History of American Presidents: George Washington

Feb 22, 2017, 12:31 PM

In an effort to learn a little bit about our nation's history, I have decided to go President-by-President and hit on some of the highlights of their presidencies. I'm not spending hours poring over things, and I'm using Wikipedia a lot. It is not my intent to get too much into opinions/debates, but only look at historical facts. (You are obviously free to reply with any opinions/debates you want.) I just think it's interesting, and maybe some of you will, too. Many of you will know much more about this stuff, and will be able to speak on it, I hope.

George Washington
Formerly Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army

- Prior to election, presided over the Constitutional Convention, which developed THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

- Elected unanimously by the Electoral College in 1789 and 1792 (America's only unanimous presidential elections)

- During his Presidency, major Congressional Acts:
Judiciary Act, established the structure and purview of the Supreme Court and circuit/district courts
Coinage Act, created the dollar as currency and established the Mint
Residence Act/Assumption Act, compromise was reached between southern/northern representatives to establish the nation's capital along the Potomac (would become Washington, DC), while the federal government would assume the states' Revolutionary War debts

- Kept the USA neutral in conflict between Britain and France, establishing non-interventionist precedent

- Squashed the Whiskey Rebellion, flexing the federal government's muscle for the first time against insurrection

- His most important decision was probably his last, when he chose to not run for a third term, establishing the critical two-term precedent that would become law 150 years later.

So much of how our government works and how our presidency works (all the way down to the fact that we call him Mr. President, not Majesty or Highness), we owe to the wisdom of this great man.

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