George Washington
   
First President of the United States
 
written and assisted by Ms. Hager's Second Grade Class at Logan Elementary School, Logan, West Virginia




George Washington became our first president in 1789 when he was unanimously elected by men from every American colony who met in Philadelphia during the Continental Congress to set up a new country, the United States of America.

As a young boy, George did not go to England to learn as other young boys had, he remained at home and learned to fish, hunt, and especially to ride horses. His brother, Lawrence, was soldier for the English and George loved him and listened intently to his stories.

At the young age of 17, George became a surveyor in Virginia. A surveyor is one who measures land and makes maps of land. Lawrence, his brother, lived on a farm called Mount Vernon. George lived with Lawrence since his father had died.George had many happy times at Mount Vernon. But when George was 20, Lawrence became ill. He never got well again.
 
Military Life
When George was 20 he became a soldier in the army of Virginia. He fought in the French and Indian War and in other wars across the country. He showed that he was a brave soldier and a good leader. He was made head of all the soldiers of Virginia and helped with Virginia government. Because the king of England, George III, made laws that were unfair to the American colonies, George Washington got very angry. So he and others who were unhappy with the laws of the king decided to rebel. The king sent soldiers from England to fight the colonists. Some years after the fight began, George Washington was made General Washington. He headed up all the soldiers from all the colonies. The colonial soldiers had few guns and did not look like anything but farmers. Washington then worked all the winter of 1776 to make his army strong. He trained them and sent away for gunpowder and guns. There were many battles during the war in the colonies. This war was called the American Revolution. The men had hard times because the British soldiers had more supplies, but they persisted and soon they won the war against England at a place called Yorktown, where they defeated Cornwallis on October 17, 1781. The war was over. The colonies had won their independence. At last they did not belong to England. A new country had been born, he United States of America. George Washington had been the leader of this great army.
 
President Washington
In May of 1787, Washington and some other men from the colonies met in Philadelphia. They wanted to figure out a new way to govern their country. They worked hard. At last, there was a new plan, called the Constitution of the United States of America. This constitution said that there should be one man at the head of the government. He was going to be call the president. Every state chose Washington to be the first president. He had many good men helping him run the country and they made everything work by paying their debts from the war. They got soldiers for an army. They made many new laws. These men did always agree, but Washington showed that he could make men work together for the good of their country. At the end of the four years Washington was made president again. For four more year, he led his country. The states had begun to work together. Little by little, they became a country united. Then the men asked to be president again, but he did not want to be president again. He was tired. He had served his country well and could do no more. Washington was now 65 years old. He returned to Mount Vernon, his home, to ride his horse and look after his farm. One winter day, Washington caught a bad cold. He became very ill and on December 14, 1799, he died. Washington was buried near his home at Mount Vernon where he rested on his own land with the nature he loved.
 
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