George Washington

As a young Virginia planter, Washington accepted slavery without apparent concern. But after the Revolutionary War, he began to feel burdened by his personal entanglement with slavery and uneasy about slavery’s effect on the nation.

Martha Washington was the first first lady of the United States and spent about half of the Revolutionary War at the front with General Washington. She helped manage and run her husbands' estates and raised her children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.

Despite having little practical experience in managing large, conventional armies, George Washington proved to be a capable and resilient leader of the American military forces during the Revolutionary War.

Unanimously elected twice, President Washington established many crucial precedents and confronted many domestic and foreign policy challenges.

Washington had a complicated relationship with Native Americans. Throughout his life, Washington negotiated with and served alongside native peoples, fought against others, and sought their land for his own prosperity.

Born in the Age of Reason, Washington was a part of a new generation of readers who had access to more information. He built a library that would ultimately consist of more than 1,200 titles. 

The first time George Washington ran for public office, he lost. Washington is often remembered as an established statesman, leading a new nation. However, his political career began decades early in the Virginia House of Burgesses.

Freemasonry played a role throughout George Washington's life, joining the Lodge in Fredericksburg, Virginia in 1752, through his death, where brothers of Alexandria Lodge performed Masonic rites at his funeral.

Throughout his life, Washington was concerned he would die young like his father. To prevent this, he tried to live a healthy life but still encountered many illnesses.