George Washington's Pesidency

George Washington's Presidency

George Washington is regarded as a natural leader and the father of our country. He was the first president under the Constitution, not the first president of the United States. From the very beginning, he came into a job full of problems and a mile long to-do list. He had to set up the Judiciary Branch, deal with uprisings and conflicts between the natives and the western settlers, and try to keep together a nation that was falling apart. He created a group of advisors (the cabinet) to help him with certain issues. He had a few things on his mind at the time such as: stay out of a war, build up revenue to pay off Revolutionary War debt, and try to make peace with England.

Washington was a natural born leader that was very popular during the late 18th century before the Revolutionary War broke out. He would always wear his uniform when he would be out in public. He became famous after being released by the French during the French and Indian War. He was very subordinate when he was in the British Military and after he was released from the French he wanted to be promoted to a General of the British Army. He received a response that left a bitter taste in his mouth.

On April 30, 1789, Washington was inaugurated near New York City's Wall Street at Federal Hall. Using a British custom, he gave a brief speech after his inauguration that included his agenda for his presidency. He mentioned that the first thing to do was to set up the Judiciary Branch. When Washington assumed office, there were no agencies existed besides the ones that were created under the Constitution. The Executive Branch or the Judiciary Branch weren't established either. Washington's main focus was to set up a federal judiciary Branch.

Washington was determined to get a working Judicial system by the years end. He approved an act that would not only set up a Judicial Branch, but would also set up local courts where serious crimes would be tried. The Judiciary Act of 1789 established a six member supreme court. It was comprised of one Chief Justice and five Associate Justices. It had jurisdiction over all civil actions between states, or between a state and the United States. Also in the act it created thirteen Judicial Districts. Within these Judicial Districts were circuit courts and district courts.

After finishing the Judicial Branch, Washington finally got time to create the Executive Branch. The first offices created were the Secretary of the State, (headed by Thomas Jefferson) the Secretary of the Treasury, (headed by Alexander Hamilton) the Secretary of War, (headed by Henry Knox) the Postmaster General, (headed by Samuel Osgood) and the Attorney General (headed by Edmund Randolph). These offices became the backbone for the Presidential Cabinet. On July 27, 1789, Washington signed a bill into law reauthorizing an Executive Department of Foreign Affairs headed by a Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

Washington was the major player to the creation of the United States Government under the constitution. He did more in his first months in office than any other president so far. He was the best man for the job and the only man. There is no way that anyone can do as much for the government as Washington did so. He did a great job of setting up other courts around the new nation so crimes and disputes can be settled efficiently and safely. Also the creating of all the new agencies and offices to handle anything from foreign policy to managing mail was smart because it relieves most of the stress off the president and disperses it all throughout the Executive Branch.

After the ratification of the Constitution, the U.S. government was in a lot of debt from the Revolutionary War. It was both domestic and foreign from the war. The issue on how to raise the money was fiercely debated. Hamilton had an idea on how to raise the needed money quickly. It was to build national credit and a financially stable country. What Hamilton wanted to do was to create a national bank that will give out loans, issue currency, and federal notes. It was a great idea to efficiently raise money and to quickly pay off the Revolutionary War debt. However, Jefferson opposed the idea because he thought it would infringe on states rights. Hamilton also believed