GEORGE WASHINGTON1732-1799

By: Matthew Makar

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 in Virginia.

Legend has it that when George was a boy, he chopped down a cherry tree. He was honest about it, and admitted what he had done.

When George was twenty-six he fell in love with Martha Custis. They got married and moved to Mount Vernon, a home in Virginia.

In 1775, the colonists began to fight with England. They wanted to be free from England. George Washington was chosen to lead the Continental Army.

On Christmas night,1776, George and his army crossed the icy Delaware

River.

Washington led the troops through a very cold winter at Valley Forge.

The war lasted eight years. In 1783, George Washington’s army won the war. George was

a hero!

The thirteen colonies became thirteen states. People in America loved George Washington, and he became the first president of the

United States in 1789.

After eight years as president, George Washington returned to his home at

Mount Vernon. In 1799 George Washington became ill and died. He

was sixty-seven years old.

WASHINGTON MONUMENT

There is a monument in Washington, D.C. dedicated to him.

His face appears on the one dollar bill and the quarter.

MOUNT RUSHMORE

His face also appears on Mount Rushmore,

in South Dakota.

George Washington was a great leader. He has been called the

“Father of Our Country”.

Sources

• The Citizen’s Almanac U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

• Image and graphics From Internet