Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour In Company and Conversation is the name of a list best known as a school writing exercise of George Washington, who became the first president of the United States of America. Most of the rules have been traced to a French etiquette manual, dating from the late 16th Century. As an exercise Washington hand-copied an English edition. George Washington (February 22, 1732 - December 14, 1799) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, serving as the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He also presided over the Convention that drafted the Constitution, which replaced the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution established the position of President of the Republic, which title Washington was the first to hold.