George Washington planter soldier and politician Washington was born into a Virginian planter family in He commanded the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and was subsequently elected the first President of the United States He served for two terms from to but refused to serve for a third term His term of office saw the development of a strong central government based on sound financial policies and the adoption of a neutral foreign policy This lithograph is based on a portrait by US artist Rembrandt Peale Peales first portrait of Washington was drawn in