George Washington

George Washington was the first president of the United States. Born and raised in the Colony of Virginia, Washington served as commander of the Virginia regiment during the French and Indian War (1754–1763). From 1759 to 1775, he served in the Virginia House of Burgesses, where he supported the colonies’ protests against British tax measures. When the Revolutionary War began in 1775, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. He served as president of the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and was elected president of the United States by the Electoral College in 1788. He was reelected in 1792 and retired from public office in 1796, after his second term.

Washington was raised in the Anglican church and continued to attend church throughout his life, joining the Anglican church’s American successor, the Episcopal church, after the Revolution. He believed that religion was critical to maintaining a moral society but frequently emphasized his commitment to religious freedom and his lack of prejudice against any mode of worship. After his inauguration, Washington received congratulatory letters from leaders of many Christian congregations and from the handful of Jewish communities in the United States at the time. In his responses, he repeatedly reiterated his commitment to protecting religious rights and his vision of the United States as a country free of religious persecution.