George Washington: George Washington was commander in chief of the Continental army during the American Revolution and first president of the United States (1789-97). Early Life and Career Born in Westmoreland County, Va., on Feb. 22, 1732, George Washington was the eldest son of Augustine Washington and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington, who were prosperous Virginia gentry of English descent. George spent his early years on the family estate on Pope's Creek along the Potomac River. …showed first 75 words of 4492 total…

…showed last 75 words of 4492 total…died. Lincoln's achievements--saving the Union and freeing the slaves--and his martyrdom just at the war's end assured his lasting fame. No small contribution was made by his extraordinary eloquence--exemplified in the Gettysburg Address (Nov. 19, 1863), in which he defined the war as a rededication to the egalitarian ideals of the Declaration of Independence, and in his second inaugural address (Mar. 4, 1865), in which he urged "malice toward none" and "charity for all" in the peace to come.