Essay On George Washington

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“The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America… No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States” (“The Constitution” National Archives 1).
July 4th, 1776 is internationally recognized as the day that the United States of America officially became its own sovereign nation, free from the rule of the British. It was not, however, until the year 1783 that the Revolutionary War with those past rulers ended. In 1789, a full thirteen years after her declared independence, America would elect her first president under the regulations of her brand new Constitution (The White House 1). George Washington, famous for his service in the Revolutionary War would become even better known as the first president of this new nation. During his time in office, he would set precedents for how a president should act, govern, and be perceived by the rest of the world.
George Washington: soldier, statesman, leader. He is the fifth-most Googled U.S. President, coming in after the likes of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. Polling sites list him invariably in their “Top Ten BEST U.S. Presidents!” lists. As the first President of the United States, George Washington was exploring previously uncharted territory. No maps existed for this area; there were no previous examples to draw from. Despite this, evidence suggests that Washington was an excellent national leader.
Before the Constitution outlined the way the United Sta...

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... of the Treasury, and Henry Knox, the Secretary of War (Sloan 11).
Despite his protests, Washington was elected as president for a second term. When pressed to run for a third time, however, he refused. After nearly forty years of serving his country, George Washington was ready to retire to his home in Virginia and spend his remaining years there. His refusal to enter a third term was an example followed by every president after him until Franklin D. Roosevelt ran and was elected for four terms, though he did not live to complete the fourth. Upon his exit, Washington set one more precedent: a farewell address.
As the first president of the United States, George Washington had a unique opportunity to mold the image and duties of the position. He worked hard to distance the new office from the old monarchy and gain respect with the Old World for this new nation.

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