George Washington

George

Washington

is

the

first

American President. He is known as

“The

Father

of

the

N a t i o n ” .

Washington was born in Virginia in a

planter’s family. The family had a lot

of land, but not enough money to send George to

school in England. So, he went to a private school.

George learned to ride a horse, hunt, shoot, sail and

swim. He was also good at arithmetic. That’s why, he

went to faraway parts of the country to measure land

for those who built houses there. He learned to sleep

out, cook his own meals and work hard every day.

Everyone liked and trusted him. George Washington

began his career as a major in Virginia militia. Later

he became a Commander in Chief of the Colonial

Army during the Revolutionary War. He was among

those who wrote the Constitution in Philadelphia.

After

the

Revolutionary

War

George

Washington

understood that his duty was to serve his country. He

became the first president of the USA and promised

to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the

United States. He served two terms and refused a

third one. In 1797 he retired and returned to Mount

Vernon where he had a beautiful house and a big

plantation. He died two years later. People respected

him for his courage, honesty and wisdom.

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham

Lincoln

was

the

16-th

President of the USA. He grew up in

the Middle West. His family helped to

fight Indians and push the borders of

the United States further west. The

family

lived

in

poverty. Abraham’s

mother died. So, Abe and his sister were lonely until

their

father

married

again.

Abe’s

stepmother

encouraged the boy to study but he had a small

chance to go to school. Abe liked to read and he used

to walk miles to borrow a book. He also learned to do

a hard work as to cut trees or take care of crops.

Everyone

liked

him

and

said

he

was

a

born

storyteller.

Later

Abraham

joined

the

militia

and

fought in the Indian War. After the war he became a

lawyer and a politician. Many people trusted him and

he was elected to the House of Representatives in the

US Congress. In 1861 he became the President of the

US. Lincoln had to lead the country during the four

terrible

years

of

the

Civil

War.

He

wanted

the

northern and southern states to stay together and he

hated slavery. So, in 1863 he signed the Emancipation

Proclamation. That was a great event in the history of

the United States. In 1865 the North won the Civil

War, five days after the war ended, President Lincoln

was shot in Ford’s Theater, Washington.