You probably think you know George Washington. He’s the guy on the dollar bill with the stoic expression and the powdered wig. But honestly, the story of who was the first president of us is way more stressful and complicated than those elementary school history books let on.
It wasn't some glorious coronation.
Washington was actually terrified of the job. He didn't want it. He wrote to his friend Henry Knox that his move to the presidency felt like a "culprit who is going to the place of his execution." That’s a heavy vibe for a guy who just won a war. He knew he was stepping into a role that didn't exist yet, for a country that was basically thirteen different arguments disguised as a single nation.
Setting the precedent when there were none
When we ask who was the first president of us, we aren't just looking for a name. We are looking for the person who had to figure out what a "President" actually does. The Constitution was incredibly vague. It didn't say how he should dress, how he should be addressed, or even how he should interact with Congress.
Some people, like John Adams, wanted him to have a fancy title like "His Highness, the President of the United States of America, and Protector of their Liberties." Washington thought that sounded ridiculous. He settled on "Mr. President." Simple. Direct. It was his first major move in ensuring the office didn't turn into a monarchy.
He had to be careful. Every single thing he did—from the way he held a pen to the people he invited to dinner—set a precedent. If he stayed in office too long, he’d look like a king. If he was too weak, the country would fall apart. It was a high-stakes tightrope walk.
📖 Related: Whos Winning The Election Rn Polls: The January 2026 Reality Check
The Cabinet of rivals before it was cool
Washington wasn't a policy wonk. He was a leader of men. To handle the messy details of the new government, he assembled a team that would eventually be known as the Cabinet. But calling them a "team" is a bit of a stretch.
- Thomas Jefferson was the Secretary of State. He wanted a tiny government and a country of farmers.
- Alexander Hamilton was the Secretary of the Treasury. He wanted a big, powerful central bank and an industrial powerhouse.
These two hated each other. Like, truly despised one another. Washington sat in the middle of their screaming matches, trying to keep the ship from sinking. He realized early on that a leader needs to hear dissenting voices, even if those voices make his life a total nightmare.
The whiskey rebellion and the test of power
Most people forget that the first president almost had to go to war against his own citizens. In 1794, farmers in Western Pennsylvania were furious about a tax on whiskey. They started attacking tax collectors.
This was the first real test. Could the federal government actually enforce its own laws? Washington didn't just send a letter. He put on his old uniform, hopped on a horse, and led 13,000 militia troops toward Pennsylvania.
He didn't have to fire a shot. The rebellion melted away the moment they saw the "Old Fox" coming. It proved that the United States wasn't just a collection of ideas; it was a functioning state with the teeth to back up its rules.
👉 See also: Who Has Trump Pardoned So Far: What Really Happened with the 47th President's List
The myth of the wooden teeth
Let’s clear something up. Washington did not have wooden teeth. That’s a total myth. He did, however, have horrific dental problems. By the time he was inaugurated as who was the first president of us, he had exactly one natural tooth left in his mouth.
His dentures were made of a mix of ivory (from hippos and elephants), lead, and—darkly enough—human teeth purchased from enslaved people. They were held together by metal springs that made it hard to talk and even harder to smile. This is why he looks so grim in every portrait. He was literally struggling to keep his mouth shut so his teeth wouldn't pop out. It’s a humanizing, albeit gross, detail that makes his public stoicism even more impressive.
Slavery and the great contradiction
You can't talk about Washington without talking about the fact that he was a slave owner. It is the massive, uncomfortable shadow over his legacy. While he was fighting for "liberty," he held hundreds of people in bondage at Mount Vernon.
Historians like Erica Armstrong Dunbar, author of Never Caught, have highlighted the story of Ona Judge, an enslaved woman who escaped from Washington’s household while he was president. Washington spent years trying to hunt her down and bring her back, even using federal resources to do it.
By the end of his life, he was one of the only Founding Fathers to arrange for his enslaved people to be freed after his and his wife's deaths. But he didn't do it while he was alive. He was a man of his time, but he also knew that the "peculiar institution" was a ticking time bomb for the country he helped create.
✨ Don't miss: Why the 2013 Moore Oklahoma Tornado Changed Everything We Knew About Survival
Stepping down: His greatest act
In 1796, Washington did something that shocked the entire world. He quit.
He could have stayed in power until he died. People wanted him to. But he knew that if he died in office, the presidency would look like a lifetime appointment. By walking away after two terms, he established the most important tradition in American history: the peaceful transfer of power.
King George III reportedly said that if Washington truly gave up power, he would be "the greatest man in the world." He did. He went back to Mount Vernon to grow wheat and distill whiskey.
Why it still matters today
Understanding who was the first president of us isn't just about a history test. It’s about understanding the DNA of the American government. Washington’s obsession with "republican virtue"—the idea that a leader should serve the public good rather than their own interest—is still the standard we use to judge leaders today.
He was far from perfect. He was a wealthy landholder who struggled with the morality of slavery. He was a general who sometimes made tactical blunders. But he was also the only person who could have held the states together in those first fragile years. Without his weirdly specific combination of humility and authority, the "American Experiment" probably would have ended by 1792.
Practical Next Steps for History Buffs
- Visit Mount Vernon (Virtually or In-Person): Seeing the scale of his estate puts his daily life and the labor of the enslaved people there into a much clearer perspective.
- Read the Farewell Address: It’s not just a goodbye letter. It’s a warning about political parties and foreign entanglements that feels eerily relevant to the 2020s.
- Check out the "Portrait Gallery": Look closely at the Gilbert Stuart "Lansdowne" portrait. Every object in that painting was chosen by Washington to signal that he was a civil servant, not a king.
- Explore the Whiskey Rebellion sites: If you're ever in Western PA, there are local markers that show exactly where the first major challenge to federal authority went down.
Washington wasn't a god. He was a tired, aging soldier trying to build a house while the ground was still moving. That’s a much more interesting story than the guy on the dollar bill.