Woori+K.+-+GW+-+FA09

President: George Washington (February 22, 1732 - December 14, 1799)

Political Party: None

Terms of Office: April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797

Vice President: John Adams

On any ranking scale, George Washington deserves the highest, which is an A, because of his committment to making the nation a more unified and better place. He established numerous precedents for the government and presidency. He set the standard for all future presidents to follow.

As the first president of the United States, Washington had a number of goals that he wanted and needed to accomplish. First and foremost, he had to build the federal government literally from the ground up. Upon taking office he initially focused on creating a judicial branch, which had not been developed at the time. In the Judiciary Act of 1789, Washington came through with a six-member Supreme Court. After establishing the judicial branch he turned to the executive side and created the United States Cabinet. George Washington was also interested in solving the financial problems that were due in large part to the Revolutionary War. Caught between the heated argument of his most trusted advisors, he eventually decided to lean towards the federalist approach of Alexander Hamilton. As a result, the First Bank of the United States was created in 1791. A national bank would improve the current economical problems at the time. One of his other main goals was to improve foreign relations. He almost immediately set two fundamental foreign policy precedents upon becoming the president. He assumed control of treaty negotiations and sent American emissaries overseas for negotiations without legislative approval.

Washington's relationship with Congress was peaceful. During his presidency the party divisions of Congress were Pro and Anti Administration (supporting his policies or against them). In 1795 they changed to Democratic-Republicans and Federalists. Pro-Administration/Federalists was the majority party. Washington passed a number of laws and only vetoed two. One was The Appointment Bill. It was an effort to change the system of picking the number of total representatives in the House of Representatives. After listening to his advisors, he vetoed it on grounds of being unconstitutional. So aside from that there really were few problems between the president and Congress.

Throughout his entire administration, Washington made many decisions that had positive outcomes for the nation. In particular, his choice to remain neutral between the French and English seems to be the most positive. On July 14, 1789, the French Revolution erupted and caused quite a stir in the land of America. Many remembered how the French had assisted them during the Revolutionary War and supported aiding the Republicans in their quest to topple the monarchy. By the time the revolution ended in 1792, tensions were running high between France and Great Britain. After the murder of King Louis XVI, those tensions broke loose and war began. Americans wanted to aid the French but Washington wanted to remain neutral. He did not want to risk going to war with Great Britain once again. On April 22, 1793, he issued the Proclamation of Neutrality. He would not enter the conflict between the two countries, thus shielding the United States from unnecessary harm. This decision was arguably the best that Washington made. Looking at the negative outcomes, Washington's choice to tax liquor in 1791 caused outrage with farmers and eventually resulted in armed rebellion. The Whiskey Rebellion marked the first time under the new Constitution that the government used military force to gain authority over the nation's citizens.

His influence on future generations was very strong. Washington, after eight years of being president, refused to take on a third term. He set the precedent of a maximum of two terms for a president. He happily handed over the office on to his succesor. Though it might not seem to have a great significance, this choice shows that Washington was not mad for power and by his own consent stepped down.

George Washington was one of the greatest presidents in the history of this country. The nation was much better off at the end of his time than in the beginning. He fulfilled his goals and became the gold standard for all presidents to follow. He had built the federal government, created the first national bank, and settled foreign matters peacefully. There is no doubt that this man deserves the full A ranking.

Sources: [] []