Thanks to the musical Hamilton, I have been reading a lot more about US independence and I was wondering, we always talk about how important it was that Washington stepped down as opposed to being something along the lines of "King Washington", was this intended from the start? Was this something that was forced upon him? or did he do it entirely on his own accord?
Furthermore I've heard from a few people that Washington actually wasn't a very good general and was a rather tame president and that he was a figurehead more than anything else, is there any truth to this?
I'll cite one of my earlier comments here
TLDR: He really wanted to retire, he was not pressured out.
Washington had been ready to retire after his first term (he had Madison compose a draft of his farewell address at the end of that term in 1792), but was persuaded to stay by others who believed his presence was the only thing that could hold the new country together. John Adams noted in March of 1797 how happy Washington seemed at the end of his administration. This letter is the source of the often mis-attributed 'I am fairly out' quote, which was Adams' way of summarizing his perception of Washington's mood.
Strangely to modern observers, Washington's financial situation contributed to his desire to retire. Washington's correspondence from the time is full of allegations that Mt. Vernon was being run poorly in his absence. In fact, even after retiring, he would struggle with debt for the rest of his life (something that was common to nearly all of the early presidents from the south, Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe).