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In 1732, George Washington was born in Virginia, one of 13 American colonies stretching along the Atlantic American seacoast from Massachusetts to Georgia.
Most people were farmers. Few people lived in cities. By the time Washington was 31 years old, in 1763, Great Britain had fought the French to win control of North America to the Mississippi River. But 20 years later, the British were defeated by their 13 colonies in the American Revolution. Washington played a role in both wars. Afterward, he served the new nation in peacetime as it began the task of uniting the former colonies and establishing a workable government. By the time Washington died, in 1799, the United States was an independent nation with its own Constitution. That framework for government has lasted for more than 200 years.
