitive information intended to compromise Washington and capture [[West Point, New York|West Point]], a key American defensive position on the [[Hudson River]].{{sfnm|Adams|1928|1pp=365–366|Philbrick|2016|2pp=250–251}} Historians [[Nathaniel Philbrick]] and [[Ron Chernow]] noted possible reasons for Arnold's defection to be his anger at losing promotions to junior officers, or repeated slights from Congress. He was also deeply in debt, profiteering from the war, and disappointed by Washington's lack of support during his eventual [[court-martial]].{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=380|Palmer|2010|2p=203|Flexner|1991|3pp=119–221|Rose|2006|4p=196}}

After repeated requests, Washington agreed to give Arnold command of West Point in August.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=378, 380–381|Lengel|2005|2p=322|Adams|1928|3p=366|Philbrick|2016|4pp=280–282}} On September 21, Arnold met André and gave him plans to take over the garrison.{{sfnm|Adams|1928|1p=365|Palmer|2010|2pp=306, 315, 319, 320}} While returning to British lines, André was captured by militia who discovered the plans; upon hearing the news of André's capture on September 24, while waiting to greet and have breakfast with Washington, Arnold immediately fled to {{HMS|Vulture|1776|6}}, the ship that had brought André to West Point, and escaped to New York.{{sfnm|Van Doren|1941|1pp=194–195|Adams|1928|2p=366|Palmer|2010|3p=410}}

Upon being told about Arnold's treason, Washington recalled the commanders positioned under Arnold at key points around the fort to prevent any complicity. He assumed personal command at West Point and reorganized its defenses.{{sfnm|Palmer|2010|1pp=370–371|Middlekauff|2015|2p=232}} André's trial for espionage ended in a death sentence, and Washington offered to return him to the British in exchange for Arnold, but [[Henry Clinton (British Army officer, born 1730)|Clinton]] refused. André was hanged on October 2, 1780, despite his request for a firing squad, to deter other spies.{{sfnm|Flexner|1991|1p=386|Rose|2006|2p=212}}

===Southern theater and Yorktown===
{{Main|Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War}}
[[File:Couder Yorktown Versailles.JPG|thumb|Generals Washington and [[Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau|Rochambeau]] give final orders before launching the [[Siege of Yorktown]] in [[Yorktown, Virginia]] in September 1781.|alt=Generals Washington and Rochambeau, standing in front of HQ tent, giving last orders before the attack on Yorktown]]

In late 1778, General Clinton shipped 3,000 troops from New York to Georgia and launched a Southern invasion against [[Savannah, Georgia|Savannah]], reinforced by 2,000 British and Loyalist troops. They repelled an attack by American patriots and [[French Navy|French naval forces]], which bolstered the British war effort.{{sfn|Taylor|2016|p=230}}

In June 1778, [[Iroquois]] warriors joined with [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalist]] rangers led by [[Walter Butler (Loyalist)|Walter Butler]] and killed more than 200 frontiersmen, laying waste to the [[Wyoming Valley]] in [[Northeastern Pennsylvania]].{{sfn|Alden|1996|p=184}} In mid-1779, in response to this and other attacks on New England towns, Washington ordered General John Sullivan to lead an expedition to force the Iroquois out of New York by effecting "the total destruction and devastation" of their villages and taking their women and children hostage.{{sfn|Grizzard|2002|p=303}}{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=360}} The expedition systematically destroyed Iroquois villages and food stocks, and forced at least 5,036 Iroquois to flee to British Canada. The campaign directly killed a few hundred Iroquois, but according to historian Rhiannon Koehler, the net effect was to reduce the Iroquois by half. They became unable to survive the harsh winter of 1779–1780; some historians now describe the campaign as a genocide.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Koehler |first1=Rhiannon |date=Fall 2018 |title=Hostile Nations: Quantifying the Destruction of the Sullivan-Clinton Genocide of 1779 |journal=American Indian Quarterly |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=427–453 |doi=10.5250/amerindiquar.42.4.0427|s2cid=165519714  |issn = 0095-182X}}</ref>

Washington's troops went into quarters at [[Morristown, New Jersey]] for their worst winter of the war, with temperatures well below freezing. [[New York Harbor]] was frozen, snow covered the ground for weeks, and the troops again lacked provisions.{{sfn|Mann|2008|p=108}}

In January 1780, Clinton assembled 12,500 troops and attacked [[Siege of Charleston|Charles Town, South Carolina]], defeating General [[Benjamin Lincoln]]. By June, they occupied the South Carolina [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]].{{sfn|Taylor|2016|p=234}} Clinton returned to New York and left 8,000 troops under the command of General [[Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis|Charles Cornwallis]].{{sfn|Taylor|2016|pp=234–235}} Congress replaced Lincoln with Horatio Gates; after his defeat in the [[Battle of Camden]], Gates was replaced by Nathanael Greene, Washington's initial choice, but the British had firm control of the South. Washington was reinvigorated, however, when Lafayette returned from France with more ships, men, and supplies,{{sfn|Alden|1996|pp=187–188}} and 5,000 veteran French troops led by Marshal [[Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau|Rochambeau]] arrived at [[Newport, Rhode Island]] in July 1780.{{sfn|Lancaster|Plumb|1985|p=311}} French naval forces then landed, led by Admiral [[François Joseph Paul de Grasse|de Grasse]].{{sfn|Alden|1996|pp=197–199, 206}}

Washington's army went into winter quarters at [[New Windsor, New York]] in December 1780; he urged Congress and state officials to expedite provisions so the army would not "continue to struggle under the same difficulties they have hitherto endured".{{sfn|Alden|1996|p=193}} On March 1, 1781, Congress ratified the [[Articles of Confederation]], but the government that took effect on March 2 did not have the power to levy taxes, and it loosely held the states together.{{sfn|Taylor|2016|p=339}}

General Clinton sent Benedict Arnold, now a British Brigadier General with 1,700 troops, to Virginia to capture [[Portsmouth, Virginia|Portsmouth]] and conduct raids on Patriot forces; Washington responded by sending Lafayette south to counter Arnold's efforts.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=403}} Washington initially hoped to bring the fight to New York, drawing off British forces from Virginia and ending the war there, but Rochambeau advised him that Cornwallis in Virginia was the better target. De Grasse's fleet arrived off the Virginia coast, cutting off British retreat. Seeing the advantage, Washington made a feint towards Clinton in New York, then headed south to Virginia.{{sfnm|Alden|1996|1pp=198–199|Chernow|2010|2pp=403–404}}

====Yorktown====
{{Main|Siege of Yorktown}}

The siege of Yorktown was a decisive victory by the combined forces of the Continental Army commanded by Washington, the French Army commanded by General Comte de Rochambeau, and the French Navy commanded by Admiral de Grasse. On August 19, the march to Yorktown led by Washington and Rochambeau began, which is known now as the "[[Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route|celebrated march]]".{{sfn|Lengel|2005|p=335}} Washington was in command of an army of 7,800 Frenchmen, 3,100 militia, and 8,000 Continentals. Inexperienced in siege warfare, he often deferred to the judgment of General Rochambeau and relied on his advice. Despite this, Rochambeau never challenged Washington's authority as the battle's commanding officer.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=413}}

By late September, Patriot-French forces surrounded Yorktown, trapped the British Army, and prevented British reinforcements from Clinton in the North, while the French navy emerged victorious at the [[Battle of the Chesapeake]]. The final American offensive began with a shot fired by Washington.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Riley|first=Edward M.|title=St. George Tucker's Journal of the Siege of Yorktown, 1781 |journal=The William and Mary Quarterly |date=July 1948|jstor=1923466|publisher=Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture|volume=5|number=3|pages=375–395|doi=10.2307/1923466}}</ref> The siege ended with a British surrender on October 19, 1781; over 7,000 British soldiers became [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]].{{sfnm|Alden|1996|1pp=198, 201|Chernow|2010|2pp=372–373, 418|Lengel|2005|3p=337}} Washington negotiated the terms of surrender for two days, and the official signing ceremony took place on October 19; Cornwallis claimed illness and was absent, sending General [[Charles O'Hara]] as his proxy.{{sfnm|1a1=Mann|1y=2008|1p=38|2a1=Lancaster|2a2=Plumb|2y=1985|2p=254|3a1=Chernow|3y=2010|3p=419}} As a gesture of goodwill, Washington held a dinner for the American, French, and British generals, all of whom fraternized on friendly terms and identified with one another as members of the same professional military [[caste]].{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=419}}

Afterwards, Washington moved the army to [[New Windsor, New York]] where they remained stationed until the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]] was signed on September 3, 1783, formally ending the war. Although the peace treaty did not happen for two years following the end of the battle, Yorktown proved to be the last significant battle or campaign of the Revolutionary War, with the British Parliament agreeing to cease hostilities in March 1782.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fleming |first1=Thomas |title=The Perils of Peace: America's Struggle for Survival After Yorktown |year=2007 |publisher=Smithsonian |isbn=978-0061139109 |url=https://archive.org/details/perilsofpeaceame00flem/page/n7/mode/2up |pages=194, 312}}</ref>

===Demobilization and resignation===
{{Main|George Washington's resignation as commander-in-chief}}
[[File:General George Washington Resigning his Commission.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|''[[General George Washington Resigning His Commission]]'', an 1824 portrait by [[John Trumbull]]|alt=Painting by John Trumbull, depicting General Washington, standing in Maryland State House hall, surrounded by statesmen and others, resigning his commission]]

When peace negotiations began in April 1782, both the British and French began gradually evacuating their forces.{{sfn|Taylor|2016|pp=313–315}} With the American treasury empty, unpaid and mutinous soldiers forced the adjournment of Congress. In March 1783, Washington successfully calmed the [[Newburgh Conspiracy]], a planned munity by American officers; Congress promised each a five-year bonus.{{sfn|Kohn|1970|pp=187–220}} Washington submitted an account of $450,000 in expenses which he had advanced to the army, equivalent to ${{Inflation|index=US|value=.45|start_year=1783|r=2|cursign=$}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|index=US}}. The account was settled, though it was allegedly vague about large sums and included expenses his wife had incurred through visits to his headquarters.{{sfn|Alden|1996|p=209}}

The following month, a Congressional committee led by [[Alexander Hamilton]] began adapting the army for peacetime. In August 1783, Washington gave the Army's perspective to the committee in his ''Sentiments on a Peace Establishment'', which advised Congress to keep a standing army, create a "national militia" of separate state units, and establish a navy and a national military academy.<ref>{{cite web|last=Washington|first=George|title=Sentiments on a Peace Establishment|url=https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-11202|publisher=National Historical Publications and Records Commission (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)|year=1783|access-date=July 20, 2018|archive-date=July 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180701055249/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-11202|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]] was signed on September 3, 1783, and Britain officially recognized American independence. Washington disbanded his army, giving a farewell address to his soldiers on November 2.<ref>{{cite web|last=Washington|first=George|title=Letter to Continental Army, November 2, 1783, Farewell Orders; Letter to Henry Knox, November 2, 1783|year=1799|work=George Washington Papers, 1741–1799: Series 3b Varick Transcripts|url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mgw3&fileName=mgw3b/gwpage016.db&recNum=347|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=November 13, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130821112926/http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mgw3&fileName=mgw3b%2Fgwpage016.db&recNum=347|archive-date=August 21, 2013 |page=343}}</ref> During this time, Washington oversaw the [[Evacuation Day (New York)|evacuation of British forces in New York]] and was greeted by parades and celebrations.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=446, 448–449, 451|Puls|2008|2pp=184–186}} Along with Governor [[George Clinton (vice president)|George Clinton]], he took formal possession of the city on November 25.{{sfn|Randall|1997|p=405}}

In early December 1783, Washington bade farewell to his officers at [[Fraunces Tavern]] and [[George Washington's resignation as commander-in-chief|resigned as commander-in-chief]] soon thereafter.{{sfn|Taylor|2016|p=319}} In a final appearance in uniform, he gave a statement to the Congress: "I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my official life, by commending the interests of our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God, and those who have the superintendence of them, to his holy keeping."{{sfnm|Alden|1996|1p=210|Chernow|2010|2pp=451–452, 455}} Washington's resignation was acclaimed at home and abroad and showed a skeptical world that the new republic would not degenerate into chaos.{{efn|Thomas Jefferson praised Washington for his "moderation and virtue" in relinquishing command. Reportedly, upon being informed of Washington's plans by painter [[Benjamin West]], King George III remarked: "If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world."{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=454|Taylor|2016|2pp=319–320}}}}{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=454–455}}

The same month, Washington was appointed president-general of the [[Society of the Cincinnati]], a newly established hereditary fraternity of Revolutionary War officers. He served in this capacity for the remainder of his life.{{efn|The Society of the Cincinnati was formed by Henry Knox in May 1783, to carry on the memory of the War of Independence and to establish a fraternity of officers. The Society was named after [[Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus|Cincinnatus]], a famous Roman military leader who relinquished his position after his Roman victory at [[Battle of Mount Algidus|Algidus (458 BC)]]. However, he had reservations about some of the society's precepts, including heredity requirements for membership and receiving money from foreign interests.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=444, 461, 498|Ferling|2009|2p=xx|Parsons|1898|3p=96|Brumwell|2012|4p=412}}}}{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=444}}

==Early republic (1783–1789)==
{{Further|Confederation Period|Articles of Confederation}}

===Return to Mount Vernon===
{{Quote box
|align=right
|width=26em
|quote="I am not only retired from all public employments but I am retiring within myself, and shall be able to view the solitary walk and tread the paths of private life with heartfelt satisfaction&nbsp;... I will move gently down the stream of life, until I sleep with my fathers."
|author= — George Washington in a letter to Lafayette.<br> February 1, 1784.{{sfnm|Randall|1997|1p=410|Flexner|1974|2pp=182–183|3a1=Dalzell|3a2= Dalzell|3y=1998|3p=112}}}}

Washington was longing to return home after spending just ten days at Mount Vernon out of {{frac|8|1|2}} years of war. He arrived on Christmas Eve, delighted to be "free of the bustle of a camp and the busy scenes of public life".{{sfn|Ferling|2009|p=246}} He was a celebrity and was [[wiktionary:feted|fêted]] during a visit to his mother at Fredericksburg in February 1784, and he received a constant stream of visitors wishing to pay their respects at Mount Vernon.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=462|Ferling|2009|2pp=255–256}}

Washington reactivated his interests in the [[Great Dismal Swamp]] and [[Potomac Company|Potomac canal]] projects begun before the war, though neither paid him any dividends, and he undertook a 34-day, {{convert|680|mi|km|adj=on}} trip to check on his land holdings in the Ohio Country.{{sfn|Ferling|2009|pp=247–255}} He oversaw the completion of the remodeling work at Mount Vernon, which transformed his residence into the mansion that survives to this day—although his financial situation was not strong. Creditors paid him in depreciated wartime currency, and he owed significant amounts in taxes and wages. Mount Vernon had made no profit during his absence, and he saw persistently poor crop yields due to pestilence and poor weather. His estate recorded its eleventh year running at a deficit in 1787, and there was little prospect of improvement.{{sfnm|Ferling|2009|1pp=246–247|Chernow|2010|2pp=552–553|Ellis|2004|3p=167}} In 1784, Washington declined an invitation from Lafayette to visit France because he couldn't afford the trip.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/11/george-washington-nightmare-donald-trump/679946/ |title=The Moment of Truth |date=October 9, 2024 |last=Nichols |first=Tom |publisher=[[The Atlantic]] |access-date=October 21, 2024}}</ref>

To make his estate profitable again, Washington undertook a new landscaping plan and succeeded in cultivating a range of fast-growing trees and native shrubs.{{sfnm|Wulf|2012|1p=52|Subak|2018|2pp=43–44}} He also began breeding [[mule]]s after being gifted a [[Andalusian donkey|Spanish jack]] by King [[Charles III of Spain]] in 1784. There were few mules in the United States at that time, and he believed that they would revolutionize [[agriculture]] and [[transportation]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Gift (Donkey) |website=George Washington's Mount Vernon |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/royal-gift-donkey/ |publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association |access-date=July 6, 2021 |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709184258/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/royal-gift-donkey/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Constitutional Convention of 1787===
{{Main|Constitutional Convention (United States)}}
[[File:Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|''[[Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States]]'', a 1940 portrait by [[Howard Chandler Christy]] depicting Washington as the presiding officer at the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention]] in 1787|alt=Painting by Howard Chandler Christy, depicting the signing of the Constitution of the United States, with Washington as the presiding officer standing at right]]

Before returning to private life in June 1783, Washington called for a strong union. Though he was concerned that he might be criticized for meddling in civil matters, he sent a circular letter to the states, maintaining that the [[Articles of Confederation]] was no more than "a rope of sand". He believed the nation was on the verge of "anarchy and confusion", was vulnerable to foreign intervention, and that a national constitution would unify the states under a strong central government.{{sfnm|Alden|1996|1p=221|Chernow|2010|2p=518|Ferling|2009|3p=266}}

When [[Shays' Rebellion]] erupted in Massachusetts over taxation, Washington was further convinced that a national constitution was needed.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=517–519}} Some nationalists feared that the new republic had descended into lawlessness, and they met on September 11, 1786, at [[Annapolis Convention (1786)|Annapolis]] to ask Congress to revise the Articles of Confederation. One of their biggest efforts was getting Washington to attend.{{sfnm|Taylor|2016|1pp=373–374|Ferling|2009|2p=266}} Congress agreed to a Constitutional Convention to be held in Philadelphia in Spring 1787, with each state to send delegates.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=523|Taylor|2016|2pp=373–374}}

On December 4, 1786, Washington was chosen to lead the Virginia delegation, but he declined on December 21. He had concerns about the legality of the convention and consulted [[James Madison]], [[Henry Knox]], and others. They persuaded him to attend as his presence might induce reluctant states to send delegates and smooth the way for the ratification process while also giving legitimacy to the convention.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=220–221|Ferling|2009|2p=266}} On March 28, Washington told Governor [[Edmund Randolph]] that he would attend the convention but made it clear that he was urged to attend.{{sfnm|Ferling|2009|1p=266|Chernow|2010|2pp=218, 220–224, 520–526}}

Washington arrived in Philadelphia on May 9, 1787, though a quorum was not attained until May 25. Benjamin Franklin nominated Washington to preside over the convention, and he was unanimously elected to serve as president general.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=520–521, 523, 526, 529|Unger|2013|2p=33}} The convention's state-mandated purpose was to revise the Articles of Confederation, and the new government would be established when the resulting document was "duly confirmed by the several states".<ref>{{cite web|editor-last=Elliot|editor-first=Jonathan|title=The Debates in the Several State Conventions: Vols. I-V |publisher=Published by editor|year=1827|url=https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/elliot-the-debates-in-the-several-state-conventions-5-vols |website=[[Liberty Fund]]}}</ref> Randolph introduced Madison's [[Virginia Plan]] on May 27, the third day of the convention. It called for an entirely new constitution and a sovereign national government, which Washington highly recommended.{{sfn|Ferling|1988|pp=359–360}}

On July 10, Washington wrote to [[Alexander Hamilton]]: "I almost despair of seeing a favorable issue to the proceedings of our convention and do therefore repent having had any agency in the business."{{sfn|Alden|1996|pp=226–227}} Nevertheless, he lent his prestige to the work of the other delegates, unsuccessfully lobbying many to support ratification of the [[Constitution of the United States|Constitution]], such as anti-federalists [[Edmund Randolph]] and [[George Mason]].{{sfn|Alden|1996|p=229}} The final version was voted on and [[Signing of the United States Constitution|signed by 39 of 55 delegates]] on September 17, 1787.

===Chancellor of William & Mary===
In 1788, the Board of Visitors of the [[College of William & Mary]] decided to re-establish the position of Chancellor, and elected Washington to the office on January 18.<ref name="chancellor">{{cite web |title=Duties and History |url=https://www.wm.edu/about/administration/chancellor/duties/index.php |publisher=[[College of William & Mary]] |access-date=April 2, 2021 |archive-date=March 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307230012/https://www.wm.edu/about/administration/chancellor/duties/index.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The College Rector Samuel Griffin wrote to Washington inviting him to the post, and in a letter dated April 30, 1788, Washington accepted the position of the 14th [[Chancellor of the College of William & Mary]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Washington |first=George |title=George Washington to Samuel Griffin, April 30, 1788 |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/mgw2.015/?sp=93 |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=April 2, 2021 |date=April 30, 1788 |archive-date=June 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611055707/https://www.loc.gov/resource/mgw2.015/?sp=93 |url-status=live }}</ref> He continued to serve through his presidency until his death on December 14, 1799.<ref name="chancellor"/>

===First presidential election===
{{Main|1788–1789 United States presidential election}}

The delegates to the Convention anticipated a Washington presidency and left it to him to define the office once elected.{{efn|Starting in 1774, 14 men served as [[President of the Continental Congress]] but bore no relationship to the presidency established under Article II of the Constitution. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress called its presiding officer "President of the United States in Congress Assembled", but this position had no national executive powers.{{sfnm|Jensen|1948|1pp=178–179|Unger|2013|2pp=61, 146|3a1=Jillson|3a2=Wilson|3y=1994|3p=77}}}}{{sfn|Alden|1996|pp=226–227}}

The state electors under the Constitution voted for the president on February 4, 1789, and Washington suspected that most Republicans had not voted for him.{{sfnm|1a1=Chernow|1y=2010|1pp=559–560|2a1=Ferling|2y=2009|2p=361}} The mandated March{{nbsp}}4 date passed without a Congressional quorum to count the votes, but a quorum was reached on April 5. The votes were tallied the next day, and Washington won the majority of every state's electoral votes. He was informed of his election as president by Congressional Secretary [[Charles Thomson]].{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=551}} John Adams received the next highest number of votes and was elected vice president.{{sfn|Ferling|2009|p=274}} Despite feeling "anxious and painful sensations" about leaving Mount Vernon, he departed for New York City on April 16 to be inaugurated.{{sfnm|Ferling|2009|1pp=274–275|Chernow|2010|2pp=559–561}}<ref>{{cite web|last=Washington|first=George|title=April 1789|url=https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/01-05-02-0005-0001|publisher=National Historical Publications and Records Commission (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)|year=1789|access-date=February 26, 2020|archive-date=February 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226123238/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/01-05-02-0005-0001|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Presidency (1789–1797)==
{{Main|Presidency of George Washington}}
[[File:George Washington 1795.jpg|thumb|''President George Washington'', a 1795 portrait by [[Gilbert Stuart]]|alt=Painting by Gilbert Stuart (1795), formal portrait of President George Washington]]

Washington was [[Presidency of George Washington|inaugurated]] on April 30, 1789, taking the [[Oath of office of the President of the United States|oath of office]] at [[Federal Hall]] in New York City.{{efn|There has been debate over whether Washington added "so help me God" to the end of the oath.{{sfnm|Irving|1857|1p=475|Alden|1996|2p=236}}}}{{sfnm|Cooke|2002|1p=4|Chernow|2010|2pp=550–551|Fitzpatrick|1936|3p=522}} His coach was led by militia and a marching band and followed by statesmen and foreign dignitaries in an inaugural parade, with a crowd of 10,000.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=566–567|Randall|1997|2p=448}} Chancellor [[Robert R. Livingston (chancellor)|Robert R. Livingston]] administered the oath, using a [[George Washington Inaugural Bible|Bible provided by the Masons]], after which the militia fired a 13-gun salute.{{sfnm|Cooke|2002|1p=4|Chernow|2010|2p=568}} Washington read a speech in the Senate Chamber, asking "that Almighty Being ... consecrate the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States".{{sfnm|Randall|1997|1p=448|Alden|1996|2p=236}} Though he wished to serve without a salary, Congress insisted that he accept it, later providing Washington $25,000 per year to defray costs of the presidency, equivalent to ${{Inflation|index=US|value=.25|start_year=1789|r=2}}&nbsp;million today.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=552|Fitzpatrick|1936|2loc=v. 19, p. 522}}
Washington wrote to [[James Madison]]: "As the first of everything in our situation will serve to establish a precedent, it is devoutly wished on my part that these precedents be fixed on true principles."{{sfn|Unger|2013|p=76}} To that end, he preferred the title "Mr. President" over more majestic names proposed by the Senate, including "His Excellency" and "His Highness the President".{{sfn|Bassett|1906|p=155}} His executive precedents included the inaugural address, messages to Congress, and the [[Cabinet of the United States|cabinet form]] of the [[Federal government of the United States|executive branch]].{{sfn|Unger|2013|pp=236–237}}

Washington planned to resign after his first term, but political strife convinced him to remain in office.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=674–675}} He was an able administrator and a judge of talent and character, and he regularly talked with department heads to get their advice.{{sfnm|Ellis|2004|1pp=197–198|Unger|2013|2pp=236–237}} He tolerated opposing views, despite fears that a democratic system would lead to political violence, and he conducted a smooth transition of power to his successor.{{sfnm|Genovese|2009|1p=589|Unger|2013|2pp=236–237}} He remained non-partisan throughout his presidency (the only United States president to do so), and opposed the divisiveness of political parties, but he favored a strong central government, was sympathetic to a Federalist form of government, and leery of the Republican opposition.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=696–698|Randall|1997|2p=478}}

Washington dealt with major problems. The old [[Confederation Period|Confederation]] lacked the powers to handle its workload and had weak leadership, no executive, a small bureaucracy of clerks, large debt, worthless paper money, and no power to establish taxes.{{sfn|Cooke|2002|p=5}} He had the task of assembling an executive department and relied on [[Tobias Lear]] for advice selecting its officers.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=575}} Britain refused to relinquish its forts in the American West,{{sfn|Cooke|2002|p=5}} and [[Barbary pirates#18th–19th centuries|Barbary pirates]] preyed on American merchant ships in the Mediterranean before the United States even had a navy.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=514}}

===Cabinet and executive departments===
{{See also|Cabinet of the United States}}
{{Infobox U.S. Cabinet
|align=right
|Name=Washington
|President=George Washington
|President start=1789
|President end=1797
|Vice President=[[John Adams]]
|Vice President start=1789
|Vice President end=1797
|State=[[John Jay]] (acting)
|State start=1789
|State end=1790
|State 2=[[Thomas Jefferson]]
|State start 2=1790
|State end 2=1793
|State 3=[[Edmund Randolph]]
|State start 3=1794
|State end 3=1795
|State 4=[[Timothy Pickering]]
|State start 4=1795
|State end 4=1797
|Treasury=[[Alexander Hamilton]]
|Treasury start=1789
|Treasury end=1795
|Treasury 2=[[Oliver Wolcott Jr.]]
|Treasury start 2=1795
|Treasury end 2=1797
|War=[[Henry Knox]]
|War start=1789
|War end=1794
|War 2=[[Timothy Pickering]]
|War date 2=1795
|War 3=[[James McHenry]]
|War start 3=1796
|War end 3=1797
|Justice=[[Edmund Randolph]]
|Justice start=1789
|Justice end=1794
|Justice 2=[[William Bradford (Attorney General)|William Bradford]]
|Justice start 2=1794
|Justice end 2=1795
|Justice 3=[[Charles Lee (Attorney General)|Charles Lee]]
|Justice start 3=1795
|Justice end 3=1797
}}

Congress created executive departments in 1789, including the [[United States Department of State|State Department]] in July, the [[United States Department of War|War Department]] in August, and the [[United States Department of the Treasury|Treasury Department]] in September. Washington appointed [[Edmund Randolph]] as Attorney General, [[Samuel Osgood]] as Postmaster General, [[Thomas Jefferson]] as [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]], [[Henry Knox]] as [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]], and [[Alexander Hamilton]] as [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|Secretary of the Treasury]]. Washington's cabinet became a consulting and advisory body, not mandated by the Constitution.{{sfnm|Ferling|2009|1pp=281–282|Cooke|2002|2pp=4–5}}

Washington's cabinet members formed rival parties with sharply opposing views, most fiercely illustrated between Hamilton and Jefferson.{{sfnm|Cooke|2002|1p=5|Banning|1974|2p=5}} Washington restricted cabinet discussions to topics of his choosing, without participating in the debate. He occasionally requested cabinet opinions in writing and expected department heads to agreeably carry out his decisions.{{sfn|Cooke|2002|p=5}}

===Domestic issues===
Washington was apolitical and opposed the formation of parties, suspecting that conflict would undermine republicanism.{{sfn|Elkins|McKitrick|1995|p=290}} He exercised great restraint in using [[List of United States presidential vetoes|his veto power]], writing that "I give my Signature to many Bills with which my Judgment is at variance..."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ellis|first=Richard J.|url=https://archive.org/details/foundingamerican0000unse/page/132/mode/2up|title=Founding the American Presidency|year=1999|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-8476-9499-0|page=133 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

His closest advisors formed two factions, portending the [[First Party System]]. Secretary of the Treasury [[Alexander Hamilton]] formed the [[Federalist Party]] to promote national credit and a financially powerful nation. Secretary of State [[Thomas Jefferson]] opposed Hamilton's agenda and founded the [[Democratic-Republican Party|Jeffersonian Republicans]]. Washington favored Hamilton's agenda, however, and it ultimately went into effect—resulting in bitter controversy.{{sfn|Cooke|2002|p=7}}

Washington proclaimed November 26, 1789, as a day of [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] to encourage national unity. "It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor." He spent that day fasting and visiting debtors in prison to provide them with food and beer.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=585, 609|Henriques|2006|2p=65|3a1=Novak|3a2=Novak|3y=2007|3pp=144–146}}

====African Americans====
In response to two antislavery petitions that were presented to Congress in 1790, slaveholders in Georgia and South Carolina threatened to "blow the trumpet of civil war". Washington and Congress responded with a series of racist measures: [[Naturalization Act of 1790|naturalization was denied]] to black immigrants; [[Militia Acts of 1792|blacks were barred from serving]] in state militias; the [[Southwest Territory]] (later the state of Tennessee) was permitted to maintain slavery; and two more slave states were admitted (Kentucky in 1792 and Tennessee in 1796). On February 12, 1793, Washington signed into law the [[Fugitive Slave Act of 1793|Fugitive Slave Act]], which overrode state laws and courts, allowing agents to cross state lines to return escaped slaves.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=758|Taylor|2016|2pp=399–400}} Many free blacks in the north decried the law believing it would allow bounty hunting and kidnapping. The Fugitive Slave Act gave effect to the Constitution's [[Fugitive Slave Clause]], and the Act was passed overwhelmingly in Congress.{{sfn|Taylor|2016|pp=399–400}}

At the same time, Washington signed a reenactment of the [[Northwest Ordinance]] in 1789, which had freed all slaves brought after 1787 into a vast expanse of federal territory north of the [[Ohio River]], except for slaves escaping from slave states.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rowe|first=Jill E.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgI9DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA37|title=Invisible in Plain Sight: Self-Determination Strategies of Free Blacks in the Old Northwest|year=2016|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=978-1-4539-1900-2|page=37}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Finkelman|first=Paul|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j3hsBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA77|title=Slavery and the Founders: Race and Liberty in the Age of Jefferson|date=April 9, 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-52025-2|page=77}}</ref> The 1787 law lapsed when the new U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1789.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Northwest Ordinance |url=https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/artifact/northwest-ordinance-1787-passed-july-13-1787 |website=visitthecapitol.gov |publisher=[[United States Capitol|U.S. Capitol]] |quote=Congress reenacted the ordinance in 1789 and subsequently extended most of its provisions to other western territories, as the United States became a transcontinental nation. |access-date=August 31, 2023 |archive-date=August 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831101033/https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/artifact/northwest-ordinance-1787-passed-july-13-1787 |url-status=live }}</ref> He also signed the [[Slave Trade Act of 1794]], which sharply limited American involvement in the [[Atlantic slave trade]].{{sfn|Bassett|1906|pp=187–189}} On February 18, 1791, Congress admitted the free state of Vermont into the Union as the 14th state as of March 4, 1791.<ref>{{cite web |last=First Congress |first=Third Session |title=An Act for the admission of the State of Vermont into this Union |work=[[The Avalon Project]] |publisher=Yale Law School |date=February 18, 1791 |url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/vt03.asp |access-date=November 24, 2014 |archive-date=October 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018114336/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/vt03.asp |url-status=live }}</ref>

====National Bank====
[[File:Philadelphia Presidents house.jpg|thumb|[[President's House (Philadelphia)|President's House]] in [[Philadelphia]], where both Washington and then [[John Adams]] worked and resided until completion of the [[White House]] in 1800|alt=Engraving of President Washington's House in Philadelphia, his residence from 1790 to 1797]]

Washington's first term was largely devoted to economic concerns.{{sfn|Chernow|2005|p=345}} Establishment of public credit became a primary challenge for the federal government.{{sfn|Banning|1974|pp=5–7}} Hamilton submitted a report to a deadlocked Congress, and he, Madison, and Jefferson reached the [[Compromise of 1790]] in which Jefferson agreed to Hamilton's debt proposals in exchange for moving the nation's capital temporarily to Philadelphia and then south near [[Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)|Georgetown]] on the [[Potomac River]].{{sfn|Cooke|2002|p=7}} The terms were legislated in the [[Funding Act of 1790]] and the [[Residence Act]], both of which Washington signed into law. Congress authorized the assumption and payment of the nation's debts, with funding provided by customs duties and excise taxes.{{sfn|Cooke|2002|pp=7–8}}

Hamilton caused controversy in Cabinet by advocating for the establishment of the [[First Bank of the United States]]. Madison and Jefferson objected to the idea, but legislation creating the bank easily passed Congress. Jefferson and [[Edmund Randolph|Randolph]] insisted the federal government was going beyond its constitutional authority. Hamilton argued the government could charter the bank under the implied powers granted by the constitution. Washington sided with Hamilton and signed the bank legislation on February 25, 1791. The rift between Hamilton and Jefferson, meanwhile, became openly hostile.{{sfn|Cooke|2002|p=8}}

The nation's [[Panic of 1792|first financial crisis]] occurred in March 1792. Hamilton's Federalists exploited large loans to gain control of U.S. debt securities, causing a run on the national bank;{{sfn|Sobel|1968|p=27}} the markets returned to normal by mid-April.{{sfnm|Banning|1974|1p=9|Sobel|1968|2p=30}} Jefferson believed Hamilton was part of the scheme, despite Hamilton's efforts to ameliorate.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=673–674}}

====Jefferson–Hamilton feud====
{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = horizontal
| caption_align = center
| total_width = 330
| image1 = T Jefferson by Charles Willson Peale 1791 2.jpg
| alt1 = Formal portrait of Thomas Jefferson, part of a dual image of Jefferson and Hamilton
| image2 = Alexander Hamilton portrait by John Trumbull 1806, detail.jpg
| alt2 = Formal portrait of Alexander Hamilton, part of a dual image of Jefferson and Hamilton
| footer= [[Thomas Jefferson]] ''(left)'' and [[Alexander Hamilton]] ''(right)'' held opposing political views and frequently clashed in cabinet meetings, much to Washington's dismay.
}}

Jefferson and Hamilton adopted diametrically opposed political principles. Hamilton believed in a strong national government requiring a national bank and foreign loans to function, while Jefferson believed the states and the farm element should primarily direct the government; he also resented the idea of banks and foreign loans. To Washington's dismay, the two men persistently entered into disputes and infighting.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=515, 627–630, 648–650|Randall|1997|2pp=452, 463, 468–471}} Hamilton demanded that Jefferson resign if he could not support Washington, and Jefferson told Washington that Hamilton's fiscal system would lead to the overthrow of the republic.{{sfnm|Banning|1974|1p=8|Cooke|2002|2p=9}} Washington urged them to call a truce for the sake of the nation, but they ignored him.{{sfnm|Cooke|2002|1p=9|Fitzpatrick|1936|2loc=v. 19, p. 523}}

Jefferson's political actions, his support of Freneau's ''National Gazette'',{{sfn|Elkins|McKitrick|1995|pp=240, 285, 290, 361}} and his attempts to undermine Hamilton nearly led Washington to dismiss him from the cabinet; he ultimately resigned his position in December 1793, and Washington forsook him.{{sfnm|Cooke|2002|1p=9|Chernow|2005|2p=427}}

The feud led to the well-defined Federalist and Republican parties, and party affiliation became necessary for election to Congress by 1794.{{sfn|Ferling|2013|pp=222, 283–284, 301–302}} Washington remained aloof from congressional attacks on Hamilton, but did not publicly protect him. The [[Hamilton–Reynolds affair|Hamilton–Reynolds sex scandal]] opened Hamilton to disgrace, but Washington continued to hold him in "very high esteem".{{sfn|Ferling|2013|pp=301–302}}

====Whiskey Rebellion====
{{Main|Whiskey Rebellion}}
[[File:WhiskeyRebellion.jpg|left|thumb|Washington reviews the troops near [[Fort Cumberland (Maryland)|Fort Cumberland, Maryland]], before their march to suppress the [[Whiskey Rebellion]] in [[Western Pennsylvania]]]]

In March 1791, at Hamilton's urging, with support from Madison, Congress imposed an excise tax on distilled spirits to help curtail the national debt, which took effect in July.{{sfn|Chernow|2005|pp=342–343}} Grain farmers strongly protested in Pennsylvania's frontier districts; they argued that they were unrepresented and were shouldering too much of the debt, comparing their situation to British taxation pre-Revolution.

On August 2, Washington assembled his cabinet to discuss the situation. Unlike Washington, who had reservations about using force, Hamilton was eager to suppress the rebellion with federal authority.{{sfn|Kohn|1972|pp=567–568, 570}} Wanting to avoid involving the federal government, Washington first called on [[Pennsylvania]] state officials to take the initiative, but they declined. On August 7, Washington issued his first proclamation for calling up state militias. After appealing for peace, he reminded the protestors that, unlike the rule of the British crown, the Federal law was issued by state-elected representatives.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=719–721|Puls|2008|2p=219}}

Threats and violence against tax collectors, however, escalated into defiance against federal authority in 1794 and gave rise to the [[Whiskey Rebellion]]. Washington issued a final proclamation on September 25, threatening the use of military force to no avail.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=719–721|Puls|2008|2p=219}} The federal army was not up to the task, so Washington invoked the [[Militia Acts of 1792|Militia Act of 1792]] to summon state militias.{{sfn|Coakley|1996|pp=43–49}} Governors sent troops, initially commanded by Washington, who handed over command to [[Henry Lee III|Henry Lee]] to lead them into the rebellious districts. They took 150 prisoners, and the remaining rebels dispersed. Two of the prisoners were condemned to death, but Washington exercised his Constitutional authority for the first time and pardoned them.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=721, 726|Kohn|1972|2pp=567–584}}

Washington's forceful action demonstrated that the new government could protect itself and its tax collectors. This represented the first use of federal military force against the states and citizens.{{sfn|Kohn|1972|pp=567–584}} Washington justified his action against "certain self-created societies", which he regarded as "subversive organizations" that threatened the national union. He did not dispute their right to protest, but he insisted that their dissent must not violate federal law. Congress agreed and extended their congratulations to him; only Madison and Jefferson expressed indifference.{{sfn|Ellis|2004|pp=225–226}}

===Foreign affairs===
In April 1792, the [[French Revolutionary Wars]] began between Britain and France, and Washington declared America's neutrality. The revolutionary government of France sent diplomat [[Edmond-Charles Genêt]] to America, and he was welcomed with great enthusiasm. He created a network of new [[Democratic-Republican Societies]] promoting France's interests, but Washington denounced them and demanded that the French recall Genêt.{{sfn|Elkins|McKitrick|1995|pp=335–354}} The National Assembly of France granted Washington honorary French citizenship on August 26, 1792, during the early stages of the [[French Revolution]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Honorary French Citizenship|website=George Washington's Mount Vernon|publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association|url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/honorary-french-citizenship/|access-date=February 1, 2019|archive-date=February 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202095222/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/honorary-french-citizenship/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Hamilton formulated the [[Jay Treaty]] to normalize trade relations with Britain while removing them from western forts, and also to resolve financial debts remaining from the Revolution.{{sfn|Elkins|McKitrick|1995|loc=ch. 9}} Chief Justice [[John Jay]] acted as Washington's negotiator and signed the treaty on November 19, 1794; critical Jeffersonians, however, supported France. Washington deliberated, then supported the treaty because it avoided war with Britain,{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=730}} but was disappointed that its provisions favored Britain.{{sfn|Ferling|2009|p=340}} He mobilized public opinion and secured ratification in the Senate{{sfnm|Estes|2000|1pp=393–422|Estes|2001|2pp=127–158}} but faced frequent public criticism.{{sfn|Ferling|2009|p=344}}

The British agreed to abandon their forts around the [[Great Lakes]], and the United States modified the boundary with Canada. The government liquidated numerous pre-Revolution debts, and the British opened the [[British West Indies]] to American trade. The treaty secured peace with Britain and a decade of prosperous trade. Jefferson claimed that it angered France and "invited rather than avoided" war.{{sfn|Ferling|2009|p=343}} Relations with France deteriorated afterward and, two days before Washington's term ended, the French Directory declared the authority to seize American ships,{{sfn|Akers|2002|p=27}} leaving succeeding president [[John Adams]] with prospective war.{{sfnm|Grizzard|2005|1p=263|Lengel|2005|2p=357}}

===Native American affairs===
{{Main article|Northwest Indian War|Treaty of New York (1790)|Treaty of Greenville}}
{{further|Northwest Territory|Ohio Country}}
[[File:Fallen timbers.jpg|alt=A R.F. Zogbaum scene of the Battle of Fallen Timbers includes Native Americans aiming as cavalry soldiers charge with raised swords and one soldier is shot and loses his mount|thumb|''Battle of Fallen Timbers'', an 1896 portrait by [[Rufus Fairchild Zogbaum]] depicting the final battle of the [[Northwest Indian War]]]]

During the fall of 1789, Washington had to contend with the British refusing to evacuate their forts in the Northwest frontier and their [[Northwest Indian War|concerted efforts]] to incite Indian tribes to attack American settlers.{{sfnm|Fitzpatrick|1936|1p=523|Cooke|2002|2pp=9–10|Chernow|2010|3p=665}} The Northwest tribes under [[Miami people|Miami]] chief [[Little Turtle]] allied with the British to resist American expansion, and killed 1,500 settlers between 1783 and 1790.{{sfn|Waldman|Braun|2009|p=149}}

[[File:Red Jacket 2.jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.8|alt=Portrait of Seneca Chief Sagoyewatha, Washington's peace emissary|[[Seneca people|Seneca]] chief [[Red Jacket]] was Washington's peace emissary with the [[Northwestern Confederacy]]]]
Washington declared that "the Government of the United States are determined that their Administration of Indian Affairs shall be directed entirely by the great principles of Justice and humanity", and provided that treaties should negotiate their land interests.<ref>{{cite web|last=Harless|first=Richard|title=Native American Policy|url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/native-american-policy/|publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association|website=George Washington's Mount Vernon|year=2018|access-date=October 26, 2018|archive-date=October 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026104317/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/native-american-policy/|url-status=live}}</ref> The administration regarded powerful tribes as foreign nations, and Washington even smoked a [[Ceremonial pipe|peace pipe]] and drank wine with them at the [[President's House (Philadelphia)|President's House]] in Philadelphia.{{sfn|Calloway|2018|p=2}} He made numerous attempts to conciliate them;{{sfnm|Flexner|1969|1p=304|Taylor|2016|2p=406}} he equated killing indigenous peoples with killing whites and sought to integrate them into [[European Americans|European American]] culture.{{sfn|Cooke|2002|p=10}}

In the Southwest, negotiations failed between federal commissioners and raiding Indian tribes seeking retribution. Washington invited [[Muscogee|Creek]] Chief [[Alexander McGillivray]] and 24 leading chiefs to New York to negotiate a treaty and treated them like foreign dignitaries. Knox and McGillivray concluded the [[Treaty of New York (1790)|Treaty of New York]] on August 7, 1790, which provided the tribes with agricultural supplies and McGillivray with the rank of Brigadier General and an annual salary of $1,200, {{Inflation|index=US|value=1200|start_year=1790|fmt=eq}}.{{sfnm|Grizzard|2002|1pp=256–257|Puls|2008|2pp=207–208}}

In 1790, Washington sent Brigadier General [[Josiah Harmar]] to pacify the Northwest tribes, but Little Turtle routed him twice and forced him to withdraw.{{sfnm|1a1=Chernow|1y=2010|1pp=667–678|2a1=Gaff|2y=2004|2p=xvii|3a1=Waldman|3a2=Braun|3y=2009|3p=149}} The [[Northwestern Confederacy]] of tribes used guerrilla tactics and were an effective force against the sparsely manned American Army. Washington sent Major General [[Arthur St. Clair]] from [[Fort Washington (Ohio)|Fort Washington]] on an expedition to restore peace in the territory in 1791. On November 4, St. Clair's forces were ambushed and [[St. Clair's defeat|soundly defeated]] by tribal forces with few survivors.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Maulden |first1=Kristopher |year=2016 |title=A Show of Force: The Northwest Indian War and the Early American State |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/642223 |journal=Ohio Valley History |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=20–40 |access-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-date=May 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504145344/https://muse.jhu.edu/article/642223 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Washington replaced the disgraced St. Clair with the Revolutionary War hero [[Anthony Wayne]]. From 1792 to 1793, Wayne instructed his troops on Native American warfare tactics and instilled discipline which was lacking under St. Clair.{{sfnm|Cooke|2002|1p=10|Chernow|2010|2p=668}} In August 1794, Washington sent Wayne into tribal territory with authority to drive them out by burning their villages and crops in the [[Maumee, Ohio|Maumee Valley]].{{sfnm|Taylor|2016|1p=406|Chernow|2010|2p=668}} On August 24, the American army defeated the Northwestern Confederacy at the [[Battle of Fallen Timbers]], and the [[Treaty of Greenville]] in August 1795 opened two-thirds of the [[Ohio Country]] for American settlement.{{sfnm|Cooke|2002|1p=14|Taylor|2016|2p=406}}

===Second term===
[[File:Constitution1803.jpg|thumb|alt=Painting of the frigate USS ''Constitution'' with three masts|Portrait of the [[USS Constitution|USS ''Constitution'']], commissioned and named by President Washington in 1794]]

Washington initially planned to retire after his first term, weary of office and in poor health. After dealing with the infighting in his own cabinet and with partisan critics, he showed little enthusiasm for a second term, while Martha also wanted him not to run.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=674-675, 678|Ferling|2009|2p=362|Randall|1997|3p=484}} Washington's nephew George Augustine Washington, managing Mount Vernon in his absence, was critically ill, further increasing Washington's desire to retire.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=687}}

Many, however, urged him to run for a second term. Madison told him that his absence would only allow the dangerous political rift in his cabinet and the House to worsen. Jefferson also pleaded with him not to retire, agreeing to drop his attacks on Hamilton, and stating that he would also retire if Washington did.{{sfnm|Ferling|1988|1p=421|Randall|1997|2p=482|Chernow|2010|3pp=675, 678}} Hamilton maintained that Washington's absence would be "deplored as the greatest evil" to the country.{{sfn|Chernow|2005|p=403}} With the [[1792 United States presidential election|election of 1792]] nearing, Washington relented and agreed to run.{{sfn|Cooke|2002|p=10}}

On February 13, 1793, the [[United States Electoral College|Electoral College]] unanimously re-elected Washington president, and [[John Adams]] as vice president by a vote of 77 to 50.{{sfn|Cooke|2002|p=10}} He was sworn into office by Associate Justice [[William Cushing]] on March 4, 1793, in the Senate Chamber of [[Congress Hall]] in Philadelphia. Afterwards, Washington gave a brief address before immediately retiring to the [[President's House (Philadelphia)|President's House]].{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=687|Cooke|2002|2pp=10–11}}

On April 22, 1793, when the [[French Revolutionary Wars]] broke out, Washington [[Proclamation of Neutrality|issued a proclamation]] which declared American neutrality. He was resolved to pursue "a conduct friendly and impartial toward the belligerent Powers" while also warning Americans not to intervene in the conflict.{{sfnm|Ferling|2009|1pp=299, 304, 308–311|Banning|1974|2p=2|Cooke|2002|3pp=11–12}} Although Washington recognized France's revolutionary government, he would eventually ask French minister to the United States [[Edmond-Charles Genêt]] be recalled over the Citizen Genêt affair.{{sfn|Cooke|2002|pp=12–13}} Genêt was a diplomatic troublemaker who was openly hostile toward Washington's neutrality policy. He procured four American ships as privateers to strike at Spanish forces (British allies) in [[Florida]] while organizing militias to strike at other British possessions. However, his efforts failed to draw the United States into the conflict.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=692|Cooke|2002|2p=12}}

On July 31, 1793, Jefferson submitted his resignation from cabinet.{{sfn|Cooke|2002|p=13}} Hamilton, desiring more income for his family, resigned from office in January 1795 and was replaced by [[Oliver Wolcott Jr.]]. While his relationship with Washington would remain friendly, Washington's relationship with his Secretary of War Henry Knox deteriorated after rumors that Knox had profited from contracts for the construction of U.S. frigates which had been commissioned under the [[Naval Act of 1794]] in order to combat [[Barbary pirates]], forcing Knox to resign.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=713}}{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=726–727|Cooke|2002|2p=15}}

In the final months of his presidency, Washington was assailed by his political foes and a partisan press who accused him of being ambitious and greedy. He came to regard the press as a disuniting, "diabolical" force of falsehoods.{{sfnm|Randall|1997|1pp=491–492|Chernow|2010|2pp=752–754}} At the end of his second term, Washington retired for personal and political reasons, dismayed with personal attacks, and to ensure that a truly contested presidential election could be held. He did not feel bound to a two-term limit, but his retirement set a significant precedent.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Peabody|first=Bruce G.|year=2001|title=George Washington, Presidential Term Limits, and the Problem of Reluctant Political Leadership|journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly|volume=31|issue=3|pages=439–453|doi=10.1111/j.0360-4918.2001.00180.x|jstor=27552322}}</ref>

===Farewell Address===
{{Main|George Washington's Farewell Address}}
[[File:Washington's Farewell Address.jpg|thumb|[[George Washington's Farewell Address|Washington's Farewell Address]], published by the ''[[Pennsylvania Packet|American Daily Advertiser]]'' on September 19, 1796|alt=Newspaper showing Washington's Farewell Address]]

In 1796, Washington declined to run for a third term of office.{{sfnm|1a1=Spalding|1a2=Garrity|1y=1996|1p=58|2a1=Lurie|2y=2018}} In May 1792, in anticipation of his retirement, Washington instructed [[James Madison]] to prepare a "[[Valedictorian|valedictory address]]", an initial draft of which was entitled the "Farewell Address".{{sfn|Spalding|Garrity|1996|pp=46–47}} In May 1796, Washington sent the manuscript to [[Alexander Hamilton]] who did an extensive rewrite, while Washington provided final edits.{{sfnm|Flexner|1972|1p=292|Chernow|2010|2pp=752–753|3a1=Spalding|3a2=Garrity|3y=1996|3p=4744|Hayes|2017|4pp=287–298}} On September 19, 1796, David Claypoole's ''[[Pennsylvania Packet|American Daily Advertiser]]'' published the final version.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=754|2a1=Lurie|2y=2018}}

Washington stressed that national identity was paramount, as a united America would safeguard freedom and prosperity. He warned the nation of three eminent dangers: regionalism, partisanship, and foreign entanglements, and said the "name of AMERICAN, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism".{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=755|2a1=Lurie|2y=2018}} Washington called for men to move beyond partisanship for the common good, stressing that the United States must concentrate on its own interests. He warned against foreign alliances and their influence in domestic affairs, and bitter partisanship and the dangers of political parties.{{sfnm|Randall|1997|1p=492|Boller|1963|2p=47}} He counseled friendship and commerce with all nations, but advised against involvement in European wars.{{sfnm|1a1=Fishman|1a2=Pederson|1a3=Rozell|1y=2001|1pp=119–120|2a1=Gregg|2a2=Spalding|2y=1999|2pp=199–216}} He stressed the importance of religion, asserting that "religion and morality are indispensable supports" in a republic.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=133}} Washington's address favored Hamilton's Federalist ideology and economic policies.{{sfnm|Randall|1997|1p=492|Cooke|2002|2pp=18–19|Flexner|1972|3pp=292–297|Avlon|2017|4p=223|Boller|1963|5p=47}}

He closed the address by reflecting on his legacy:

{{blockquote|Though in reviewing the incidents of my Administration I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that my country will never cease to view them with indulgence, and that, after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the [[John 14|mansions of rest]].{{sfn|Avlon|2017|p=280}}}}

After initial publication, many Republicans, including Madison, criticized the Address and described it as an anti-French campaign document, with Madison believing that Washington was strongly pro-British.{{sfn|Spalding|Garrity|1996|p=143}}

In 1839, Washington biographer [[Jared Sparks]] maintained that Washington's "Farewell Address was [[Early American publishers and printers|printed and published]] with the laws, by order of the legislatures, as an evidence of the value they attached to its political precepts, and of their affection for its author."{{sfn|Sparks|1839|p=444}} In 1972, Washington scholar [[James Thomas Flexner|James Flexner]] referred to the Farewell Address as receiving as much acclaim as Thomas Jefferson's [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] and [[Abraham Lincoln]]'s [[Gettysburg Address]].{{sfnm|1a1=Flexner|1y=1972|1p=292|2a1=Spalding|2a2=Garrity|2y=1996|2p=142}} In 2010, historian [[Ron Chernow]] called the ''Farewell Address'' one of the most influential statements on republicanism.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=752–754}}

==Post-presidency (1797–1799)==
{{further|Post-presidency of George Washington}}

===Retirement===
Washington retired to Mount Vernon in March 1797 and devoted time to his plantations and other business interests.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Breen|first1=Eleanor E.|last2=White|first2=Esther C.|title=A Pretty Considerable Distillery: Excavating George Washington's Whiskey Distillery|journal=Quarterly Bulletin of the Archeological Society of Virginia|volume=61|issue=4|pages=209–20|year=2006|url=http://www.mountvernon.org/sites/mountvernon.org/files/Breen-White%20Distillery.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111224193148/http://www.mountvernon.org/sites/mountvernon.org/files/Breen-White%20Distillery.pdf|archive-date=December 24, 2011}}</ref> His plantation operations were only minimally profitable,{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=53}} and his lands in the west ([[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]]) were under Indian attacks and yielded little income, with squatters there refusing to pay rent. He attempted to sell these but without success.{{sfn|Ellis|2004|pp=255–261}} He became an even more committed Federalist. He vocally supported the [[Alien and Sedition Acts]] and convinced Federalist [[John Marshall]] to run for Congress to weaken the Jeffersonian hold on [[Virginia]].{{sfn|Flexner|1974|p=386}}

Washington grew restless in retirement, prompted by tensions with France; in a continuation of the [[French Revolutionary Wars]], French privateers began seizing American ships in 1798, and relations deteriorated with France and led to the "[[Quasi-War]]". Washington wrote to Secretary of War [[James McHenry]] offering to organize President Adams' army.{{sfn|Randall|1997|p=497}} Adams nominated him for a lieutenant general commission on July 4, 1798, and the position of commander-in-chief of the armies.{{sfnm|Flexner|1974|1pp=376–377|Bell|1992|2p=64}} Washington served as the commanding general from July 13, 1798, until his death 17 months later.{{sfn|Bell|1992|p=64}} He participated in planning for a provisional army, but avoided involvement in details. In advising McHenry of potential officers for the army, he appeared to make a complete break with Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans: "you could as soon scrub the blackamoor white, as to change the principles of a profest Democrat; and that he will leave nothing unattempted to overturn the government of this country."{{sfn|Fitzpatrick|1936|loc=vol. 36|p=474}} Washington delegated the active leadership of the army to Hamilton, a major general. No army invaded the United States during this period, and Washington did not assume a field command.{{sfnm|Kohn|1975|1pp=225–242|Grizzard|2005|2p=264}}

Washington was known to be rich because of the well-known "glorified façade of wealth and grandeur" at Mount Vernon,{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=708}} but nearly all his wealth was in the form of land and slaves rather than ready cash. To supplement his income, he erected a [[:File:George Washington's Distillery.JPG|distillery]] for substantial whiskey production.{{sfnm|Hirschfeld|1997|1pp=44–45|Ferling|2009|2p=351}} He bought land parcels to spur development around the new [[Washington, D.C.|Federal City]] named in his honor, and he sold individual lots to middle-income investors rather than multiple lots to large investors, believing they would more likely commit to making improvements.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=704–705}}

===Final days and death===
<!-- linked from redirect "Death of George Washington" -->
[[File:Life of George Washington, Deathbed.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Washington on his deathbed, with doctors and family surrounding|''Washington on his Deathbed'', an 1851 portrait by [[Junius Brutus Stearns]]]]

On December 12, 1799, Washington inspected his farms on horseback. He returned home late and had guests for dinner, sitting down for the meal without changing his damp clothes from the inclement weather of the day. He had a sore throat the next day but was well enough to mark trees for cutting. That evening, Washington complained of chest congestion.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Death of George Washington|website=George Washington's Mount Vernon|publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association|url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/the-death-of-george-washington/|access-date=March 13, 2021|archive-date=March 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323195933/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/the-death-of-george-washington/|url-status=live}}</ref> The next morning, however, he awoke to an inflamed throat and difficulty breathing. He ordered estate overseer George Rawlins to remove nearly a pint of his blood; [[bloodletting]] was a common practice of the time. His family summoned doctors [[James Craik]], [[Gustavus Richard Brown]], and [[Elisha C. Dick]].{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=806–810|Morens|1999|2pp=1845–1849}} A fourth doctor, [[William Thornton]], arrived some hours after Washington died.<ref>{{cite web|title=Death Defied|url=https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-man-the-myth/death-defied-dr-thorntons-radical-idea-of-bringing-george-washington-back-to-life/|website=George Washington's Mount Vernon|publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association|access-date=June 13, 2024|archive-date=December 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181213133127/https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-man-the-myth/death-defied-dr-thorntons-radical-idea-of-bringing-george-washington-back-to-life/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Brown initially believed Washington had [[Peritonsillar abscess|quinsy]]; Dick thought the condition was a more serious "violent inflammation of the throat".{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=806–807|Lear|1799|2p=257}} They continued the process of bloodletting to approximately five pints, but Washington's condition deteriorated further. Dick proposed a [[tracheotomy]], but the other physicians were not familiar with that procedure and disapproved.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=806–810}} Washington instructed Brown and Dick to leave the room, while he assured Craik, "Doctor, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go."{{sfn|Ellis|2004|p=269}}

Washington's death came more swiftly than expected.{{sfn|Ferling|2009|p=365}} On his deathbed, out of fear of being entombed alive, he instructed his private secretary [[Tobias Lear]] to wait three days before his burial.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=808}} According to Lear, Washington died between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on December 14, 1799, with Martha seated at the foot of his bed. His last words were {{"'}}Tis well", from his conversation with Lear about his burial. He was 67.{{sfnm|Flexner|1974|1pp=401–402|Chernow|2010|2pp=808–809}}

[[United States Congress|Congress]] immediately adjourned for the day upon news of Washington's death, and the Speaker's chair was shrouded in black the next morning.{{sfn|Irving|1857|p=359}} The funeral was held four days after his death on December 18, 1799, at Mount Vernon, where his body was interred. Cavalry and foot soldiers led the procession, and six colonels served as the pallbearers. The Mount Vernon funeral service was restricted mostly to family and friends.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=808–810}} Reverend Thomas Davis read the funeral service by the vault with a brief address, followed by a ceremony performed by members of Washington's Masonic lodge in [[Alexandria, Virginia]].{{sfn|Irving|1857|pp=374–375}} Word of his death traveled slowly, but as it reached other regions of the nation, church bells rang in the cities and many businesses closed.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=810–811}} Memorial processions were held in major cities of the United States. Martha wore a black mourning cape for one year, and she burned her correspondence with Washington to protect its privacy, though five letters between the couple are known to have survived: two from Martha to George and three from him to her.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=814}}

The diagnosis of Washington's illness and the immediate cause of his death have been subjects of debate since his death. The published account of doctors Craik and Brown stated that his symptoms were consistent with cynanche trachealis, a term then used to describe severe inflammation of the upper windpipe, including quinsy.{{efn|The first account of Washington's death was written by doctors Craik and Brown, published in ''The Times'' of Alexandria five days after his death on December 19, 1799. The complete text can be found in ''The Eclectic Medical Journal'' (1858).{{sfn|Newton|Freeman|Bickley|1858|pp=273–274}}}} Accusations have persisted since Washington's death concerning medical malpractice.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=806–810}} Modern medical authors, however, largely have concluded that he likely died from severe [[epiglottitis]] complicated by the treatments, including multiple doses of [[Mercury(I) chloride|calomel]], a purgative, and extensive bloodletting which likely caused [[hypovolemia|hypovolemic shock]].{{efn|Modern medical experts who blamed medical malpractice include Morens and Wallenborn in 1999,{{sfnm|Wallenborn|1999|Morens|1999|2pp=1845–1849}}{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=809}} Cheatham in 2008,{{sfn|Cheatham|2008}} and Vadakan in 2005.{{sfn|Vadakan|2005}}}}

==Burial, net worth, and aftermath==
{{See also|Finances of George Washington}}
[[File:Tomb of George Washington - interior 02 - Mount Vernon.jpg|thumb|alt=A picture of the two sarcophagi of George (at right) and Martha Washington at the present tomb at Mount Vernon|The [[Sarcophagus|sarcophagi]] of George (right) and [[Martha Washington]] at the entrance to their tomb in Mount Vernon]]
Washington was buried in the Washington family vault at Mount Vernon. At the time of his death, his estate was worth an estimated $780,000 in 1799, equivalent to ${{Inflation|index=US|value=.78|start_year=1799|r=2|cursign=$}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|index=US}}.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Gardner|first=Andrew G.|title=How Did Washington Make His Millions?|url=https://research.colonialwilliamsburg.org/Foundation/journal/winter13/washington.cfm|publisher=The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation|journal=CW Journal|year=2013|access-date=August 30, 2023|archive-date=February 28, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228050616/https://research.colonialwilliamsburg.org/Foundation/journal/winter13/washington.cfm|url-status=live}}</ref> Washington's peak net worth was $587&nbsp;million, including 300 slaves.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sauter |first1=Michael B. |title=From Washington to Trump: This is the net worth of every American president |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/11/05/the-net-worth-of-the-american-presidents-washington-to-trump/114599966/ |work=[[USA Today]] |date=November 5, 2020 |access-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-date=March 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320131228/https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/11/05/the-net-worth-of-the-american-presidents-washington-to-trump/114599966/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Washington held title to more than 65,000 acres of land in 37 different locations.<ref name="Lehrman Institute (June 22, 2021)" />

In 1830, a disgruntled ex-employee of the estate [[Attempted theft of George Washington's skull|attempted to steal]] what he thought was Washington's skull, prompting the construction of a more secure vault.{{sfn|Craughwell|2009|pp=77–79}} In his will, Washington had left instructions for the construction of a new vault as the old family vault was crumbling and needed repair even before his death.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=810–811}} A new vault was constructed at Mount Vernon the following year to receive the remains of George and Martha and other relatives.<ref name=NewTomb>{{cite web|title=The Tomb|url=http://www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/tomb/|website=George Washington's Mount Vernon|publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association|access-date=June 13, 2024|archive-date=April 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180430183154/http://www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/tomb/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1832, a joint Congressional committee debated moving his body from Mount Vernon to a crypt in the [[United States Capitol]]. The crypt had been built by architect [[Charles Bulfinch]] in the 1820s during the reconstruction of the burned-out capital, after the [[Burning of Washington]] by the British during the [[War of 1812]]. Southern opposition was intense, antagonized by an ever-growing rift between North and South; many were concerned that Washington's remains could end up on "a shore foreign to his native soil" if the country became divided, and Washington's remains stayed in Mount Vernon.{{sfn|Boorstin|2010|pp=349–350}}

On October 7, 1837, Washington's remains, still in the original lead coffin, were placed within a marble sarcophagus designed by [[William Strickland (architect)|William Strickland]] and constructed by John Struthers.{{sfnm|Strickland|1840|1pp=11–14|Carlson|2016|2loc=chapter 1}} The sarcophagus was sealed and encased with planks, and an outer vault was constructed around it.{{sfn|Strickland|1840|pp=11–14}} The outer vault has the sarcophagi of both George and Martha Washington; the inner vault has the remains of other Washington family members and relatives.<ref name=NewTomb/>

==Personal life==
[[File:Edward Savage - The Washington Family - Google Art ProjectFXD.jpg|thumb|''[[The Washington Family]]'', a late 18th century portrait by [[Edward Savage (artist)|Edward Savage]] depicting George and [[Martha Washington]] with her grandchildren and an unnamed enslaved man]]

Washington was somewhat reserved in personality, but was known for having a strong presence. He made speeches and announcements when required, but he was not a noted orator nor debater.{{sfnm|Ferling|2002|1p=16|Randall|1997|2pp=34, 436|Chernow|2010|3pp=29–30}} He was taller than most of his contemporaries;{{sfn|Ferling|2002|p=16}} accounts of his height vary from {{convert|6|ft|m|2|abbr=on}} to {{convert|6|ft|3.5|in|m|2|abbr=on}} tall,{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=122}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=Founders Online: From George Washington to Charles Lawrence, 20 June 1768|url=http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-08-02-0073|access-date=January 21, 2023|website=founders.archives.gov|archive-date=January 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114130358/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-08-02-0073|url-status=live}}</ref> he weighed between {{convert|210–220|lb|kg|0}} as an adult,{{sfnm|Ferling|2002|1p=16|Chernow|2010|2pp=29–30}} and was known for his great strength.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=123–125}}

He had grey-blue eyes and long reddish-brown hair. He did not wear a [[wig#19th and 20th centuries|powdered wig]]; instead he wore his hair curled, powdered, and tied in a queue in the [[1775–1795 in Western fashion#Men's fashion|fashion of the day]].{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=30}}<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Fessenden |first1=Maris |title=How George Washington Did His Hair |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-george-washington-did-his-hair-180955547/ |magazine=Smithsonian |date=June 9, 2015 |access-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430211918/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-george-washington-did-his-hair-180955547/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Washington frequently suffered from severe [[tooth decay]] and ultimately lost all [[George Washington's teeth|his teeth]] but one. He had several sets of false teeth during his presidency. Contrary to common lore, these were not made of wood, but of metal, ivory, bone, animal teeth, and human teeth possibly obtained from slaves.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Schultz |first1=Colin |title=George Washington Didn't Have Wooden Teeth — They Were Ivory |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/george-washington-didnt-have-wooden-teeth-they-were-ivory-180953273/ |magazine=Smithsonian |date=November 7, 2014 |access-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-date=April 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240424173829/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/george-washington-didnt-have-wooden-teeth-they-were-ivory-180953273/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-01-27 |title=George Washington's false teeth not wooden |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6875436 |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=NBC News |language=en |archive-date=December 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231225110452/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6875436 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Etter |first=William M. |title=Wooden Teeth Myth |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/wooden-teeth-myth/ |access-date=June 11, 2024 |website=George Washington's Mount Vernon |publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association |language=en |archive-date=January 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110063639/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/wooden-teeth-myth/ |url-status=live }}</ref> These dental problems left him in constant pain, which he treated with [[laudanum]].{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=30, 290, 437–439, 642–643}}

Washington was a talented equestrian, with [[Thomas Jefferson]] describing him as "the best horseman of his age".{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=124}} He collected thoroughbreds at Mount Vernon, his two favorite horses being [[Blueskin (horse)|Blueskin]] and [[Nelson (horse)|Nelson]].{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=124, 469}} He enjoyed hunting foxes, deer, ducks, and other game.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=469}} He was an excellent dancer and frequently attended the theater. He drank alcohol in moderation but was morally opposed to excessive drinking, smoking tobacco, gambling, and profanity.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=134}}

===Religious and spiritual views===
{{Main|Religious views of George Washington}}
[[File:Washington Masonic print.jpg|thumb|upright=1|alt=Washington presiding over a Masonic lodge meeting.|''Washington as Master Mason'', an 1870 print depicting Washington presiding over a [[Masonic lodge]] meeting just prior to the [[United States Capitol cornerstone laying]] on September 18, 1793]]

Washington was descended from [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] minister [[Lawrence Washington (1602–1652)|Lawrence Washington]], whose troubles with the [[Church of England]] may have prompted his heirs to emigrate to America.{{sfn|Tsakiridis|2018}} He was baptized as an infant in April 1732 and became a devoted member of the Anglican Church.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=6|Morrison|2009|2p=136|Alden|1996|3pp=2, 26|Randall|1997|4p=17|Tsakiridis|2018}} He served more than 20 years as a [[vestryman]] and churchwarden at [[Fairfax Parish, Virginia|Fairfax Parish]] and [[Truro Parish, Virginia|Truro Parish]] in Virginia.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=130|Thompson|2008|2p=40|Tsakiridis|2018}} He privately prayed and read the Bible daily, and publicly encouraged people and the nation to pray.{{sfnm|Frazer|2012|1pp=198–199|Chernow|2010|2pp=119, 132|Tsakiridis|2018}} He may have taken communion on a regular basis prior to the Revolution, but he did not do so following the war.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=131, 470|Johnstone|1919|2pp=87–195|Frazer|2012|3pp=201–203|Tsakiridis|2018}}

Washington believed in a "wise, inscrutable, and irresistible" Creator God who was active in the Universe, contrary to [[deism|deistic thought]].{{sfn|Tsakiridis|2018}} He referred to God in [[American Enlightenment]] terms, including ''[[divine providence|Providence]]'', the ''Creator'', or the ''Almighty'', and the ''Divine Author'' or ''Supreme Being''.{{sfnm|Randall|1997|1p=67|Tsakiridis|2018}} He believed in a divine power who watched over battlefields, was involved in the outcome of war, protected his life, and was involved in American politics and specifically the creation of the United States.{{efn|The Constitution came under attack in Pennsylvania, and Washington wrote to Richard Peters, "It would seem from the public Gazettes that the minority in your State are preparing for another attack of the now adopted Government; how formidable it may be, I know not. But that Providence which has hitherto smiled on the honest endeavours of the well meaning part of the People of this Country will not, I trust, withdraw its support from them at this crisis."<ref>{{cite web|last=Washington|first=George|title=Letter to Richard Peters, September 7, 1788|url=https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-06-02-0447|publisher=National Historical Publications and Records Commission (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)|date=September 7, 1788|access-date=February 11, 2019|archive-date=February 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212070726/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-06-02-0447|url-status=live}}</ref>}}{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=131|Tsakiridis|2018}} Historian [[Ron Chernow]] has argued that Washington avoided evangelistic Christianity or hellfire-and-brimstone speech along with communion or anything inclined to "flaunt his religiosity", saying that he "never used his religion as a device for partisan purposes or in official undertakings".{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=131–132}} No mention of [[Jesus Christ]] appears in [[The Washington Papers|his private correspondence]], and such references are rare in his public writings.{{sfnm|1a1=Novak|1a2=Novak|1y=2007|1p=95|Tsakiridis|2018}} At the same time, Washington frequently quoted from the Bible or paraphrased it, and often referred to the Anglican ''[[Book of Common Prayer]]''.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=131–132|Morrison|2009|2p=136|Tsakiridis|2018}}

Washington emphasized religious toleration in a nation with numerous denominations and religions. He publicly attended services of different Christian denominations and prohibited [[Anti-Catholicism in the United States#Origins|anti-Catholic]] celebrations in the Army.{{sfn|Boller|1963|p=125}} He engaged workers at Mount Vernon without regard for religious belief or affiliation. While president, he acknowledged major religious sects and gave speeches on religious toleration.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=131}} He was distinctly rooted in the ideas, values, and modes of thinking of the Enlightenment,{{sfn|Wood|2001|p=313}} but he harbored no contempt of organized Christianity and its clergy, "being no bigot myself to any mode of worship".{{sfn|Wood|2001|p=313}} In 1793, speaking to members of the [[The New Church (Swedenborgian)|New Church]] in [[Baltimore]], Washington said, "We have abundant reason to rejoice that in this Land the light of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry and superstition."{{sfn|Novak|Novak|2007|p=117, n. 52}}

[[Freemasonry]] was a widely accepted institution in the late 18th century, known for advocating moral teachings.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=132, 500|Morrison|2009|2p=136|Stavish|2007|3pp=XIX, XXI|Immekus|2018}} Washington was attracted to the Masons' dedication to the Enlightenment principles of rationality, reason, and brotherhood. American [[Masonic lodge]]s did not share the anti-clerical views of the [[anticlericalism and Freemasonry|controversial European lodges]].{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=27, 704}}

A Masonic lodge was established in [[Fredericksburg, Virginia]] in September 1752, and Washington was initiated two months later at the age of 20 as one of its first Entered Apprentices. Within a year, he progressed through its ranks to become a Master Mason.{{sfnm|Randall|1997|1p=67|Chernow|2010|2p=27}} Washington had high regard for the Masonic Order, but his lodge attendance was sporadic. In 1777, a convention of Virginia lodges asked him to be [[Grand Master (Freemasonry)|Grand Master]] of the newly established [[Grand Lodge of Virginia]], but he declined due to his commitments leading the Continental Army. After 1782, he frequently corresponded with Masonic lodges and members,{{sfn|Immekus|2018}} and served as charter [[Masonic lodge officer#Worshipful Master|Master]] of Alexandria Masonic lodge No. 22 (now Alexandria-Washington Lodge, No. 22) in 1788–89.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Brief History|url=https://gwmemorial.org/pages/history|publisher=The George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association|access-date=May 19, 2024|archive-date=March 13, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240313120419/https://gwmemorial.org/pages/history|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Slavery ===
{{Main|George Washington and slavery}}
{{further|Slavery in the colonial United States|Slavery in the United States}}

In Washington's lifetime, slavery was [[History of slavery in Virginia|deeply ingrained]] in the economic and social fabric of the [[Colony of Virginia]], which continued after the Revolution and the establishment of [[Virginia]] as a state.{{sfn|Henriques|2006|p=146}}{{sfn|Willcox|Arnstein|1988|pp=41–42}} Slavery was [[Slavery in the colonial history of the United States|legal in all of the Thirteen Colonies]] prior to the American Revolution.<ref name="Maloy (April 6, 2021)">{{cite web|last=Maloy |first=Mark |title=The Founding Fathers Views of Slavery |url=https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/founding-fathers-views-slavery |date=April 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210406184636/https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/founding-fathers-views-slavery |access-date=July 3, 2021|archive-date=April 6, 2021|url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Washington's slaves ====
[[File:Junius Brutus Stearns - George Washington as Farmer at Mount Vernon.jpg|thumb|alt=Washington the farmer is shown standing on his plantation talking to an overseer as children play and slaves work. Work is by Junius Stearns.|''Washington the Farmer at Mount Vernon'', an 1851 portrait by [[Junius Brutus Stearns]]]]
Washington owned and rented enslaved [[African Americans]], and during his lifetime over 577 slaves lived and worked at Mount Vernon.<ref name="Mount Vernon Slaves">{{cite web |title=The Growth of Mount Vernon's Enslaved Community |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/the-growth-of-mount-vernons-enslaved-community/ |website=George Washington's Mount Vernon |publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association |quote=Over the course of George Washington's life, at least 577 enslaved people lived and worked at Mount Vernon. |access-date=July 13, 2021 |archive-date=July 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713012318/https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/the-growth-of-mount-vernons-enslaved-community/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfnm|Morgan|2000|1p=279|Ellis|2004|2p=45}} He inherited some, gained control of 84 [[Dowry|dower]] slaves upon his marriage to Martha, and purchased at least 71 slaves between 1752 and 1773.{{sfnm|Morgan|2000|1pp=279–280|Morgan|2005|2pp=405, 407 n7|Hirschfeld|1997|3p=12}} From 1786, he rented slaves; at the time of his death he was renting 41.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Mary V. |title=William Lee & Oney Judge: A Look at George Washington & Slavery |url=https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/06/william-lee-and-oney-judge-a-look-at-george-washington-slavery |website=allthingsliberty.com |publisher=Journal of the American Revolution |access-date=January 24, 2022 |date=June 19, 2014 |archive-date=January 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127194018/https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/06/william-lee-and-oney-judge-a-look-at-george-washington-slavery/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Mount Vernon Slaves"/>

Prior to the Revolutionary War, Washington's view on slavery was the same as most Virginia [[Planter class|planters]] of the time.{{sfn|Twohig|2001|p=116}} Beginning in the 1760s, however, Washington gradually grew to oppose it. His first doubts were prompted by his transition from tobacco to grain crops, which left him with a costly surplus of slaves, causing him to question the system's economic efficiency.{{sfn|Morgan|2005|p=413}} His growing disillusionment with the institution was spurred by the principles of the Revolution and revolutionary friends such as Lafayette and Hamilton.{{sfnm|Twohig|2001|1p=121|Morgan|2005|2p=426}} Most historians agree the Revolution was central to the evolution of Washington's attitudes on slavery;{{sfn|Furstenberg|2011|p=260}} "After 1783," Kenneth Morgan writes, "... [Washington] began to express inner tensions about the problem of slavery more frequently, though always in private".{{sfn|Morgan|2000|p=299}} Regardless, Washington would remain dependent on slave labor to work his farms.{{sfnm|Twohig|2001|1pp=122–123|Morgan|2000|2pp=283, 289}}

The many contemporary reports of slave treatment at Mount Vernon are varied and conflicting.{{sfn|Wiencek|2003|p=348}} Historian Kenneth Morgan maintains that Washington was frugal on spending for clothes and bedding for his slaves, and only provided them with just enough food, and that he maintained strict control over his slaves, instructing his overseers to keep them working hard from dawn to dusk year-round.{{sfn|Morgan|2000|pp=286–287}} In contrast, historian Dorothy Twohig said: "Food, clothing, and housing seem to have been at least adequate".{{sfn|Twohig|2001}}

Washington faced growing debts involved with the costs of supporting slaves. He held an "engrained sense of racial superiority" towards [[African Americans]] but harbored no ill feelings toward them.{{sfn|Morgan|2000|pp=283, 285–286}} Some enslaved families worked at different locations on the plantation but were allowed to visit one another on their days off.{{sfnm|Morgan|2000|1pp=282, 283–285|Chernow|2010|2pp=112–113}} Washington's slaves received two hours off for meals during the workday and were given time off on Sundays and religious holidays.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=111|Ferling|2002|2p=46|Schwarz|2001|3pp=27, 83}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Slave Labor |publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/slave-labor/ |website=George Washington's Mount Vernon |access-date=July 2, 2018 |archive-date=July 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702093544/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/slave-labor/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Some accounts report that Washington opposed flogging but at times sanctioned its use, generally as a last resort, on both men and women slaves.<ref>{{cite web|title=Slave Control|url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/slave-control//|publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association|website=George Washington's Mount Vernon|access-date=June 13, 2024|archive-date=February 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227093215/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/slave-control/|url-status=live}}</ref> Washington used both reward and punishment to encourage discipline and productivity in his slaves. He tried appealing to an individual's sense of pride, gave better blankets and clothing to the "most deserving", and motivated his slaves with cash rewards. He believed "watchfulness and admonition" were better deterrents against transgressions but would punish those who "will not do their duty by fair means". Punishment ranged in severity from demotion back to fieldwork, through whipping and beatings, to permanent separation from friends and family by sale. Historian Ron Chernow maintains that overseers were required to warn slaves before resorting to the lash and required Washington's written permission before whipping, though his extended absences did not always permit this.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=113–114}}

[[File:Oney Judge Runaway Ad.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|alt=Runaway advertisement from the May 24, 1796, Pennsylvania Gazette, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.|Runaway advertisement for [[Oney Judge|Ona Judge]], enslaved servant in Washington's presidential household]]

During his presidency, Washington brought several of his slaves to the federal capital. When the capital moved from New York City to Philadelphia in 1791, the president began rotating his slave household staff periodically between the capital and Mount Vernon. This was done deliberately to circumvent Pennsylvania's [[An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery|Slavery Abolition Act]], which stated that any slave who lived there for more than six months was automatically freed.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=George Washington Used Legal Loopholes to Avoid Freeing His Slaves|last=Blakemore|first=Erin|date=February 16, 2015|magazine=Smithsonian|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/george-washington-used-legal-loopholes-avoid-freeing-his-slaves-180954283/|access-date=June 13, 2024|archive-date=January 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119064117/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/george-washington-used-legal-loopholes-avoid-freeing-his-slaves-180954283/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In May 1796, Martha's personal and favorite slave [[Oney Judge|Ona Judge]] escaped to [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire]]. At Martha's behest, Washington attempted to capture Ona, using a Treasury agent, but failed. In February 1797, around the time of his 65th birthday, Washington's personal slave [[Hercules Posey]] escaped from Mount Vernon to the North and was never found.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=759–763}}

In February 1786, Washington took a census of Mount Vernon and recorded 224 slaves.{{sfn|Morgan|2000|pp=279–287}} By 1799, the slave population at Mount Vernon totaled 317, including 143 children.{{sfn|Morgan|2000|pp=281–282}} Washington owned 124 slaves, leased 40, and held 153 for his wife's dower interest.{{sfnm|Morgan|2000|1p=298}}<ref name=Slavery-at-Mount-Vernon/> Washington supported many slaves who were too young or too old to work, greatly increasing Mount Vernon's slave population and causing the plantation to operate at a loss.{{sfnm|Wiencek|2003|1pp=319, 348–349|Flexner|1974|2p=386|Hirschfeld|1997|3p=2|Ellis|2004|4p=167|Morgan|2000|5p=283}}

==== Abolition and manumission ====
{{Main|Abolitionism in the United States}}

Based on his private papers and on accounts from his contemporaries, Washington slowly developed a cautious sympathy toward abolitionism that eventually ended with his will [[manumission|freeing]] his long-time valet [[William Lee (valet)|Billy Lee]], and then subsequently freeing the rest of his personally owned slaves outright upon Martha's death.{{sfnm|Hirschfeld|1997|1p=3|Morgan|2000|2p=29}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Washington |first1=George |title=George Washington's Last Will and Testament |url=https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/06-04-02-0404-0001 |website=founders.archive.gov |publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration]] |access-date=February 21, 2022 |date=July 7, 1799 |archive-date=October 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20161001105725/http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/06-04-02-0404-0001 |url-status=live }}</ref> As president, he remained publicly silent on the topic of slavery, believing it was a nationally divisive issue that could undermine the union.{{sfnm|Ellis|2004|1p=202|Twohig|2001|2p=126}}

[[File:Tobias Lear.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|In 1794, Washington privately told [[Tobias Lear]], his personal secretary, that he found slavery repugnant]]During the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], Washington's views on slavery began to change.<ref name="Maloy (April 6, 2021)" /> In a 1778 letter to [[Lund Washington]], he made clear his desire "to get quit of Negroes" when discussing the exchange of slaves for the land he wanted to buy.{{sfn|Morgan|2005|pp=416–417}} The next year, Washington stated his intention not to separate enslaved families as a result of "a change of masters".{{sfn|Morgan|2005|p=417}} During the 1780s, Washington privately expressed his support for gradual emancipation.{{sfn|Ellis|2004|p=201}} In the 1780s, he gave moral support to a plan proposed by Lafayette to purchase land and free slaves to work on it, but declined to participate in the experiment.{{sfn|Twohig|2001}}

Washington privately expressed support for emancipation to prominent Methodists [[Thomas Coke (bishop)|Thomas Coke]] and [[Francis Asbury]] in 1785 but declined to sign their petition.{{sfn|Morgan|2000|p=292}} In personal correspondence the next year, he made clear his desire to see the institution of slavery ended by a gradual legislative process, a view that correlated with the mainstream antislavery literature published in the 1780s that Washington possessed.{{sfnm|Morgan|2005|1pp=418–419|Furstenberg|2011|2pp=273–274, 284–285}} He significantly reduced his purchases of slaves after the war but continued to acquire them in small numbers.{{sfnm|Twohig|2001|1pp=122–123|Morgan|2005|2p=419|Morgan|2000|3p=289}}

In 1788, Washington declined a suggestion from a leading French abolitionist, [[Jacques Pierre Brissot|Jacques Brissot]], to establish an abolitionist society in Virginia, stating that although he supported the idea, the time was not yet right.{{sfn|Furstenberg|2011|p=280}} Historian [[Philip D. Morgan]] wrote that Washington was determined not to risk national unity.{{sfnm|Twohig|2001|1pp=126–127|Morgan|2000|2pp=290, 299|Ellis|2004|3p=202}} Washington never responded to any of the antislavery petitions he received, and the subject was not mentioned in either his last address to Congress or his Farewell Address.{{sfnm|Twohig|2001|1pp=126–127|Morgan|2000|2p=297|Ferling|2009|3p=363}}

The first clear indication that Washington seriously intended to free his slaves appears in a letter written to his secretary, [[Tobias Lear]], in 1794.{{sfn|Ellis|2004|p=257}} Washington instructed Lear to find buyers for his land in western Virginia, explaining in a private coda that he was doing so "to liberate a certain species of property which I possess, very repugnantly to my own feelings".{{sfn|Wiencek|2003|p=274}} The plan, along with others Washington considered in 1795 and 1796, could not be realized because he failed to find buyers for his land, his reluctance to break up slave families, and the refusal of the Custis heirs to help prevent such separations by freeing their dower slaves at the same time.{{sfn|Morgan|2005|pp=423–424}}

On July 9, 1799, Washington finished making his last will; the longest provision concerned slavery. All his slaves were to be freed after the death of his wife. Washington said he did not free them immediately because his slaves intermarried with his wife's dower slaves. He forbade their sale or transportation out of Virginia. The provision also provided that old and young freed people be taken care of indefinitely; younger ones were to be taught to read and write and placed in suitable occupations.{{sfn|Morgan|2005|p=404}} Washington emancipated 123 slaves, one of the few large slave-holding Virginians during the Revolutionary Era to do so.{{sfnm|Morgan|2005|1pp=1404–405|Wiencek|2003|2pp=352–35}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/washingtons-1799-will/ |title=A Decision to Free His Slaves |website=George Washington's Mount Vernon |publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association |access-date=August 9, 2021 |archive-date=August 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809041108/https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/washingtons-1799-will/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

On January 1, 1801, one year after George Washington's death, Martha Washington signed an order to free his slaves. Many of them, having never strayed far from Mount Vernon, were reluctant to leave; others refused to abandon spouses or children still held as dower slaves by the Custis estate and also stayed with or near Martha.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=802}} Following Washington's instructions in his will, funds were used to feed and clothe the young, aged, and infirm slaves until the early 1830s.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=815}}

==Historical reputation and legacy==
{{further|Legacy of George Washington|Historical rankings of presidents of the United States}}
{{see also|Cultural depictions of George Washington}}
[[File:Stuart-george-washington-constable-1797.jpg|thumb|alt=portrait of Washington seated facing left by Gilbert Stuart|''Washington, the Constable'', a 1797 portrait by [[Gilbert Stuart]]]]

Washington's legacy endures as one of the most influential in American history since he served as commander-in-chief of the [[Continental Army]], a hero of the [[American Revolution|Revolution]], and the first [[president of the United States]]. Various historians maintain that he also was a dominant factor in America's founding.{{sfn|Ferling|2009|p=xviii}} [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] comrade [[Henry Lee III|Henry Lee]] [[s:The Father of His Country|eulogized him]] as "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen".<ref>{{cite web|title=First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of His Countrymen|url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/first-in-war-first-in-peace-and-first-in-the-hearts-of-his-countrymen/|website=George Washington's Mount Vernon|publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association|access-date=June 7, 2021|archive-date=July 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717015715/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/first-in-war-first-in-peace-and-first-in-the-hearts-of-his-countrymen/|url-status=live}}</ref> Lee's words became the hallmark by which Washington's reputation was impressed upon the American memory, with some biographers regarding him as the great exemplar of republicanism. He set many precedents for the national government and the presidency in particular, and he was called the "Father of His Country" as early as 1778.{{efn|The earliest known ''image'' in which Washington is identified as the Father of His Country is in the frontispiece of a 1779 German-language almanac, with calculations by [[David Rittenhouse]] and published by Francis Bailey in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. ''Der Gantz Neue Verbesserte Nord-Americanische Calendar'' has a personification of Fame holding a trumpet to her lips juxtaposed with an image of Washington and the words "''Der Landes Vater''" ("the father of the country" or "the father of the land").{{sfn|Lightner|Reeder|1953|p=133}}}}{{sfnm|1a1=Unger|1y=2013|1pp=236–237|2a1=Parry|2a2=Allison|2y=1991|2p=xi|Hindle|2017|3p=92}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Father of His Country |website=George Washington's Mount Vernon |publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/father-of-his-country/ |access-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-date=July 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713050815/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/father-of-his-country |url-status=live }}</ref> Washington is among the highest-ranked U.S. Presidents.<ref>{{Cite web |title=George Washington |series=Presidential Historians Survey |year=2021 |website=[[C-SPAN]] |url=https://www.c-span.org/presidentsurvey2021/?personid=39784 |access-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-date=August 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822004246/https://www.c-span.org/presidentsurvey2021/?personid=39784 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Washington became an international symbol for liberation and nationalism as the leader of the first successful revolution against a colonial empire. The [[Federalist Party|Federalists]] made him the symbol of their party, but the [[Democratic-Republican Party|Jeffersonians]] continued to distrust his influence for years and delayed building the [[Washington Monument]].{{sfn|Cunliffe|1958|pp=24–26}} Washington was elected a member of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] on January 31, 1781.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Willard|first1=Joseph|title=To George Washington from Joseph Willard, 28 February 1781|url=https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-05045|publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221110014/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-05045|archive-date=February 21, 2017|date=February 28, 1781}}</ref>

In 1879, Congress proclaimed [[Presidents' Day|Washington's Birthday]] to be a federal holiday.{{sfn|Ferling|2009|p=4}} Through a congressional joint resolution [[s:Public Law 94-479|Public Law 94-479]], passed on January 19, 1976, with an effective appointment date of July 4, 1976, he was posthumously appointed to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States during the [[United States Bicentennial|American Bicentennial]]. President [[Gerald Ford]] stated that Washington would "rank first among all officers of the Army, past and present".{{efn|In ''Portraits & Biographical Sketches of the United States Army's Senior Officer'', William Gardner Bell states that Washington was recalled to military service from his retirement in 1798, and "Congress passed legislation that would have made him General of the Armies of the United States, but his services were not required in the field, and the appointment was not made until the Bicentennial in 1976 when it was bestowed posthumously as a commemorative honor."{{sfn|Bell|1992|pp=52, 66}}}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.army.mil/html/faq/5star.html|title=How Many U.S. Army Five-star Generals Have There Been and Who Were They?|year=2017|publisher=U.S. Army Center of Military History|access-date=November 1, 2018|archive-date=May 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529123258/https://history.army.mil/html/faq/5star.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On March 13, 1978, Washington was militarily promoted to the rank of [[General of the Armies]].<ref name=Army_1978>{{cite magazine|title=Washington is Now No. 1: The Story Behind a Promotion|first=Brooks E.|last=Kleber|magazine=Army|date=June 1978|pages=14–15|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZCxEAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA3-PA14|access-date=June 13, 2024|archive-date=February 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227203247/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZCxEAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA3-PA14#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1809, [[Mason Locke Weems]] wrote a [[Hagiography|hagiographic]] biography to honor Washington.{{sfn|Weems|1918|p=22}} Historian Ron Chernow maintains that Weems attempted to humanize Washington, making him look less stern, and to inspire "patriotism and morality" and to foster "enduring myths", such as Washington's refusal to lie about damaging his father's cherry tree.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=813–814|Levy|2013|2pp=6, 217|Weems|1918|3p=22}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/04/books/bookend-life-literature-and-the-pursuit-of-happiness.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Life, Literature and the Pursuit of Happiness|first=Andrew|last=Delbanco|date=July 4, 1999|access-date=June 13, 2024|archive-date=December 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231005904/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/04/books/bookend-life-literature-and-the-pursuit-of-happiness.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Weems' accounts have never been proven or disproven.{{sfn|Levy|2013|p=6}} Historian John Ferling, however, maintains that Washington remains the only founder and president ever<!-- ahem --> to be referred to as "godlike", and points out that his character has been the most scrutinized by historians.{{sfn|Ferling|2009|pp=xviii–xix}} Biographer [[Douglas Southall Freeman]] concluded, "The great big thing stamped across that man is character." Expanding on Freeman's assessment, historian [[David Hackett Fischer]] defined Washington's character as "integrity, self-discipline, courage, absolute honesty, resolve, and decision, but also forbearance, decency, and respect for others".{{sfn|Fischer|2004|p=446}} Polls of historians have consistently placed Washington among the highest-ranked of presidents.<ref>{{cite book|title=Greatness in the White House: Rating the Presidents, from Washington Through Ronald Reagan|last=Murray|first=Robert K.|publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press|year=1994|isbn=978-0271010892|edition=2nd, updated |author2=Blessing, Tim H. |pages=7–9, 15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://scri.siena.edu/2019/02/13/sienas-6th-presidential-expert-poll-1982-2018/ |title=Siena's 6th Presidential Expert Poll 1982–2018 |access-date=September 24, 2019 |archive-date=July 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719163759/https://scri.siena.edu/2019/02/13/sienas-6th-presidential-expert-poll-1982-2018/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 21st century, Washington's reputation has been critically scrutinized.

[[Ron Chernow]] describes Washington as always trying to be even-handed in dealing with the Natives. He states that Washington hoped they would abandon their itinerant hunting life and adapt to fixed agricultural communities in the manner of white settlers. He also maintains that Washington never advocated outright confiscation of tribal land or the forcible removal of tribes and that he berated American settlers who abused natives, admitting that he held out no hope for peaceful relations as long as "frontier settlers entertain the opinion that there is not the same crime (or indeed no crime at all) in killing a native as in killing a white man."{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=666}}

By contrast, [[Colin G. Calloway]] wrote that, "Washington had a lifelong obsession with getting Indian land, either for himself or for his nation, and initiated policies and campaigns that had devastating effects in Indian country."{{sfn|Calloway|2018|p=38}} He stated:

{{blockquote|The growth of the nation demanded the dispossession of Indian people. Washington hoped the process could be bloodless and that Indian people would give up their lands for a "fair" price and move away. But if Indians refused and resisted, as they often did, he felt he had no choice but to "extirpate" them and that the expeditions he sent to destroy Indian towns were therefore entirely justified.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ammerman|first=Cassandra|date=October 18, 2018|title=Sitting down with author and historian Colin G. Calloway|url=https://blog.oup.com/2018/10/author-historian-colin-g-calloway/|access-date=January 21, 2023|website=OUPblog|publisher=Oxford University Press|archive-date=June 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609224953/https://blog.oup.com/2018/10/author-historian-colin-g-calloway/|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Along with other Founding Fathers, Washington has been condemned for holding enslaved people. Though he expressed the desire to see the abolition of slavery come through legislation, he did not initiate or support any initiatives for bringing about its end. This has led to calls from some activists to remove his name from public buildings and his statue from public spaces.<ref>{{cite web| last=Hirsh| first=Michael| title=If Americans Grappled Honestly With Their History, Would Any Monuments Be Left Standing| url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/24/america-statues-monuments-washington-jefferson/| work=[[Foreign Policy]]| date=June 24, 2020| access-date=August 21, 2021| archive-date=August 18, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818064704/https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/24/america-statues-monuments-washington-jefferson/| url-status=live}}</ref>

===Places, namesakes, and monuments===
{{further|List of memorials to George Washington|List of statues of George Washington}}
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = horizontal
| caption_align     = center
| total_width       = 350
| image1            = Washington Monument Dusk Jan 2006.jpg
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = The [[Washington Monument]]
| image2            = Dean Franklin - 06.04.03 Mount Rushmore Monument (by-sa).jpg
| alt2              = 
| caption2          = ''Shrine of Democracy'', [[Mount Rushmore]] National Memorial
}}

Many places and monuments have been named in honor of Washington, most notably [[Washington, D.C.]], the capital of the United States, and the state of [[Washington (state)|Washington]], the only U.S. state to be named after a president.<ref>{{cite web |title=George Washington |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Washington |website=Britannica.com |date=July 4, 2023 |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |quote=His fellow citizens memorialized him forever by naming the newly created capital city of the young nation for him while he was still alive. Later, one of the states of union would bear his name—the only state named for an individual American. Moreover, counties in 32 states were given his name, and in time it also could be found in 121 postal addresses. |access-date=August 31, 2023 |archive-date=September 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902195604/https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Washington |url-status=live }}</ref>

On February 21, 1885, the [[Washington Monument]] was dedicated. The 555-foot marble [[obelisk]], which stands on the [[National Mall]] in Washington, D.C., was built between 1848–1854 and 1879–1884 and was the tallest structure in the world between 1884 and 1889.<ref>{{cite web |title=Washington Monument |url=https://www.nps.gov/wamo/index.htm |website=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=July 1, 2023 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322001937/https://www.nps.gov/wamo/index.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Washington appears as one of four U.S. presidents on the ''Shrine of Democracy'', a colossal statue by [[Gutzon Borglum]] on [[Mount Rushmore]] in [[South Dakota]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Mount Rushmore National Memorial |url=https://www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm |website=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-date=June 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612233759/https://www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

A number of [[Washington (disambiguation)#Education|secondary schools and universities]] are named in honor of Washington, including [[George Washington University]] and [[Washington University in St. Louis]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://library.gwu.edu/scrc/university-archives/gw-history/a-brief-history-of-gw |title=A Brief History of GW |website=GW Libraries |access-date=August 19, 2019 |archive-date=September 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190914225450/https://library.gwu.edu/scrc/university-archives/gw-history/a-brief-history-of-gw |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wustl.edu/about/history-traditions/|title=History and Traditions|website=[[Washington University in St. Louis]]|access-date=August 19, 2019|archive-date=April 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408184414/https://wustl.edu/about/history-traditions/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Currency and postage===
{{further|Presidents of the United States on U.S. postage stamps}}

Washington appears on contemporary U.S. currency, including the [[United States one-dollar bill|one-dollar bill]], the [[Presidential dollar coins|Presidential one-dollar coin]] and the [[Quarter (United States coin)|quarter-dollar coin]] (the [[Washington quarter]]). Washington and [[Benjamin Franklin]] appeared on the [[:File:First US Postage stamps of 1847.tiff|nation's first postage stamps]] in 1847. Washington has since appeared on many postage issues, more than any other person.<ref>{{cite web |title=Commemorating George Washington |url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/american-art-on-postage-stamps-american-leaders/commemorating-george-washington |website=[[National Postal Museum]] |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |access-date=August 30, 2023 |archive-date=August 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830113832/https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/american-art-on-postage-stamps-american-leaders/commemorating-george-washington |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{multiple image
| align = center
| direction = horizontal
| caption_align = center
| total_width = 750
| image1 = Washington 1862 Issue-24c.jpg
| alt1 = 
| caption1 = Washington issue of 1862
| image2 = Washington WF 1917 Issue-5c (cropped).jpg
| alt2 = 
| caption2 = [[Washington–Franklin Issues|Washington–Franklin]] issue of 1917
| image3 = 2006 Quarter Proof.png
| alt3 = 
| caption3 = Washington [[Quarter (United States coin)|quarter dollar]]
| image4 = George Washington Presidential $1 Coin obverse.png
| alt4 = 
| caption4 = Washington [[Presidential dollar coins|Presidential one-dollar coin]]
| image5 = US one dollar bill, obverse, series 2009.jpg
| alt5 = 
| caption5 = Washington on the 2009 [[United States one-dollar bill|dollar bill]]
}}

==See also==
{{Further|List of George Washington articles}}
* [[Founders Online]]
* [[List of American Revolutionary War battles]]
* [[List of Continental Forces in the American Revolutionary War]]
* [[List of presidents of the United States]]
* [[List of presidents of the United States by previous experience]]
* [[The Washington Papers]]
* [[Timeline of the American Revolution]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|22em}}

==Bibliography==
{{For|a selected list of published works treating Washington|Bibliography of George Washington}}

{{Refbegin|30em}}
===Book sources===
<!-- A -->
* {{cite encyclopedia|last=Adams|first=Randolph Greenfield|title=Arnold, Benedict|publisher=Scribner|dictionary=[[Dictionary of American Biography]]|year=1928|editor-first=Allen|editor-last=Johnson|url=https://archive.org/stream/dictionaryofamer01ilamer#page/362/mode/1up}}
* {{cite book|last=Akers|first=Charles W.|chapter=John Adams|editor-last=Graff|editor-first=Henry|title=The Presidents: A Reference History|edition=3rd|year=2002|pages=23–38|isbn=978-0684312262|publisher=Scribner}}
* {{cite book|last=Alden|first=John R.|title=George Washington: A Biography|year=1996|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|isbn=978-0807121269|url=https://archive.org/details/georgewashington00alde/page/n9/mode/2up}}
* {{cite book|last=Anderson|first=Fred|author-link=Fred Anderson (historian)|title=Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754–1766|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|year=2007|isbn=978-0307425393|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FFO2clqJCqMC}}
* {{cite book|last=Avlon|first=John|title=Washington's Farewell: The Founding Father's Warning to Future Generations|author-link=John Avlon|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=2017|isbn=978-1476746463|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UGXUDQAAQBAJ&q=Though+in+reviewing+the+incidents}}

<!-- B -->
* {{cite book|last=Banning|first=Lance|editor-last=Woodward|editor-first=C. Vann|editor-link=C. Vann Woodward|title=Responses of the Presidents to Charges of Misconduct|author-link=Lance Banning|publisher=Delacorte Press|year=1974|isbn=978-0440059233|url=https://archive.org/details/responsesofpresi00wood|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|last=Bassett|first=John Spencer|title=The Federalist System, 1789–1801|author-link=John Spencer Bassett|year=1906|publisher=Harper & Brothers|url=https://archive.org/details/federalistsyste00bassgoog|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|last=Bell|first=William Gardner|title=Commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff, 1775–2005: Portraits & Biographical Sketches of the United States Army's Senior Officer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1cDYW2YxLfkC|year=1992|orig-year=1983|publisher=Center of Military History, United States Army|isbn=978-0160359125}}
* {{cite book|last=Boller|first=Paul F.|title=George Washington & Religion|year=1963|publisher=Southern Methodist University Press|url=https://archive.org/details/georgewashington00boll|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|last=Boorstin|first=Daniel J.|author-link=Daniel J. Boorstin|title=The Americans: The National Experience|year=2010|publisher=Vintage Books|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YXVMTJMf9ZAC|isbn=978-0307756473}}
* {{cite book|last=Brumwell|first=Stephen|title=George Washington: Gentleman Warrior|publisher=Quercus Publishers|year=2012|isbn=978-1849165464|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qhk64CAWcJgC}}

<!-- C -->
* {{cite book|last=Calloway|first=Colin G.|title=The Indian World of George Washington: The First President, the First Americans, and the Birth of the Nation|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2018|isbn=978-0190652166|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YyJLDwAAQBAJ&q=9780190652166}}
* {{cite book|last=Carlson|first=Brady|title=Dead Presidents: An American Adventure into the Strange Deaths and Surprising Afterlives of Our Nations Leaders|year=2016|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2_R1CQAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|isbn=978-0393243949}}
* {{cite book|last=Chernow|first=Ron|title=Alexander Hamilton|year=2005|publisher=Penguin Press|isbn=978-1-101-20085-8|author-link=Ron Chernow|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4z5eL5SGjEoC&q=Washington}}
* {{cite book|last=Chernow|first=Ron|author-mask=2|title=Washington: A Life|publisher=Penguin Press|year=2010|isbn=978-1594202667|url=https://archive.org/details/washingtonlife0000cher}}
* {{cite book|last=Coakley|first=Robert W.|title=The Role of Federal Military Forces in Domestic Disorders, 1789–1878|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SMmJsJLKmvoC&pg=PA43|year=1996|orig-year=1989|publisher=Diane Publishing|pages=43–49|isbn=978-0788128189}}
* {{cite book |last1=Coe |first1=Alexis |author-link=Alexis Coe |title=You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington |year=2020 |publisher=Viking Press|isbn=978-0735224100|ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Cooke|first=Jacob E.|chapter=George Washington|editor-last=Graff|editor-first=Henry|title=The Presidents: A Reference History |edition=3rd |year=2002|pages=1–21|isbn=978-0684312262 |publisher=Scribner}}
* {{cite book|last=Craughwell|first=Thomas J.|title=Stealing Lincoln's Body|year=2009|publisher=Harvard University Press|pages=77–79|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bmDtSJg3a_QC&pg=PA78|isbn=978-0674024588}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Cresswell|editor-first=Julia|title=Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=2010|isbn=978-0199547937}}
* {{cite book|last=Cunliffe|first=Marcus|title=George Washington: Man and Monument|year=1958|publisher=Little, Brown|isbn=978-0316164344|author-link=Marcus Cunliffe|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780316164344|url-access=registration}}

<!-- D -->
* {{cite book |last1=Dalzell |first1=Robert F. Jr. |last2=Dalzell |first2=Lee Baldwin |title=George Washington's Mount Vernon: At Home in Revolutionary America |year=1998 |url=https://archive.org/details/georgewashington00dalz |url-access=registration |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0195121148 }}
* {{cite book|last=Davis|first=Burke|title=George Washington and the American Revolution|publisher=Random House|year=1975|isbn=978-0394463889|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pT92AAAAMAAJ}}

<!-- E -->
* {{cite book|last1=Elkins|first1=Stanley M.|author-link1=Stanley Elkins|first2=Eric|last2=McKitrick|title=The Age of Federalism|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1995|orig-year=1993|url=https://archive.org/details/ageoffederalism00elki/page/n7/mode/2up|isbn=978-0195093810}}
* {{cite book|last=Ellis|first=Joseph J.|author-link=Joseph Ellis|title=His Excellency: George Washington|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|year=2004|isbn=978-1400040315|url=https://archive.org/details/hisexcellencygeo0000elli|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Ellis |first=Joseph J. |author-mask=2 |title=Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |year=2000 |isbn=978-0375705243 |url=https://archive.org/details/foundingbrothers0000elli_w6a4 |url-access=registration |ref=none }}

<!-- F -->
* {{cite book|last=Farner|first=Thomas P.|year=1996|title=New Jersey in History: Fighting to Be Heard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oJtomLKALYUC|publisher=Down the Shore Publishing|isbn=978-0945582380}}
* {{cite book|last=Ferling|first=John E.|title=The First of Men: A Life of George Washington|author-link=John E. Ferling|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1988|isbn=978-0199752751|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yHRbR8snrfoC}}
* {{cite book|last=Ferling|first=John E.|author-link=John E. Ferling|author-mask=2|title=Setting the World Ablaze: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and the American Revolution|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2002|isbn=978-0195134094|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lifQ0G0m9WwC&q=lafayette}}
* {{cite book|last=Ferling|first=John E.|author-mask=2|title=Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0199758470|url=https://archive.org/details/almostmiracleam00ferl|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|last=Ferling|first=John E.|author-mask=2|title=The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon|publisher=Bloomsbury Press|year=2009|isbn=978-1608191826|url=https://archive.org/details/ascentofgeorgewa0000ferl|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|last=Ferling|first=John|author-mask=2|title=Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry That Forged a Nation|publisher=Bloomsbury Press|year=2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MlecIL4lY_UC|isbn=978-1608195428}}
* {{cite book|last=Fischer|first=David Hackett|title=Washington's Crossing|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0195170344|author-link=David Hackett Fischer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oreq1YztDcQC}}
* {{cite book|last1=Fishman|first1=Ethan M.|last2=Pederson|first2=William D.|last3=Rozell|first3=Mark J.|title=George Washington: Foundation of Presidential Leadership and Character|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2001|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HFkZ5RBeuKoC|isbn=978-0275968687}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|year=1936|title=Washington, George|encyclopedia=Dictionary of American Biography|last1=Fitzpatrick|first1=John C.|author-link=John C. Fitzpatrick|editor-first=Dumas|editor-last=Malone|volume=19|pages=509–527|publisher=Scribner|url=https://archive.org/stream/dictionaryofamer19amer#page/509/mode/1up}}
* {{cite book|last=Flexner|first=James Thomas|title=George Washington: the Forge of Experience, (1732–1775)|year=1965|publisher=Little, Brown|isbn=978-0316285971|author-link=James Thomas Flexner|url=https://archive.org/details/georgewashington0000flex_u0e8|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|last=Flexner|first=James Thomas|title=George Washington in the American Revolution, 1775–1783|year=1967|publisher=Little, Brown|author-mask=2|author-link=James Thomas Flexner|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yEF2AAAAMAAJ|ref=none}}
* {{cite book|last=Flexner|first=James Thomas|author-mask=2|title=George Washington and the New Nation (1783–1793)|publisher=Little, Brown|year=1969|isbn=978-0316286008|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r3UcMQAACAAJ}}
* {{cite book|last=Flexner|first=James Thomas|author-mask=2|title=George Washington: Anguish and Farewell (1793–1799)|publisher=Little, Brown|year=1972|isbn=978-0316286022|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bToqSwAACAAJ}}
* {{cite book|last=Flexner|first=James Thomas|author-mask=2|title=Washington: The Indispensable Man|year=1974|publisher=Little, Brown|isbn=978-0316286053|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kTfWDQAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book|last=Flexner|first=James Thomas|author-mask=2|title=The Traitor and the Spy: Benedict Arnold and John André|publisher=Syracuse University Press|year=1991|isbn=978-0815602637|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mpEuaCdDvkEC}}
* {{cite book|last=Frazer|first=Gregg L.|title=The Religious Beliefs of America's Founders Reason, Revelation, and Revolution|publisher=University Press of Kansas|year=2012|isbn=978-0700618453}}
* {{cite book|title=Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789: 1774|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|year=1904|last1=Ford|first1=Worthington Chauncey|first2=Gaillard|last2=Hunt|first3=John Clement|last3=Fitzpatrick|volume=1|author-link=Worthington C. Ford|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-zMSAAAAYAAJ}}
* {{cite book|last=Freedman|first=Russell|title=Washington at Valley Forge|year=2008|publisher=Holiday House|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ia5ivgAACAAJ|isbn=978-0823420698}}
* {{cite book|last=Freeman|first=Douglas Southall|title=Washington|year=1968|publisher=Scribner|editor1-first=Richard Barksdale|editor1-last=Harwell|url=https://archive.org/details/washington00free|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Freeman |first=Douglas Southall |title=George Washington: Victory with the help of France, Volume 5 |author-link=Douglas Southall Freeman |author-mask=2 |publisher=Eyre and Spottiswoode |year=1952 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=42zjQgAACAAJ |ref=none }}

<!-- G -->
* {{cite book|last=Gaff|first=Alan D.|title=Bayonets in the Wilderness: Anthony Wayne's Legion in the Old Northwest|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|year=2004|isbn=978-0806135854|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QEI11WSV3WcC}}
* {{cite book|last1=Genovese|first1=Michael A.|editor-first=Michael|editor-last=Kazin|title=The Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History, Vols. I & II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4hqpJEJp7cUC&pg=PA589|year=2009|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1400833566}}
* {{cite book |editor1-first=Gary L. |editor1-last=Gregg |editor1-link=Gary L. Gregg |editor2-first=Matthew |editor2-last=Spalding |title=Patriot Sage: George Washington and the American Political Tradition |year=1999 |publisher=ISI Books |isbn=978-1882926381 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q4axDZ5OMdcC }}
* {{cite book |last=Grizzard |first=Frank E. Jr. |title=George Washington: A Biographical Companion |year=2002 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1576070826 |author-link=Frank E. Grizzard, Jr. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RioTGCygpT8C&q=curtis }}
* {{cite book|last=Grizzard| first=Frank E. Jr. |author-mask=2|title=George!: A Guide to All Things Washington|year=2005 |publisher=Mariner Pub|isbn=978-0976823889}}

<!-- H -->
* {{cite book|last=Hayes|first=Kevin J. |title=George Washington, A Life in Books|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2017|isbn=978-0190456672}}
* {{cite book|last=Henderson|first=Donald|title=Smallpox: The Death of a Disease|year=2009|publisher=Prometheus Books|isbn=978-1591027225}}
* {{cite book|last=Henriques|first=Peter R.|year=2006|title=Realistic Visionary: A Portrait of George Washington|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IuQHciwgYzUC&pg=PA65|publisher=University Press of Virginia|isbn=978-0813927411}}
* {{cite book|last=Henriques|first=Peter R.|author-mask=2|year=2020|title=First and Always: A New Portrait of George Washington|location=Charlottesville, VA|publisher=University of Virginia Press|isbn=978-0813944807|ref=none}}
* {{cite book|last=Higginbotham|first=Don|title=George Washington Reconsidered|year=2001|publisher=University Press of Virginia|isbn=978-0813920054|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L0qGWo_NGlAC}}
* {{cite book|last=Hindle|first=Brooke|title=David Rittenhouse|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hgyOJO93UtAC&pg=PA92|orig-year=1964|year=2017|page=92|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1400886784}}
* {{cite book|last=Hirschfeld|first=Fritz|title=George Washington and Slavery: A Documentary Portrayal|year=1997|publisher=University of Missouri Press|isbn=978-0826211354|url=https://archive.org/details/georgewashington00hirs|url-access=registration}}

<!-- I -->
* {{cite book|last=Isaacson|first=Walter|title=Benjamin Franklin, an American Life|author-link=Walter Isaacson|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=2003|isbn=978-0743260848|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oIW915dDMBwC}}
* {{cite book|last=Irving|first=Washington|title=The Life of George Washington, Vol. 5|publisher=G. P. Putnam and Son|year=1857|url=https://archive.org/details/lifegeorgewashington05irvirich}}

<!-- J -->
* {{cite book|last=Jensen|first=Merrill|title=The Articles of Confederation: An Interpretation of the Social-Constitutional History of the American Revolution, 1774–1781|year=1948|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|author-link=Merrill Jensen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEMLAQAAIAAJ}}
* {{cite book|last1=Jillson|first1=Calvin C.|last2=Wilson|first2=Rick K.|title=Congressional Dynamics: Structure, Coordination, and Choice in the First American Congress, 1774–1789|publisher=Stanford University Press|year=1994|isbn=978-0804722933}}
* {{cite book|last=Johnstone|first=William|title=George Washington, The Christian|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_MzWruWAnHM0C|publisher=The Abingdon Press|year=1919}}<!--Though on this edition, the author's name is rendered both in print and in his signed author's statement as "JohnSON", in later editions and in later books the man's name is rendered and signed as "JohnSTONE". See [Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/George Washington/archive4#Google links issue] -->

<!-- K -->
* {{cite book|last=Ketchum|first=Richard M.|title=The Winter Soldiers: The Battles for Trenton and Princeton|year=1999|publisher=Henry Holt|isbn=978-0805060980|orig-year=1973|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZWf2AwAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book|last=Kohn|first=Richard H.|author-mask=2|title=Eagle and Sword: The Federalists and the Creation of the Military Establishment in America, 1783–1802|year=1975|pages=225–242|publisher=Free Press|isbn=978-0029175514|url=https://archive.org/details/eagleswordfed00kohn|url-access=registration}}

<!-- L -->
* {{cite book|last1=Lancaster|first1=Bruce|title=The American Revolution|year=1985|publisher=American Heritage Press|isbn=978-0828102810|first2=John H.|last2=Plumb|author-link2=John H. Plumb|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qSe4n1h-I0UC}}
* {{cite book|last=Lear|first=Tobias|author-link=Tobias Lear|chapter=Tobias Lear to William Augustine Washington|year=1799|editor-last=Ford|editor-first=Worthington Chauncey|title=The Writings of George Washington|volume=14|pages=257–258|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XqE3y9LZmfgC&pg=PA257|publisher=G. Putnam & Sons|publication-date=1893}}
* {{cite book|last=Lengel|first=Edward G.|title=General George Washington: A Military Life|year=2005|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-1-4000-6081-8|author-link=Edward G. Lengel|url=https://archive.org/details/generalgeorgewas00leng|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|last=Levy|first=Philip|title=Where the Cherry Tree Grew: The Story of Ferry Farm, George Washington's Boyhood Home|publisher=Macmillan|year=2013|isbn=978-1250023148|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dbh0XeajrOMC&q=%22tell+a+lie%22}}
* {{cite book|editor1-last=Lightner|editor1-first=Otto C.|editor2-last=Reeder|editor2-first=Pearl Ann|title=Hobbies, Volume 58|year=1953|publisher=Lightner Publishing Company|page=133|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8CbnAAAAMAAJ&q=rittenhouse}}

<!-- M -->
* {{cite book |title=George Washington's War on Native America |first=Barbara Alice |last=Mann |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xzDDEAAAQBAJ |year=2008 |publisher=University of Nevada Press |isbn=978-0803216358 |access-date=July 9, 2023 |archive-date=July 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725125735/https://books.google.com/books?id=xzDDEAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book|last=McCullough|first=David|title=1776|year=2005|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-0743226714|author-link=David McCullough|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uu1mC6zWNTwC}}
* {{cite book|last=Middlekauff|first=Robert|title=Washington's Revolution: The Making of America's First Leader|author-link=Robert Middlekauff|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|year=2015|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F01ABAAAQBAJ|isbn=978-1101874240}}
* {{cite book|last=Morrison|first=Jeffery H.|title=The Political Philosophy of George Washington|publisher=JHU Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0801891090|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f3vfS_uxvrQC&q=anglican}}

<!-- N -->
* {{cite book|last=Nagy|first=John A.|title=George Washington's Secret Spy War: The Making of America's First Spymaster|publisher=St. Martin's Press|year=2016|isbn=978-1250096821|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uDinCwAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book|last1=Novak|first1=Michael|last2=Novak|first2=Jana|title=Washington's God: Religion, Liberty, and The Father of Our Country|author-link=Michael Novak|publisher=Basic Books|year=2007|isbn=978-0-465-05126-7|url=https://archive.org/details/washingtonsgodre00nova/page/n5/mode/2up}}
* {{cite book|last=Nowlan|first=Robert A.|title=The American Presidents, Washington to Tyler What They Did, What They Said, What Was Said About Them, with Full Source Notes|year=2014|isbn=978-1476601182|publisher=McFarland|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MlNWU1e9ppUC&q=third+term|ref=none}}

<!-- O, P -->
* {{cite book|last=Palmer|first=Dave Richard|title=George Washington and Benedict Arnold: A Tale of Two Patriots|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=2010|isbn=978-1596981645|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zANrP6rOOJkC&q=promotion}}
* {{cite book|last1=Parry|first1=Jay A.|last2=Allison|first2=Andrew M.|title=The Real George Washington: The True Story of America's Most Indispensable Man|year=1991|publisher=National Center for Constitutional Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CSETAQAAMAAJ|isbn=978-0880800136|author-link=Jay A. Parry}}
* {{cite book|last=Parsons|first=Eugene|title=George Washington: A Character Sketch|publisher=H. G. Campbell publishing Company|year=1898|url=https://archive.org/details/georgewashington01pars}}
* {{cite book|last=Philbrick|first=Nathaniel|title=Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution|year=2016|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0143110194|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wZ1iCgAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book|last=Puls|first=Mark|title=Henry Knox: Visionary General of the American Revolution|publisher=St. Martin's Press|year=2008|isbn=978-0230611429|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xf5Kmmp-yycC&q=cincinnatus}}

<!-- Q, R -->
* {{cite book|last=Randall|first=Willard Sterne|title=George Washington: A Life|year=1997|publisher=Henry Holt & Co|isbn=978-0805027792|url=https://archive.org/details/georgewashington00rand|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Randall |first=Willard Sterne |title=Benedict Arnold: Patriot and Traitor |publisher=New York : Barnes & Noble |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-7607-1272-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/benedictarnoldpa00rand |ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last1=Rasmussen|first1=William M. S.|title=George Washington: The Man Behind the Myths|year=1999|publisher=University Press of Virginia|isbn=978-0813919003|first2=Robert S.|last2=Tilton|url=https://archive.org/details/georgewashington00rasm|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|last=Rose|first=Alexander|title=Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring|publisher=Random House Publishing Group|year=2006|isbn=978-0553804218}}

<!-- S -->
* {{cite book|editor-last=Schwarz|editor-first=Philip J.|title=Slavery at the home of George Washington|publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association|year=2001|isbn=978-0931917387|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uA0aAQAAIAAJ&q=sunday}}
* {{cite book|last1=Spalding|first1=Matthew|last2=Garrity|first2=Patrick J.|title=A Sacred Union of Citizens: George Washington's Farewell Address and the American Character|url=https://archive.org/details/sacredunionofcit00spal|url-access=registration|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.|location=Lanham, Boulder, New York, London|year=1996|isbn=978-0847682621}}
* {{cite book|last=Sparks|first=Jared|title=The Life of George Washington|author-link=Jared Sparks|publisher=F. Andrews|year=1839|url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofgeorgewash01spar}}
* {{cite book |last=Sobel |first=Robert|title=Panic on Wall Street: A History of America's Financial Disasters |publisher=Beard Books|year=1968 |isbn=978-1-8931-2246-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Smith|first=Justin H|title=Our Struggle for the Fourteenth Colony, vol 1|location=New York|year=1907|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Ls9BAAAAIAAJ|publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons|ref=smith1907a}}
* {{cite book|last=Smith|first=Justin H.|title=Our Struggle for the Fourteenth Colony, vol 2|location=New York|year=1907|url=https://archive.org/details/ourstruggleforf03smitgoog|publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons|ref=smith1907b}}
* {{cite book |last=Stavish |first=Mark |title=Freemasonry: Rituals, Symbols & History of the Secret Society |publisher=Llewellyn Publications |year=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QZQK6as71lsC |isbn=978-0738711485 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Strickland|first1=William|title=The Tomb of Washington at Mount Vernon|year=1840|publisher=Carey & Hart|url=https://archive.org/stream/tombofwashington00stri#page/n9/mode/2up}}
* {{cite book|title=The Five-Ton Life|last=Subak|first=Susan|year=2018|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|isbn=978-0803296886|series=Our Sustainable Future}}

<!-- T, U, V -->
* {{cite book|last=Taylor|first=Alan|title=American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750–1804|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|year=2016|isbn=978-0393354768|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E92aCwAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book|last=Thompson|first=Mary|title=In The Hands of a Good Providence|year=2008|publisher=University Press of Virginia|isbn=978-0813927633|page=40|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/book/22742|access-date=June 13, 2024|archive-date=July 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706232158/https://muse.jhu.edu/book/22742|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|last=Twohig|first=Dorothy|editor-last=Higginbotham|editor-first=Don|title=George Washington Reconsidered|chapter="That Species of Property": Washington's Role in the Controversy over Slavery|chapter-url=http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/resources/articles/species/|publisher=University Press of Virginia|pages=114–138|year=2001|isbn=978-0813920054|access-date=June 13, 2024|archive-date=November 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191119064008/http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/resources/articles/species/|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|last=Unger|first=Harlow Giles|title="Mr. President": George Washington and the Making of the Nation's Highest Office|year=2013|publisher=Da Capo Press, A Member of the Perseus Book Group|isbn=978-0306822414|author-link=Harlow Unger|url=https://archive.org/details/mrpresidentgeorg0000unge|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|last=Van Doren|first=Carl|author-link=Carl Clinton Van Doren|title=Secret History of the American Revolution: An Account of the Conspiracies of Benedict Arnold and Numerous Others Drawn from the Secret Service|publisher=Garden City Pub. Co.|year=1941|url=https://archive.org/details/secrethistoryofa00vand}}

<!-- W, X, Y, Z -->
* {{cite book|last1=Waldman|first1=Carl|last2=Braun|first2=Molly|title=Atlas of the North American Indian|url=https://archive.org/details/atlasofnorthamer00wald|url-access=registration|publisher=Facts On File, Inc.|year=2009|edition=3|isbn=978-0816068593}}
* {{cite book |first1=George |last1=Washington |year=1888 |title=Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation |publisher=W. H. Morrison |location=Washington, D.C. |editor=Joseph M. Toner |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924032751202/mode/2up |ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last=Weems|first=Mason Locke|title=A History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits of General George Washington, with Curious Anecdotes, Equally Honourable to Himself and Exemplary to His Young Countrymen|author-link=Mason Locke Weems|publisher=J.B. Lippincott|year=1918|url=https://archive.org/details/historyoflifede00weem}}
* {{cite book|last=Wiencek|first=Henry|title=An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America|year=2003|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|isbn=978-0374175269|author-link=Henry Wiencek|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Wr1AAAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book|last1=Willcox|first1=William B.|last2=Arnstein|first2=Walter L.|title=The Age of Aristocracy 1688 to 1830|publisher=D.C. Heath and Company|year=1988|edition=Fifth|isbn=978-0669134230}}
* {{cite book|last=Wood|first=Gordon S.|title=The Radicalism of the American Revolution|year=1992|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|isbn=978-0679404934|author-link=Gordon S. Wood|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6lGinKwz7l8C&q=patriot|ref=none}}
* {{cite book|last=Wood|first=Gordon S.|editor-first=Don|editor-last=Higginbotham|author-mask=2|title=George Washington Reconsidered|year=2001|publisher=University Press of Virginia|isbn=978-0813920054|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L0qGWo_NGlAC}}
* {{cite book|last=Wulf|first=Andrea|title=Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|year=2012|isbn=978-0307390684|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GzEa-lL8rngC}}

===Miscellaneous===
* {{cite journal|last=Cheatham|first=Michael L.|title=The Death of George Washington: An End to the Controversy?|journal=American Surgery|year=2008|volume=74|issue=8|pages=770–774|doi=10.1177/000313480807400821|pmid=18705585|s2cid=31457820 |doi-access=free}}
* {{cite journal|last=Estes|first=Todd|title=Shaping the Politics of Public Opinion: Federalists and the Jay Treaty Debate|journal=[[Journal of the Early Republic]]|year=2000|volume=20|issue=3|pages=393–422|jstor=3125063|doi=10.2307/3125063}}
* {{cite journal|last=Estes|first=Todd|author-mask=2|title=The Art of Presidential Leadership: George Washington and the Jay Treaty|journal=The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography|year=2001|volume=109|issue=2|pages=127–158|jstor=4249911}}
* {{cite journal|last=Furstenberg|first=François|title=Atlantic Slavery, Atlantic Freedom: George Washington, Slavery, and Transatlantic Abolitionist Networks|journal=The William and Mary Quarterly|volume=68|number=2|publisher=Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture|year=2011|pages=247–286|jstor=10.5309/willmaryquar.68.2.0247|doi=10.5309/willmaryquar.68.2.0247}}
* {{cite web|last=Immekus|first=Alexander|title=Freemasonry|url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/freemasonry/|website=George Washington's Mount Vernon|publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association|year=2018|access-date=June 13, 2024|archive-date=October 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002095349/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/freemasonry/|url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal|last=Kohn|first=Richard H.|title=The Inside History of the Newburgh Conspiracy: America and the Coup d'Etat|journal=The William and Mary Quarterly|year=1970|volume=27|issue=2|pages=187–220|jstor=1918650|doi=10.2307/1918650}}
* {{cite journal|last=Kohn|first=Richard H.|author-mask=2|title=The Washington Administration's Decision to Crush the Whiskey Rebellion|url=http://vi.uh.edu/pages/buzzmat/Radhistory/radical%20history%20articles/Washington's%20Decision%20to%20Crush%20Whiskey%20Rebellion.pdf|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20150924183930/http://vi.uh.edu/pages/buzzmat/Radhistory/radical%20history%20articles/Washington's%20Decision%20to%20Crush%20Whiskey%20Rebellion.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 24, 2015|journal=[[The Journal of American History]]|year=1972|volume=59|issue=3|pages=567–584|jstor=1900658|doi=10.2307/1900658}}
* {{cite web|last=Lurie|first=Shira|title=George Washington's Farewell Address|website=George Washington's Mount Vernon|url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/george-washingtons-farewell-address/|publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320192745/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/george-washingtons-farewell-address/|archive-date=March 20, 2019|url-status=dead|year=2018}}
* {{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel06.html|title=Religion and the Founding of the American Republic|publisher=Library of Congress|year=2011|access-date=July 20, 2018|archive-date=November 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191118144321/https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel06.html|url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal|last=Morens|first=David M.|title=Death of a President|journal=New England Journal of Medicine|year=1999|volume=341|issue=24|pages=1845–1849|doi=10.1056/NEJM199912093412413|pmid=10588974}}
* {{cite journal|last=Morgan|first=Kenneth|title=George Washington and the Problem of Slavery|journal=Journal of American Studies|volume=34|number=2|year=2000|pages=279–301|jstor=27556810|doi=10.1017/S0021875899006398|s2cid=145717616}}
* {{cite journal|last=Morgan|first=Philip D.|title="To Get Quit of Negroes": George Washington and Slavery|journal=Journal of American Studies|publisher=Cambridge University Press|volume=39|number=3|year=2005|pages=403–429|jstor=27557691|doi=10.1017/S0021875805000599|s2cid=145143979}}
* {{cite web|title=Surveying|publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association|url=http://www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/surveying/|website=George Washington's Mount Vernon|access-date=June 13, 2024|archive-date=April 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180421144342/http://www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/surveying/|url-status=live}}
* {{cite web|last=Tsakiridis|first=George|title=George Washington and Religion|url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/george-washington-and-religion/|website=George Washington's Mount Vernon|publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association|year=2018|access-date=June 13, 2024|archive-date=October 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010115741/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/george-washington-and-religion/|url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal|editor1-last=Newton|editor1-first=R.S.|editor2-last=Freeman|editor2-first=Z.|editor3-last=Bickley|editor3-first=G.|title=Heroic Treatment—Illness and Death of George Washington|journal=The Eclectic Medical Journal|volume=1717|year=1858|page=273|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CnkBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA273}}
* {{cite journal|last=Vadakan|first=Vibul V.|title=A Physician Looks At The Death of Washington|journal=The Early America Review|date=Winter–Spring 2005|volume=6|issue=1|issn=1090-4247|url=http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2005_winter_spring/washingtons_death.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051216141728/http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2005_winter_spring/washingtons_death.htm|archive-date=December 16, 2005}}
* {{cite web|last=Wallenborn|first=White McKenzie|title=George Washington's Terminal Illness: A Modern Medical Analysis of the Last Illness and Death of George Washington|year=1999|url=https://washingtonpapers.org/resources/articles/illness/|work=[[The Papers of George Washington]]|publisher=University of Virginia|access-date=July 20, 2018|archive-date=July 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722060731/https://washingtonpapers.org/resources/articles/illness/|url-status=live}}
* {{cite web|title=Where the Cherry Tree Grew: An Interview with Phillip Levy|publisher=Mount Vernon Ladies' Association|url=https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-man-the-myth/where-the-cherry-tree-grew-an-interview-with-phillip-levy/|website=George Washington's Mount Vernon|access-date=June 13, 2024|archive-date=November 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106212147/https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-man-the-myth/where-the-cherry-tree-grew-an-interview-with-phillip-levy/|url-status=live}}
* {{cite journal |last=Urwin |first=Gregory J. W. |title=The Yorktown Tragedy: Washington's Slave Roundup |url=https://allthingsliberty.com/2021/10/the-yorktown-tragedy-washingtons-slave-roundup/#:~:text=On%20October%2019%2C%201781%2C%20Gen,under%20the%20command%20of%20Lt. |journal=The Journal of the American Revolution |ref=Urwin (October 19, 2021) |date=October 19, 2021 |access-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-date=March 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320201354/https://allthingsliberty.com/2021/10/the-yorktown-tragedy-washingtons-slave-roundup/#:~:text=On%20October%2019%2C%201781%2C%20Gen,under%20the%20command%20of%20Lt. |url-status=live }}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Library resources box}}
* {{cite magazine |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/05/the-father-of-the-pina-colada/304787/ |title=The Father of the Pina Colada? |date=May 1, 2006 |magazine=[[The Atlantic]] |last=Curtis|first=Wayne}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Cohen|first=Andrew |title=What George Washington Thought About the Constitution |date=November 1, 2011 |magazine=The Atlantic|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/11/what-george-washington-thought-about-the-constitution/247688/ }}
* {{cite magazine |last=Lewis|first=Danny|title=George Washington's Biracial Family Is Getting New Recognition |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/george-washingtons-biracial-family-new-recognition-180960553/ |magazine=Smithsonian|date=September 22, 2016}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Good|first=Cassandra|title=Did George Washington 'Have a Couple of Things in His Past'? |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/09/george-washington-donald-trump/571588/ |magazine=The Atlantic|date=September 28, 2018}}
* {{cite magazine |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/george-washington-was-master-deception/576565/ |last=Zegart|first=Amy|magazine=The Atlantic|date=November 25, 2018 |title=George Washington Was a Master of Deception}}
* {{cite magazine |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/presidents-cabinet-was-invention-americas-first-president-180974611/ |last=Wulf|first=Karin |magazine=Smithsonian|date=April 7, 2020 |title=The President's Cabinet Was an Invention of America's First President}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Coe|first=Alexis |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/george-washington-saw-future-america-mules-180974182/ |title=George Washington Saw a Future for America: Mules |date=February 12, 2020 |magazine=Smithsonian}}
* {{cite magazine |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/03/george-washington-burn-new-york-great-fire-1776/672780/ |last=Immerwahr|first=Daniel|magazine=The Atlantic|date=January 31, 2023 |title=Did George Washington Burn New York?}}

==External links==
<!-- Please do not add external links to subjects that are covered here or in the Bibliography of George Washington. -->
{{Spoken Wikipedia|en-George Washington-article.ogg|date=March 2, 2019}}
* [https://www.mountvernon.org George Washington's Mount Vernon]
* [https://founders.archives.gov/about/Washington The Papers of George Washington], subset of [https://founders.archives.gov/ Founders Online] from the [[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives]]
* {{Gutenberg author|id=4659}}
* {{BHL author}}
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p004y28v In Our Time: Washington & the American Revolution], BBC Radio{{nbsp}}4 discussion with Carol Berkin, Simon Middleton, & Colin Bonwick (June 24, 2004)
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00804yk Great Lives: George Washington], BBC Radio{{nbsp}}4 discussion with Matthew Parris, Michael Rose, & Frank Grizzard (October 21, 2016)
* [https://www.c-span.org/presidents/?president=1 George Washington] on [[C-SPAN]]
* [https://millercenter.org/president/washington Scholarly coverage of Washington] at the [[Miller Center of Public Affairs|Miller Center, University of Virginia]]

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