From VOA Learning English, welcome to The Making of a Nation. American history in Special English. I'm Steve Ember.This week in our series, we tell the story of America's first president, George Washington.The United States declared its independence from Britain on July 4, 1776.At first the new nation was a loosely formed alliance governed under the Articles of Confederation.As we described in previous programs, all this changed when a new plan of government, the Constitution, went into effect on March 4,1789.There was much to be done to make it work. The machinery of government was untested.Strong leadership was needed, and Washington was the man chosen to provide it.Many historians believe there would never have been a United States without George Washington.