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1. George Washington: February 22,1732 – December 14, 1799 2. Political Party: None, but more toward Federalist 3. Terms:  two terms (1789 - 1793), (1793 - 1797)  4. Vice President: John Adams 
 * George Washington's <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 130%; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msoasciithemefont: minor-latin; msobidifontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msobidilanguage: AR-SA; msobidithemefont: minor-bidi; msofareastfontfamily: Calibri; msofareastlanguage: EN-US; msofareastthemefont: minor-latin; msohansithemefont: minor-latin;">Presidency **

In the words of Thomas Jefferson, “His justice, the most inflexible I have ever known, no motive or interest of consanguinity, friendship, or hatred, being able to bias his decision” (Warren 6). His comments of George Washington reflect the fairness and integrity of the man in his administration. Nothing less than an A should be given to a man of honesty and good will for setting a high standard for future Presidents to come.

Being the first President, George Washington’s main concern was to establish administrative procedures as well as organizing a structural government. Washington wanted to prevent the new nation from dividing. He chose an intelligent group of men that would lead America in the right direction. He appointed Alexander Hamilton to Secretary of Treasury, Thomas Jefferson as secretary of state, Henry Knox as secretary of war, and James Madison as an advisor. During Washington’s first term, the nation’s mounting debt became another major concern. Alexander Hamilton and his ideas were used to help the nation out of debt from the Revolutionary war. In his second term, He dealt with foreign affairs like the French Revolution. Washington believed that the best thing for the nation was to stay neutral. War would disrupt businesses and incur more debt. Staying neutral helped provide strength and stability in our new country.

Washington did not like the idea of being party affiliated. However, he leaned more toward the Federalist ideas. At the time, not all members of congress were associated with a party in his first term. Many laws were passed with little or no opposition from any side. Important laws were enacted, such as The Judiciary Act of 1789, The Copyright Act of 1790, and The Whiskey Act. Congress also adopted the Bill of Rights and organized the U.S. cabinet and Executive Branch. During his second term, partisan opposition created a negative atmosphere in congress, party affiliation affected their ability to finalize decisions. During his 2nd term there was a more distinction between Federalists and anti-Federalists. Washingtonian’s relationship with congress was fairly good, because he did not infringe on congresses power in the law-making process. This is proven by the fact that he only vetoed two congressional legislations during his Presidency. He vetoed the Apportionment Bill in 1792 and “an act to ascertain and fix the military establishment of the United States of 1797.”

In Washington’s time he made a lot of important decisions in his two terms. One of the most positive decisions he made was the Pinckney's treaty. It built a friendship with Spain, but also helped gain navigational rights to the Mississippi River. It established the western boundary of the United States. This treaty was important to Kentucky and Tennessee who could now import harvest and goods to other areas. Although this was one of his better outcomes, not all of them were as promising, take for example the taxation on whiskey. Washington took Hamilton’s advice, by placing a tax on Whiskey to try and pay down the national debt, but the western farmers in Pennsylvania were angered and felt they were being discriminated against. This lead to the Whiskey rebellion, which was the first time the new nation, used militia force. But, in order to keep the new nation from becoming more hostile they repelled the law in 1803 because it was becoming too hard to enforce.

Since George Washington was the first President, he had to set the standards of an honest fair President. He affected the lives of all of us, because George Washington insured the government would remain in the hands of the people. By leaving office in two terms, he made sure no one person would abuse power, acting as more than a President. George Washington is what this nation built upon, and his goals, ideas, and achievements all put us where we are today.

Clearly, the country flourished because of George Washington’s fairness and integrity. He created a structural government that is still used today, worked on getting the country out of debt, kept the U.S. neutral during foreign affairs, and came up with many treaties and acts that are still in effect today. It’s a great question where this nation would be without such a strong President, and that’s why he deserves the highest rating of an A. In politics today you don’t see as much honesty and fairness like you do in Washington’s time. He truly was a man of his word, which is hard to find in today.

Bibliography/ Works Cited: "American President: George Washington: A Life in Brief." Miller Center of Public Affairs. Web. 02 Sept. 2009. <[]>. Walsch, Kenneth. “The First 100 days.”U.S. News. 2 Sept. 2009.< [] >. “George Washington.” __Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia__. 2 Sept. 2009. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (31 Aug. 2009). <[]>. “George Washington 1789-1797.”The White House. 2 Sept. 2009. < [] >. Walsch, Kenneth. “The First 100 days.”U.S. News. 2 Sept. 2009.< [] >. Warren, Jack. “A brief biography of George Washington.” Mount Vernon. 2 Sept. 2009. < [] >.