Learning A–Z level S Multi-level S Y Z2

Grade 3 Word Count 1,000

Lexile 850L Nonfiction • Biography

Refer to the Focus Question on page 2 of this title to guide

discussion and support additional learning connected to the text.

As the first president of the United States, George

Washington faced many challenges. In this
fascinating biography, learn how his earlier life and
accomplishments prepared him for the role of president.
Part of the World Leaders series, this book is also
available for levels S and Y.

Photo Credits:
Front cover, title page: © SuperStock/SuperStock; pages 3, 6: © GraphicaArtis/Corbis; pages 4, 5, 7, 12: © Corbis; page 8: © Stocktrek
Images, Inc./Alamy Stock Photo; page 10: © PAINTING/Alamy Stock Photo; pages 11, 15 (bottom left): © Granger, NYC; page 13: George
Washington and his Family, 1798 (oil on canvas), Ferris, Jean Leon Gerome (1863-1930)/Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, Virginia, USA/ George
Washington
Bridgeman Images; page 14: © flukesamed/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images; page 15 (top left): © North Wind Picture Archives/Alamy
Stock Photo; page 15 (top right): © Science Source; page 15 (center right): © Ivy Close Images/Alamy Stock Photo; page 15 (bottom right):
George Washington, c.1786 (painted plaster), Houdon, Jean-Antoine (1741-1828)/Dallas Museum of Art, Texas, USA/gift of Ronald E. Fritz/
Bridgeman Images

For more great books visit Written by Patricia Florence

www.learninga-z.com
© Learning A–Z, all rights reserved.
 George
Focus Question
Why is George Washington one of
the most famous presidents in the

Washington history of the United States?

Words to Know
character oath
colony retreat
Constitution term
convention treaty
joined forces

Connections
Writing
Write a biography of George Washington. Include
details from the book and outside resources.
Above: A painting shows Washington saying farewell to his officers at the Social Studies
end of his military career.
Research the Constitutional Convention of 1787.
Cover: A painting of George Washington by American artist John Vanderlyn
Create a poster or presentation with a partner
Written by Patricia Florence
to share with your class. Be sure to include
information such as who was present and what
happened as a result of the convention.
Betsy Ross works on an American flag with George Washington seated on
the left. George Washington took the oath of
office in New York on April 30, 1789.
Table of Contents
The First President
The First President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
On a bright day in 1789, George Washington
Mount Vernon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
began the oath that would make him president .
Washington Goes to War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 It had been a long but rewarding journey to this
moment . Washington had already served his
Fighting for Independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
country as a military leader, and now he would
A New Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 serve as its highest political leader .

Farewell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 As he finished the oath of office, the large

crowd cheered loudly . George Washington was
Father of His Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
now the first president of the United States of
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 America!

George Washington • Level S 3 4

 Mount Vernon
George Washington was born on
February 22, 1732 . His parents raised him
on a plantation in Virginia, where enslaved
people worked in their fields . When
George was just eleven years old, his
father died . George’s half brother helped
raise him instead .

In his youth, George did not have much

formal education . He learned more by
overseeing the work on Mount Vernon, During the French and Indian War, George Washington became well known
as a brave leader.
the family home and George’s favorite place .
However, he also loved the military and Washington Goes to War
would soon get a chance to serve . At that time, the United States was not yet
a country . Each state was a British colony—an
area controlled by another country . There was
no national army at that time . Instead, each
colony had its own army . Beginning in 1752,
Washington served in Virginia’s army .

By 1754, war had begun between Great

Britain and France . Both wanted to control
land in North America . Many tribes joined
When he was three years old, Washington’s family moved to forces with the French, so that war was
Mount Vernon, Virginia.
called the French and Indian War .

George Washington • Level S 5 6

 Washington led the Virginia army on
Thomas Jefferson and others
behalf of the British and helped win a major present the Declaration of
Independence to the Second
battle . People began to see that he was a Continental Congress in
strong military commander . Yet Washington Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

dreamed of returning to Mount Vernon .

There, in 1759, he married Martha Custis .
Fighting for Independence
George Versus Martha By the 1770s, people living in the colonies
When Martha married were unhappy . Great Britain was charging
George, she brought many
taxes on products in the colonies, such as tea .
enslaved people with her
to Mount Vernon. Although Colonial leaders met for nearly two months at
together the Washingtons the First Continental Congress in September
enslaved more than three
1774 . They made a plan to stand up to the British
hundred people, George’s
feelings about slavery and protect the colonists’ basic rights . Some
changed over his lifetime. leaders were prepared to break away from
He ordered that all those
Great Britain entirely . Washington attended the
people his family had enslaved
be freed upon Martha’s death. meeting in full uniform . He was prepared to
This was not the case fight if Great Britain didn’t agree to their plan .
with those people enslaved
by her side of the family, Great Britain did not agree, and the colonial
however. When she died in leaders held the Second Continental Congress
1802, they were divided up
between her grandchildren.
in the spring of 1775 . At that meeting, they set
up a new government . They asked George
This portrait of Martha Washington to lead a new Continental Army
Washington was done in 1876,
long after her death.
against the British . The colonists were ready
to fight for independence .

George Washington • Level S 7 8

 Washington won his first victory in March
1776 . He successfully pushed the British army
out of Boston and into New York City . The
British would not be easy to beat, however .
They had a powerful army led by General
William Howe .

While leaders completed the plans for

independence during the summer of 1776,
Washington’s troops came under attack by Howe
Despite ice floes and frigid temperatures, Washington and his men managed
and his forces . Howe defeated the Continental to cross the Delaware River, capturing more than nine hundred British soldiers.
Army at a battle on Long Island, New York .
There the British killed three hundred men Washington, camped on the Pennsylvania
and captured more than a thousand others . side of the Delaware River, had an idea . The
Washington was forced to retreat . enemy had stopped in New Jersey, on the
other side of the river . On a cold Christmas
Battles In and Near New Jersey, 1776–1777 night in 1776, Washington led his men across
New York the river in a surprise attack . It led to an
Connecticut
New 2 1. Long Island
Jersey Aug. 27, 1776 important victory .
•1 New York City
Morristown • 2. White Plains
Oct. 28, 1776
Pennsylvania from Halifax 3. Trenton
The war would continue for another five
June 29, 1776 Dec. 26, 1776
3
4 7
4. Princeton
years . In 1778, France joined forces with the
Valley Forge • ATLANTIC Jan. 3, 1777
Continental Army . Finally, in 1781, Washington
6 OCEAN 5. Brandywine
5 • Sept. 11, 1777
Philadelphia 6. Germantown
marched into Yorktown, Virginia, where he
Oct. 4, 1777
Maryland 7. Monmouth
and the French forces surrounded the British .
British troops June 28, 1778

from New York City

Delaware Colonial troops The British surrendered, and the war was over .
Aug. 25, 1777 0 50 miles The colonists had won .

George Washington • Level S 9 10

 A New Country Washington’s style
In 1787, leaders held a convention to come of leadership was a
up with a plan for the new government—the good match for this
Constitution . George Washington led the task . He led the
meeting and impressed everyone with his nation firmly and
leadership . It was no surprise when he was asked with great dignity—
to be the first president of the United States . just as he had led the
Continental Army .
Washington did not want the job, but he
felt a duty to say yes . So in the spring of 1789, Washington was
he left Mount Vernon for New York City, where elected president
he became president of the United States on again in 1792 . In his
April 30 . second term, he
faced another war
As America’s first president, Washington had between Britain and
a number of important tasks to do . The most France . Although
important task was to set up the government France had been American artist Gilbert Stuart
described in the Constitution . painted nearly one hundred portraits
an ally during the of the president.
American Revolution,
Washington declared that the United
States would not get involved . A treaty,
or agreement, was signed but remained
unpopular . Many people thought the
treaty supported the British too much,
and President Washington himself
George Washington, standing at right, was the president of the
Constitutional Convention in 1787. was blamed .

George Washington • Level S 11 12

 Farewell
Feeling tired after serving his country
for so many years, Washington chose not to
serve a third term as president . Before leaving
office, he wrote a Farewell Address, in which
he offered some advice . He warned against
joining forces with other nations because Washington first appeared on the dollar bill in 1869, after the Civil War.
it could lead to more war . He also warned This design first appeared in 1963.

against building too big of an army .

Father of His Country
In 1797, Washington began his retirement, George Washington’s place in history
spending time with Martha and overseeing his is firm . His courage and character are still
beloved Mount Vernon . Two years later, during admired by many Americans . His leadership
a cold and snowy Virginia winter, Washington style, both in the military and in the
fell ill . He died on December 14, 1799 . presidency, are great models for modern
military officers and presidents to follow .
During his final years, Washington spent
time with his family at Mount Vernon. A congressman at the time said Washington
was “first in war, first in peace, first in the
hearts of his countrymen .” This earned him
the title “Father of His Country .”

Historical figures such as Washington

are often boiled down to simple nicknames
such as this . In reality, those figures are
every bit as complex—and imperfect—as
people are today .

George Washington • Level S 13 14

 The Life of George Washington Glossary
1735: The Washington 1730 1732: Born in Westmoreland character (n.) page 14
family moves to County, Virginia
Mount Vernon, Virginia
the moral strength of a person; the overall nature of
1735 a person or place
1754: Fights in the French colony (n.) page 6
and Indian War 1740
a settled area that is ruled by or belongs to another
country; a group settled in one of these areas
1745
or countries

1750 Constitution (n.) page 11

1775: Appointed
the written rules that govern the United States
1755 commander in chief of
the Continental Army
convention (n.) page 11
during the American a political meeting where delegates form plans, set
1760
Revolution goals, and select people to run for office
1781: The British
surrender to 1765 joined forces (v.) page 6
Washington worked together toward a common goal
1770
1787: Presides over the oath (n.) page 4
Constitutional a formal promise
Convention 1775
retreat (v.) page 9
1780 to withdraw or move away from a battle with an
1789: Elected first president enemy or an uncomfortable situation; to turn back
of the United States
1785 because of a dangerous or difficult situation ahead

term (n.) page 12

1790
a set or limited period of time in an official position
1797: Begins retirement
at Mount Vernon
1795 treaty (n.) page 12
a formal agreement of peace or friendship between
1800 two nations or groups
1799: Dies on December 14

George Washington • Level S 15 16