legendary stories exist about George Washington, the first president of the United States of America. One well-known story, illustrating his honesty, claims that George--as a child--chopped down a cherry tree. He then 1)   the deed to his father, explaining: "I cannot tell a lie." These tales may have no basis in fact, but their existence illustrates the high regard in which Washington has been held throughout the history of the United States. The 2)   George Washington was described by one of his officers during the Revolutionary War as "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." Washington was called "first in war" because he was the military leader of the American Colonial forces that 3)   the British in the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783. He was "first in peace" because he became one of the chief leaders of a postwar group of men who created the unified nation of the United States of America. He presided over the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which created the Constitution of the United States, and he served as the first president of the new nation, from 1789 to 1797. Because of his leadership, character, and contributions to the 4)   , he has been revered by Americans for more than 200 years, placing him "first in the hearts of his countrymen". During his lifetime, some people even wanted to make Washington a king. Ever since the Revolutionary War, Washington's birthday has been celebrated throughout the country, and American schoolchildren have studied his life and 5)   . The nation's capital was named after him, and he is the only president for whom a state was named. Washington's likeness appears on both the one dollar bill and the quarter, and countless features such as towns, streets, and schools were named in his honor. Washington spent much of his life at Mount Vernon, his estate in Virginia, and he was buried there after his death in 1799.