Rebecca+-+GW+-+SP09

George Washington 1732-12/14/1799 Political Party: Technically he did not belong to a political party, but he can be classified as a Federalist. Terms of Office: 1789-1797 Vice President: John Adams Though history has shown that Washington did quite well for the very first man to even attempt such a thing, at the time he would be lucky to receive a C. His foreign policy, or lack thereof, and complete mishandling of domestic affairs are only mildly balanced by his excellent picks for cabinet. His performance was satisfactory, but hardly outstanding.

Washington's primary goal was to set a precedent for future presidents. Being the very first president, it was up to him to divine what exactly the rather vague constitution meant. He established his cabinet with Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State, Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury, and Henry Knox as secretary of War. He certainly could have set worse precedents than selecting a well-suited cabinet, serving only two terms, and passing things on for Congress's approval as opposed to forcing them to be privy to every treaty he wished to write.

Washington spent his first term trying to figure out what exactly it was the president did. The Constitution had not defined the relationship the President was to have with Congress. In 1790, the Naturalization Act, the first rules pertaining to American citizenship, was passed. Later in his Presidency, laws regarding slavery were passed. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 established how runaway slaves were to be returned to their masters and made it illegal to assist an escaped slave. The Slave Trade Act passed the following year made it illegal for citizens to export slaves, leading to a one-way flow of labor.

Washington remained neutral during the French Revolution and the ensuing war between Britain and France, resulting in the wrath of all sides instead of just one. The country was in massive debt, and Washington's habit of not kissing up to anyone resulted in those countries to which money was owed to begin to demand their money. Having nothing in the treasury, Revolution veterans were thrown into debtor's jail, eventually leading to Shay's Rebellion. A whiskey tax was imposed, leading to the Whiskey Rebellion. This was dealt with harshly, resulting in the death of three of the rebels. These rather foolish moves are made up for with the Judiciary Act, which established a six member supreme court, the creation of a national bank and mint, and Jay's Treaty, which averted another war with Britain.

Every action taken by Washington influenced future Presidents. Washington established the Cabinet. Nowhere in the Constitution is it specifically stated that such a beast should exist, let alone what it should consist of. Washington created the positions of Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of War, and Attorney General. Today positions are second in power only to the President. This is perhaps the greatest precedent set by Washington.

When Washington resigned, the country was doing much better than it had been when he first took office. For one, it now had a navy. However, since the country was only a few years old at that time, doing "better" is not saying much. It couldn't very well have gotten much worse. By today's standards, Washington was a spectacular failure. Since he was literally making it up as he went along, he must be cut some slack and therefore passes inspection, if only just barely.

Bibliography

"Biography of George Washington." The Whitehouse. 28 Jan 2009 .

Freidel, Frank. Our Country's Presidents. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1981.

Summers, Robert. "George Washinton-President of the United States." Presidents of the United States. 20 Jan 2009. Internet Public Library. 28 Jan 2009 .

"U.S. Vice Presidents." Museum of History. 2000. Evisum Inc.. 28 Jan 2009 .