George Washington became the first president of the United States, a leader whose inauguration belongs to the history behind America250.
Washington was unanimously chosen by the Electoral College in 1789. He took the oath of office on April 30, 1789, at Federal Hall in New York City, then the nation’s capital.
Before becoming president, Washington had commanded the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. His military reputation and role presiding over the Constitutional Convention helped make him a unifying choice for the new republic.
Washington served two four-year terms and declined to seek a third. His decision established an informal two-term tradition that lasted until Franklin D. Roosevelt won a third term in 1940. The Twenty-Second Amendment later limited presidents to two elected terms.