Alex+W.+-+GW+-+SP10



//**__George Washington__**// //February 22, 1732 - December 14, 1799 Terms in office: April 1789 - March 4, 1797 (2 terms) Vice President - John Adams (both) Political Party - No official party, supported federalist ideas//

George Washington took his oath of office as the first President on the United States on April 30, 1789. I have been doing research on George Washington for a few days now, and after studying his life as President, I believe that he deserves an A. I think that he deserves an A because even though he was the frist President, he completed many tasks and did a tremendous job in office. During his presidency, the Bill of Rights was adopted. Also, I admire his humbleness in the fact that he turned down a third term because he thought "a third term would give one man to much power".

As President, his goals were to create a well-balanced government. His presidency was essentially a test run. He wanted to have a structured system that other Presidents could use. This goal, was obviously sucessful. Today, our government is still structed and run the same way. Another goal of his was to rid the country of war debts from the Revolutionary War. He hired Alecander Hamilton as a treasurer and Hamilton suggested that Washington should tax the citizens. This was a mistake, however. Many citizens disliked and rebelled against the tax. He was also sucessful with keeping conflict out of other countries. During his presidency, there were no conflicts over seas.

George Washington had a very well built relationship with congress. They had elected him unanimously twice, and asked him to stay for a third term, however Washington refused. They also offered him a payment of $25,000+ per year. Washington declined it, but congress kept pushing him and eventually, he accepted the money. During his presidency, there were no official political parties. Therefore, congress was just a group of people. Together, George Washington and congress helped build this country to the great place it is today. Both he and congress created the Bill of Rights, which guarentees the right of the American people.

The most important thing that Washington could have done for the United States is keep it out of war. This gave America the oppurtunity to grow in strength and shape American policy for over a century. Washington believed that war would be disastrous for the nation's finances. The countries future had depended on an increase of wealth and the best way Washington saw, was keeping us out of other countries wars and conflicts. He made sure that we minded our own buisiness.

Although George Washington did a number of great things for our country, he was not perfect. The worst thing he could have done was tax whiskey. His reasoning for this was to assist is war debts. Even though he believed that it would help, he was very wrong because this led to the Whiskey Rebellion. The citizens of the United States did not like the taxes, which led them to rebel against the government. This led to the Militia Law of 1792. Washington gathered up any army of 13,000 men, who were led General Harry Lee. As a show of presidential authority, they set out to surpress the uprising.

George Washington had a huge impact on future on future Presidents. Because he was our first President, his presidency was the framework for every single President to come. Everything that he did for our government still is here today. Many of the policies and customs that he created are also still used today. He essentially created our government and how it operates.

On March 4, 1797, Washington retired as President. However, everything that he did for this country has not been forgotten and never will be. Washington was successful in organizing America and is the reason Americans have the lives they do today. Without his knowledge, and bravery, America would be lost. The government would be different, the Bill of Rights would not be nearly the same, and there could have been many more worse wars and conflicts then there were. As doing all of those tasks and challenges, I believe that it is pretty safe to say that Washington deserves an A for is hard work and effort.

Bibliography:

"The Whiskey Rebellion | Early America's Milestone Historic Documents." //Archiving Early America: Primary Source Material from 18th Century America//. 1996. Web. 28 Jan. 2010. [].

"GEORGE WASHINGTON." //SOLAR NAVIGATOR HOMEPAGE INFORMATION PORTAL MARINE WORLD ELECTRIC NAVIGATION CHALLENGE//. 2007. Web. 28 Jan. 2010. .

"George Washington |." //The White House//. Web. 28 Jan. 2010. [].

Warren, Jack D. "A Brief Biography of George Washington." //A Brief Biography of George Washington//. 2010. Web. 28 Jan. 2010. [].