Who they were
A Virginia planter and veteran of the French and Indian War, Washington was chosen to command the Continental Army in 1775. He held the army together through years of hardship to win independence.
What they did
After the war he presided over the 1787 Constitutional Convention and became the first president in 1789. He set enduring precedents and voluntarily left office after two terms in 1797.
Legacy
His refusal to hold power for life helped establish civilian, republican government in the new nation. He is honored as a founder, though modern accounts also weigh his ownership of enslaved people.