“To form a new Government, requires infinite care, and unbounded attention; for if the foundation is badly laid the superstructure must be bad. (George Washington quotes. n.d.)” This is a quote that George Washington wrote in a letter to John Augustine Washington on May 31st, 1776, which was over a decade before he became president. 227 years ago, the United States inaugurated our first president, George Washington. Washington influenced the success of the United States. His accomplishments before and during his presidency, formed the new government, which we practice today. He was an extremely patriotic man, and many people saw that in him. He possessed such patriotism and common sense, it won him the election to be the first president. The
George Washington and his presidency were highly crucial for the formation of the United States and defined the president and executive branch powers.
Before Washington campaigned for president, he just wanted to go home and relax. He first rejected the idea of becoming president, because he thought that if he became president that he would get put in between the legislation in the process of creating the new government. He dealt with this essential problem until the end of his second term as president. Washington realized that the people of America needed someone to lead them, and he was their first choice to be their leader, he decided to run for president. He earned the respect of the nation by leading an army during the Revolutionary War. (George Washington is elected president, 2009.) Politics were quite different back then, since the population of the United States has grown immensely and new laws have been put into place. The president was chosen by the Electoral College, just as it is today, except they chose their electors by each of the
On May 31st, 1790, the Copyright Act of 1790, was signed by Washington into law. ““An act for the encouragement of learning by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned,” the legislation was the first law protecting copyright in the United States. (Ten facts about Washington 's presidency. n.d.)” Another bill Washington passed during his presidency was the Whiskey Act of 1791. “He personally ensured that the U.S. government would enforce its laws by mobilizing troops to squelch the Whiskey Rebellion, fought as a protest of a tax imposed on whiskey. (Mandel, K. 2014, September 07. George Washington: 6 important events in first president 's political career.)” The Treaty of Greenville was signed by many Indian tribes on August 3rd, 1795. The treaty was for stalling the Northwest Indian War and it helped acquire more Indian land for the United States. The Jay Treaty was signed by the United States and Great Britain on November 19th, 1794. George Washington was able to reach an agreement between the two countries following the Revolutionary War, with the rivalry during the war and following the war, this just shows how well of a communicator he was. The Pinckney’s Treaty was signed on October 27th, 1795 in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, a town in Spain. The Pinckney’s Treaty was also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo and
Both Thomas Jefferson and George Washington helped to stabilize the American government through their accomplishments during their presidency. The United States’ government would continue to stabilize and grow during the rest of the New Nations
George Washington was the first President of the United States of America and realizing this he acted carefully and deliberately, aware of the need to build an executive structure that could accommodate future presidents. Washington's position as the first president of the United States allowed him to set many precedents that are still followed by executives today. Washington believed his power came from article II of the U.S. Constitution. He was very protective of executive powers and did not involve the executive branch in legislative matters. He established the initial implied powers of the president by creating the national bank, excise tax, and assumption of state debts from the Revolutionary War. The creation of those bureaucracies set the precedent that allowed presidents after him to establish and empower new bureaucratic agencies to execute the duties of the executive office.
The United States of America was formed by many president's of our time. One of these very influential presidents was George Washington. Courageous, smart and firm. The "founding father" has influenced many people today. He was a commander in chief of the forces during the Revolutionary War, chairman of the convention that wrote the Constitution, and the very first president. He has made very important decisions that still influence our country today.
With a new nation facing overwhelming difficulties, George Washington faced the challenges of being the first president to run, shape, and build the foundations of the newly formed United States. Washington came into office with the country in heavy debt, and an empty treasury. With the issues President George Washington was facing, he proved to be a paragon leader.
Instead, the members of Congress were the ones who chose the president of the United States. On February 4th, 1789, sixty-nine members of Congress voted to elect George Washington as the first president of the United States of America. Both the people of the United States and Congress believed that he had the qualities and characteristics needed to be the leader of a nation. They were impressed with his past actions and achievements; Washington had gained their trust and loyalty. Washington was reluctant to become president at first, after serving his country in war and in politics, he wanted to go back to living the life of a gentleman farmer and have more of a relaxed lifestyle. In many of his letters he expressed that he did not desire to be in the middle of a legislative debate about the creation of the new governmental system of America. In his letters he also expressed how he felt that he was too old. On the day before his inauguration he exclaimed that he felt more like a culprit going to be executed than a national hero. Eventually, the pressure of the people got to him and he became president. He decided that if he was going to be the president, then he was going to do his best to be a good example for all future presidents of the United States; he realized that he was about to
From 1775 to 1796 one man would be key for the growth and legacy of America and if it was anyone else, America would not be the same. This man was George Washington, general in the continental army and the first president of the United States. To understand Washington's legacy, it is important to know who is George Washington, and what happened during his presidency.
His impressive leadership they convince the delegates that he was by far the most qualified man to become the nation’s first president. He wanted to, at last, return to a quiet-life at home and leaves governing the new nation to others. But public opinion was so strong Also know as he just starts school as the age of 6 and left at age of 15 to become a surveyor because his family was too poor to afford education. He is the president who comes up with the first constitution of the United States in 1781.George Washington did not have an easy time of it as president for a number of reasons: How to Act Like a President, developing a Presidential Style, The Institutional Workings of the Presidency, Polling Public Opinion, Before Polls and a managing a Quarrelsome Cabinet. But people who around him were trusted in him because they know that he can do it. He is the only president an American history to be unanimously elected twice, president Washington established many crucial presidential presidents George Washington helped shape the office’s future role and powers, as George Washington helped shape the office 's future role and powers, as well as set both formal and informal precedents for future
Through the many obstacles, America has experienced; George Washington helped this free country become united and created by the people for the people. We know and call him by the title of the Founding Father of the United States. In three important ways, Washington helped shape the beginning of our evolving civilization. For instance, he commanded the Continental Army that won American Independence from Great Britain, known as the Revolutionary War. He was also nominated the president the U.S. Constitutional Convention, which later wrote the U.S. Constitution. In addition to these achievements, which created a strong foundation for America, he became the country’s first presidential leader.
Washington was a hero and a trustworthy man in the eyes of many Americans, which made him the clear choice for the first president of the United States. Without this unambiguous candidate who did not abuse his power, the early United States may not have come to progress in any similar way to how it has progressed. Many a number of possibilities could have existed if Washington did not show as much restraint as he did with regards to his power. He easily could have become a dictator or king of the United States simply by not stepping down from his presidency after the second term. Yet, Washington did something that required a great amount of self-control: he stepped down from power. He would have gone against everything that he and his allies had accomplished in the Revolutionary movement if he had not stepped down from power and became a totalitarian leader. This stepping down from power truly shows Washington’s devotion to the United States and the ideals which it was founded on, and that makes him one of the truly “Great Presidents” in the history of the United
George Washington is an important piece of our United States History. George Washington was born in 1732 in the British colony of Virginia, and was our first President of the United States of America. When Washington was President he helped the U.S. out in a lot of ways. Firstly, in the French and Indian War George was selected as the British ambassador to the French frontier establishment. In December 1752, George Washington was made a commander of the Virginia Militia with no military experience. When he saw action of the French and Indian War he was eventually in put in charge of all of Virginia’s militia forces. Also, in June 1775, Congress ordered that George Washington to take command of the Continental Army to surround the British in
The postition of the President of the United States is a prestegious honor that has seen many great leaders over the past 200 years. George Washington was the first to lead the Executive Branch of the United States government. It is clear that Washington was sufficiently qualified to lead the nation as it grew due to his significant contributions to the Revolutionary War effort. Washington also led by example for the Presdients the followed him in office.
George Washington was born February 22, 1732. He was elected as the first president by the Electoral College unanimously in 1789. Washington is commonly called the "Father of his country" since he played a major role in fighting for independence and helped form the government we now have. Many of his leadership practices became the template for the way politics have proceeded following his terms. For example his use of a group of counselors known as a "cabinet" is still in practice today. He only served for two terms and then stepped down which became, for the most part, the accepted norm for future presidents. George Washington is associated with some folklore tales such as being widely known for admitting to his father that he chopped down a cherry tree proclaiming that he could not tell a lie. He was credited for skipping a coin all the way across the Potomac river. While the cherry tree and coin skipping stories are most likely not true President George Washington accomplished many great things that are astounding and true pieces of our history.
Every war has an effect on the surrounding land. A prime example of this is the United States in the 18th century. When Europeans came to the Americas, it did not take long for settlers to claim much land for their countries. After claiming much of the land, Britain, was still hungry for more, so they began to push west of the Ohio Valley into the French land. As one can probably imagine, the French was not going to let Britain claim their land without putting up a fight. This fight resulted in the French and Indian War. The British sent troops to attack French colonies, they made it unable for the French to trade overseas, and they also made multiple negotiations, one of which, The Treaty of Paris, finally went through to the French and they
George Washington never wanted to be president. After many years of being a general in the war, all he wanted was to go home to his family and spend the rest of his life in peace. But the government had other plans for Washington. He never really ended up running for president, it was a unanimous vote from the electoral committee. When he was elected, this country was brand new, and there was lots of work to be done, lots of wrinkles in the system to be ironed out. The main problems he had to figure out where how to pay off the war debt, infighting within the cabinet, and how to stay consistent with the policy of neutrality.
In everything that he did or said, Washington set an example and demonstrated what strong leadership might look like in the United States of America. Even in leaving the presidency, George Washington attempted to lead the way for future presidents. “The Constitution provided a blueprint for the republic. George Washington’s administration would translate the blueprint into a working state.” (Brunsman, Hämäläinen, Johnson, McPherson, Murrin, 2015). President George Washington and his administration were truly integral to the creation and survival of the American power structure.