'''George Washington''' (1732-1799) was the unanimously elected 1st President of the [[United States of America]] and the Commander-in-Chief in the [[Revolutionary War]].<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gw1.html</ref> He was also a devout [[Christian]], with his adopted daughter once stating that "if you question Washington's faith, you may as well question whether or not he was a patriot."<ref>http://www.christiananswers.net/q-wall/wal-g011.html</ref>
Washington gave a great example of humility and lack of ambition by serving only two terms as president and then stepping aside. This came during a period where there was ambiguity as to whether or not the President should hold office for life. In surrendering his power, Washington sought to emulate the (few) positive examples of great leaders in Roman Republican history, emulating especially [[Cincinnatus]], who similarly gave up absolute power to return to his farm. [[Lord Byron]], the British poet, noted the similarity, and hailed Washington as the "Cincinnatus of the West."<ref>http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/2001/byron0101.html</ref>
Washington bravely led the colonists in revolt against the unjust British government, and in its place established a new government. Fighting against the vastly more powerful British army, Washington lost nearly every battle in the American Revolution until winning at Trenton and Princeton, and then lost most battles afterwards until ultimately prevailing at Yorktown with the help of a new contingent of French troops.