Which of these was a precedent set by the first president of the united states, george washington?

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On April 30, 1789, George Washington, standing on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York, took his oath of office as the first President of the United States. “As the first of every thing, in our situation will serve to establish a Precedent,” he wrote James Madison, “it is devoutly wished on my part, that these precedents may be fixed on true principles.”

Born in 1732 into a Virginia planter family, he learned the morals, manners, and body of knowledge requisite for an 18th century Virginia gentleman.

He pursued two intertwined interests: military arts and western expansion. At 16 he helped survey Shenandoah lands for Thomas, Lord Fairfax. Commissioned a lieutenant colonel in 1754, he fought the first skirmishes of what grew into the French and Indian War. The next year, as an aide to Gen. Edward Braddock, he escaped injury although four bullets ripped his coat and two horses were shot from under him.

From 1759 to the outbreak of the American Revolution, Washington managed his lands around Mount Vernon and served in the Virginia House of Burgesses. Married to a widow, Martha Dandridge Custis, he devoted himself to a busy and happy life. But like his fellow planters, Washington felt himself exploited by British merchants and hampered by British regulations. As the quarrel with the mother country grew acute, he moderately but firmly voiced his resistance to the restrictions.

When the Second Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia in May 1775, Washington, one of the Virginia delegates, was elected Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. On July 3, 1775, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, he took command of his ill-trained troops and embarked upon a war that was to last six grueling years.

He realized early that the best strategy was to harass the British. He reported to Congress, “we should on all Occasions avoid a general Action, or put anything to the Risque, unless compelled by a necessity, into which we ought never to be drawn.” Ensuing battles saw him fall back slowly, then strike unexpectedly. Finally in 1781 with the aid of French allies–he forced the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.

Washington longed to retire to his fields at Mount Vernon. But he soon realized that the Nation under its Articles of Confederation was not functioning well, so he became a prime mover in the steps leading to the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787. When the new Constitution was ratified, the Electoral College unanimously elected Washington President.

He did not infringe upon the policy making powers that he felt the Constitution gave Congress. But the determination of foreign policy became preponderantly a Presidential concern. When the French Revolution led to a major war between France and England, Washington refused to accept entirely the recommendations of either his Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, who was pro-French, or his Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, who was pro-British. Rather, he insisted upon a neutral course until the United States could grow stronger.

To his disappointment, two parties were developing by the end of his first term. Wearied of politics, feeling old, he retired at the end of his second. In his Farewell Address, he urged his countrymen to forswear excessive party spirit and geographical distinctions. In foreign affairs, he warned against long-term alliances.

Washington enjoyed less than three years of retirement at Mount Vernon, for he died of a throat infection December 14, 1799. For months the Nation mourned him.

The Presidential biographies on WhiteHouse.gov are from “The Presidents of the United States of America,” by Frank Freidel and Hugh Sidey. Copyright 2006 by the White House Historical Association.

Learn more about George Washington’s spouse, Martha Dandridge Custis Washington.

George Washington

First President, 1789–1797

Campaign

During the Revolutionary War, conditions were dismal for American colonists. Against heavy odds, Washington outmaneuvered British forces to lead the colonists to victory. But after the war’s end, Washington watched with dismay as the very officers who had fought off the rule of a monarch made grabs for their own individual power. Washington was now tired and wanted only a quiet life, but his peers knew that his leadership and charisma were unsurpassed. The colonists had fought the war as a set of different nations, without unity, until Washington assumed command of their forces. As he had united them during the war, he would do so again in the aftermath. America’s first presidential campaign was, in fact, a broad effort to persuade Washington to accept the office. Citizens across the colonies as well as former comrades in arms insisted that only he could forge a nation. Washington won the presidency by unanimous electoral vote in both 1788 and in 1792.

Challenges

Upon his inauguration as the first president on April 30, 1789, George Washington assumed office under the tenuous circumstances of an untested federal government. The newly established Constitution was not yet a year old and still lacked ratification by two of the thirteen states, North Carolina and Rhode Island. A discerning group of state delegates had also refused to sign the Constitution because it lacked a Bill of Rights. Two of these delegates, Patrick Henry and George Mason, were prominent Virginians; in fact, Mason and Washington were neighbors. While it was a time of great hope and promise for the nation’s future, there were also grave doubts about the present. In accepting the presidency of what was still an experiment in republican democracy, Washington proved a model of confidence and restraint. For example, his decision to serve no more than two terms set a lasting precedent. A century and a half later, after Franklin Roosevelt was elected to four terms, that precedent was cemented in the Twenty-Second Amendment.

Major Acts

Washington’s prestige and patriotism helped galvanize the new republic at a time when it was most vulnerable to domestic and foreign turmoil. In 1791, he successfully suppressed the Whiskey Rebellion, invoking the power of the federal government over the states. To avoid becoming embroiled in the war between Great Britain and France, he issued a Proclamation of Neutrality in 1793. In 1795, the Jay Treaty strengthened American economic ties with Britain and vacated English forts in the American west. The Pinckney Treaty with Spain granted American ships free navigation of the Mississippi River via the port of New Orleans. And the Naval Act of 1794 created the United States Navy. Through actions like these, Washington launched the fledgling nation on a promising course of peace and prosperity for future generations.  

Legacy

George Washington established precedents for the executive office that have since become customary practice. Washington is responsible for establishing the tradition of the inaugural address and the cabinet system, neither prescribed by the Constitution. Washington also wrote a well-publicized farewell address still relevant today for its call for political unity among Americans. Ironically, few presidents since have delivered such profound parting words.

Unanimously elected twice, President Washington established many crucial presidential precedents.

George Washington helped shape the office's future role and powers, as well as set both formal and informal precedents for future presidents. Washington believed that it was necessary to strike a delicate balance between making the presidency powerful enough to function effectively in a national government, while also avoiding any image of establishing a monarchy or dictatorship. In the process, President Washington significantly influenced the path for the presidency moving forward, setting standards in all aspects, including political power, military practice, and economic policy.

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