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George Washington I. Background- Birth-February 22, 1723 Death- December 14, 1799 II. Quote- “The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves. . . . The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us no choice but a brave resistance or the most abject submission. We have therefore to resolve to conquer or die. ” (General orders, July 2, 1776) III. Prior occupations- Captain and Colonel in Virginia militia Plantation owner/Farmer
Service in the Virginia House of Burgesses Delegate to the First Continental Congress General of the American Army IV. Dates in Office- 1789-1792 1793-1797 V. Prominent issues of elections- Washington was elected unanimously and did not host a campaign VI. Opponents of terms- N/A VII. Vice President- John Adams VIII. Political Parties- President- N/A Congress- IX. Foreign Policy- * Washington’s Proclamation of Neutrality (1793) says that the United States will remain neutral in the series of wars between the French and English as a result of the French Revolution.
This proclamation was not viewed favorably by the American people who despised the British and thought that the United States should help the French in hopes of prolonging the Franco-American Alliance. Washington issued this proclamation in spite of these arguments because he saw that remaining neutral in European conflicts as the only way to insure the continuance of the United States. * The Genet Affair (1793) was a series of problems that the French emissary Edmund Charles Genet caused while in the United States. Genet immediately started to drum up support for the French from among the American people, especially here the Republican-Democrats were influential. Genet even went as far as to outfit privateers to attack Spanish Florida. When Washington tried to deport the emissary, he realized that Genets political party had fallen from power and would be killed on his return. Washington allowed Genet to remain in the United States. * Jay’s Treaty with England (1794) was an attempt by the United States and Britain to settle the problems remaining between them after the War of Independence by representatives of both countries with Chief Justice John Jay acting for the United States.
It was almost not supported by the United States because Jay was a Federalist and the Jeffersonians believed that he had forfeited American rights during the treaty in order to appease Britain. The treaty was successful in solving many of America’s grievances but also heightened tensions between the two political parties. * The Pinckney Treaty (1795) was a treaty with Spain carried out by Thomas Pinckney to determine a definite border between Spanish Florida and the southern boundary of the United States, free navigation of the Mississippi by American traders and established trading relations between the United States and Spain. Washington’s Farewell Address (1796) was an urge from him to the American people and the next President to keep the fledgling country from involving itself in foreign affairs so that the United States could develop more economically and militarily. This leads to the American isolationist mentality for most of its existence. X. Domestic Policy * Washington elected unanimously to be the first president of the United States (1789) * The Judiciary Act (1789) created a three tiered national court system that upheld the principle of the Federal government’s supremacy while also compromising with the States rights. Bill of Rights (1791) added to the constitution to appease anti-federalists who believed that the Federal Government would squash the states and the people. These amendments helped to help people see the good in a central government. * First Bank of the United States charted (1791) by Congress as a response to Hamilton’s financial plan. This congressional decision lead to creation of the Hamilton-lead Federalists and the Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans along with controversy over the central governments jurisdiction for years. * Vermont is first admitted to the union after the original 13 colonies (1791) Washington begins second term as president (1793) * The Fugitive Slave Act (1793) was passed by congress to prohibit the freeing of persons “held to Service and Labour. ” It made freeing slaves illegal and forced States to return and/or help locate any fugitive slaves in the boundaries, regardless of whether they were a slave-free state or not. To do so, the act recognized the roles of “agents” in recovering these fugitives, authorized judges and magistrates to oversee transfers of slaves, and imposed a fine on any person helping runaway slaves. This was the start of the real slavery issue in the United States. The Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794) was battle between the Miami Indian tribes lead by Little Turtle and the American Army lead by General Anthony Wayne. Wayne was more prepared than his predecessors and successfully crushed the Miami tribes in Ohio. * Treaty of Greenville (1795) was signed between the Miami Confederacy and the United States to stop aggressions between the two groups. The United States benefitted from this treaty more because the Confederacy seceded approximately 25,000 square miles of territory in the Ohio are, more than half of present day Ohio. Naturalization Act (1795) was passed by congress to allow “… any alien, being a free white person, may be admitted to become a citizen of the United States. ” This was the first law to define restrictions on who may or may not become a citizen of the United States. XI. Economic Policy- * Samuel Slater sets up first American factory (1790) * Alexander Hamilton’s Financial plan (1790) helps to unite the United States through a common problem of debt XII. Supreme Court- None XIII. Social Events- * Whiskey Rebellion (1794) was a revolt by Western Pennsylvanian farmers protesting the new taxes on whiskey.
Disbanded by Washington-lead militia without blood-shed. XIV. New Technologies- * Cotton Gin invented (1793) which leads to an increase in cotton growth and the Southern economy XV. Presidential Evaluation- George Washington was a president of the highest measures. He set up the office of the president almost single-handedly and had to settle disgruntled farmers in western Pennsylvania that were specters of the original Revolutionaries. He also had to juggle both the British and French harassments and also choose to not support the new French government in their war against Britain.
That choice was unpopular among many of the American people but he kept to his decision because he wanted to make sure that his new nation would continue to exist and hold its own against any foreign power in the future. To rate George Washington is an extremely difficult thing to do. The man set the guidelines of the presidency and was always looking out for the good of the government and the people. I will rate him 10/10 because he is the guideline for all the other presidents to compare to. XVI. Themes- War and Diplomacy- *