Chapter 3
Starting Well with George Washington
IN THIS CHAPTER
Building a political career
Getting involved in the fight for independence
Taking on the role of president
Handling pressing issues of his time
Retiring from the presidency
Without question, George Washington is one of the most discussed and admired presidents in the history of the United States. The respect and admiration he holds with both academics and the U.S. public is justified. Not many people can claim to first create a new country and then successfully establish a democratic form of government. It is not just the fact that Washington defeated the British (with a little help from the French) that makes him so unique on the long list of world leaders, but that he rejected all efforts to make him a king. Throughout his life, Washington believed in the ideal of democracy and did his best to make sure that democracy survived after he left office.
George Washington truly deserves the title “founding father.” Without him, there would be no United States, and there would be no democracy on the North American continent.
Washington’s Early Career
George Washington grew up in the Virginia of the early 18th century, when Great Britain controlled the 13 American colonies as a part of a great British Empire that spanned most of the globe. Washington’s great wish was to join the British army as an officer. Young Washington did not have any thoughts of revolution in his mind: He wanted to serve the British Empire. Nobody could have predicted that the loyal British citizen would end up as a revolutionary who created a new country.
Washington trained as a surveyor. The profession gave him a good living but didn’t allow him to become a member of Virginia’s elite, which was required to enter politics. This left Washington with only one option — a military career. So in 1752, Washington joined the Virginia militia, hoping to become an officer in the British army. His goal was to impress the governor of Virginia and the British king. He soon got his chance.
Proving his prowess in the military
In 1753, the French moved into the Ohio Valley — a move that alarmed the British. Washington left for the Ohio Valley with the order to tell the French to leave. The French refused, and Washington recommended the establishment of a British fort to counter the French settlements. The governor of Virginia agreed, and a fort was built. Before long, the French attacked, starting the French and Indian War.
Washington, who was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, left Virginia with 159 men to defend the fort. En route, he encountered a small French unit and defeated it successfully. When Washington’s exploits were published in a British magazine, his fame grew. By 1754, Washington expected to be named an officer in the British army. But because the British believed that their officers were better than colonial officers, Washington’s hopes of becoming a British officer were shattered, so he resigned his military commission.
The British decision to ignore the colonists proved costly when the French and their Indian allies defeated the British forces in 1755. The governor of Virginia decided that only Washington could save the day and appointed him commander in chief of all colonial forces. By 1758, Colonel Washington had defeated the French. He became a national hero and accomplished his goal of joining the Virginia elite.
Turning to politics
One year after his retirement from the military, Washington became a member of the Virginia legislature. By the 1760s, Washington was an outspoken critic of policies imposed by Great Britain. Believing that the British infringed more and more on the rights of the colonies, Washington began to oppose British policies vocally — especially the taxes imposed on the colonies to help Britain pay for wars it fought in Europe.
Washington especially criticized the Stamp Act of 1765 and the Townshed Acts of 1767. By 1770, Washington knew that reconciliation with Britain was impossible, so he advocated the use of force to defend colonial freedoms. The Stamp Act of 1765 required the Colonies to pay taxes on all types of printed documents, including newspapers, marriage certificates, and all legal documents. The Townshed Act of 1767 was even worse. It imposed taxes on all kind of goods, including paper and tea.
Criticizing the empire
Chaos broke loose when the British Parliament passed the Tea Act in 1773. This act allowed the British East India Company to take over the American tea business. Disgusted, the colonists responded with the Boston Tea Party, where people disguised as Indians boarded three British ships and dumped 342 crates of tea into the Boston harbor. Parliament responded with the so-called Intolerable Acts, closing Boston harbor and repealing many basic colonial rights, including the right to local self-government.
Becoming a disloyal citizen
The Intolerable Acts were the last straw for many in the colonies. Twelve colonies decided to call for a Continental Congress in 1774 to respond to British aggression. During the second Congress in 1775, Washington was nominated as commander in chief of the continental forces. His future vice president, John Adams, nominated him in an attempt to align the southern colonies with the northern colonies. This alliance was necessary because colonists were already fighting the British in Massachusetts.
Fighting for Independence
As commander in chief of the continental forces, Washington took his troops to Massachusetts in June of 1775 to join in the rebellion. After the battle at Bunker Hill, where Massachusetts and Connecticut militia inflicted heavy losses on the British forces, Washington liberated Boston in the spring of 1776.
Washington knew that this victory was only short-lived. He immediately started organizing to defend New York City, the most likely target of the British forces.
In the summer of 1776, 30,000 British troops, commandeered by General Howe, landed on Long Island. With the American troops untrained and ill-equipped, the British forces, supported by German mercenaries, had no problem retaking New York City. By the winter of 1776, Washington had to retreat, and it looked as if the war was over. Washington faced mass desertions and had no financial support from the Continental Congress. He went so far as to pledge his own money to pay his troops and reject any kind of compensation for his services.
On December 25, 1776, Washington saved the disintegrating continental army and kept the war alive with a major victory at Trenton, New Jersey. He defeated a force of German mercenaries after surprising them by crossing the Delaware at night.
By the summer of 1777, the tide had turned. After two battles with the British — at Brandywine and Germantown — where Washington barely managed to keep his army together, the battle of Saratoga in 1777 proved to be a major victory for Washington. After his victory there, the French government decided to enter into an alliance with the United States. Washington and his troops spent the winter at Valley Forge in miserable conditions, as shown in Figure 3-1, waiting for the French forces to arrive. Knowing that the French fleet and ground troops were on their way, the British moved the war south and conquered parts of Georgia and South Carolina.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
FIGURE 3-1: General George Washington praying at Valley Forge.
Washington implemented a new strategy after realizing that victory was possible by drawing out the war until the British public and parliament were sick of it and refused to continue. With the arrival of French troops in July 1779, Washington was ready to move, but the French told him to wait for the arrival of a second fleet. Finally, in the summer of 1781, Washington launched a massive counterattack that drove the British out of the United States. In his greatest military triumph, Washington was able to trap the major British force at Yorktown. On October 19, 1781, the British forces, led by General Cornwallis, surrendered. As Washington had hoped, the British parliament, sick and tired of the ongoing war, voted to stop supporting the war despite the objections of King George III.
Finalizing the peace took two more years. Finally, in September 1783, a peace treaty between the United States and Great Britain ended the war. In December of the same year, Washington retired from the military, expecting to spend the rest of his life on his plantation in Mount Vernon. Boy, was he wrong!
Designing the New Country
After the United States achieved independence, it created a new government. Under the Articles of Confederation, the 13 states formed a loose federation, with power vested at the state level (see Chapter 1 for more on the country’s beginnings). Problems soon arose, and by 1785, Washington was very worried. He felt that the new country was in serious trouble and that the Articles of Confederation were not working.
After meeting with his old buddies, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, Washington supported a national meeting in Philadelphia the following year, 1787, to change or revise the Articles. The state of Virginia picked Washington to head its delegation.
Washington traveled to Philadelphia to become a member of the Constitutional Convention. There, the delegates picked him to chair the convention. Washington believed that the president of the convention should remain neutral, so he participated little in the debates, mostly listening to what the others had to say.
Within five months, the delegates were done. Instead of revising the Articles, they created a brand-new document, the Constitution of the United States.
President George Washington (1789–1797)
After a lengthy battle to ratify the Constitution, the country was ready to elect a president in 1788. It was a forgone conclusion that Washington would win. The only suspense was over who would win the vice presidency. Washington was pleased when the Electoral College selected his friend John Adams for the position.
The Electoral College, following the guidelines outlined in the Constitution, chose the new president on February 4, 1789. (For a detailed discussion of the Electoral College, see the sidebar with that name in Chapter 1). In April 1789, Washington, shown in Figure 3-2, became the first president of the United States.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
FIGURE 3-2: George Washington, first president of the United States (1789–1797).
Dealing with the Issues of the Day
One of the first decisions Washington faced as president was where to set up the new capital. He moved the seat of the new government from New York to Philadelphia.
But Philadelphia wasn’t a popular choice: The southern states wanted the capital to be closer to the South, while Alexander Hamilton preferred for the new government to be as far away as possible from the U.S. public so politicians could make policy without public interference. A compromise was struck, and all sides agreed to build a new capital on the Potomac River at what is now Washington, D.C. Construction started soon after the location was agreed on, and it was finished by 1800. John Adams was the first U.S. president to live in the new capital, and he hated it.
Passing the Bill of Rights
When Washington assumed the presidency in 1789, his first order of business was to make sure that a Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution. During the debate over ratification, the opponents of the Constitution (also referred to as Anti-Federalists) pressed for the addition of a Bill of Rights to ensure individual freedoms, and Washington and his supporters agreed to it. So when Congress met in 1790, the first action they took was to add to the Constitution. In 1791, Congress and the states added the first ten amendments to the Constitution, also known as the Bill of Rights.
Article 5 of the Constitution spells out how a constitutional amendment can be added. The amendment has to be proposed, and then it has to be ratified. There are two ways to propose an amendment. First, both houses of Congress can propose an amendment with a two-thirds vote in each chamber. Second, an amendment can be proposed if two-thirds of all state legislatures call upon Congress to hold a national convention to propose an amendment. This type of proposal has never been used. To ratify an amendment after it has been proposed, three-fourths of all state legislatures have to approve it. Up to this point, only 27 amendments have been added to the Constitution.
Splitting into two parties
By 1790, the advantages of a new stronger federal government over the system set out in the Articles of Confederation became visible. The federal government now had the power to levy duties on imports, which proved to be a major source of income.
With Alexander Hamilton heading the treasury, money started to flow in, and the federal government was able to repay the war bonds that were issued to finance the war of independence. More importantly, money was finally available to support a better military force, which proved to be vital in the wars against several Native American tribes in the western part of the United States (what was then Ohio). In 1795, the border conflicts with the Native American tribes were resolved with the Treaty of Greenville.
Despite these early successes, quarrels broke out between the members of Washington’s cabinet. Hamilton, the secretary of treasury, and Thomas Jefferson, the secretary of state, started an intense rivalry as they bid for Washington’s support. This rivalry gave America its first political parties — Hamilton’s Federalists and Jefferson’s Democratic-Republicans — and a two-party system by 1794 (check out the nearby sidebar titled “The first party system”). Although Washington was closer to the Federalists in his views, he refused to align himself with either party.
Running unopposed for a second term
Despite wanting to retire and return home to Mount Vernon, Washington decided to stand for reelection in 1792. He knew that his stature provided legitimacy for the new country and that only he could keep the fighting between Hamilton and Jefferson under control.
Not surprisingly, the founding father of the United States had no opposition in 1792 and won reelection easily. He didn’t even have to campaign, because nobody opposed him in the election. The Electoral College reelected him unanimously.
Washington’s second inaugural address was the shortest inaugural address in U.S. history, containing fewer than 300 words.
Establishing a policy of neutrality
In 1793, France declared war on Great Britain. Washington had to make a decision. Great Britain was still the mother country of most U.S. citizens, but France had helped the colonies win independence, so many citizens felt an affinity for that country. With his cabinet split over which side to support, Washington made a bold decision — one that impacted U.S. foreign policy for the next century. In April 1793, Washington officially proclaimed the neutrality of the United States in the war, advocating that the United States stay out of European conflicts.
By doing so, Washington violated the 1778 Treaty of Alliance, which called for the United States to aid France in the case of war. France, bitterly disappointed, attempted to agitate Washington by sending Edmond Genet, an ambassador, to tour the United States and speak out against Washington and his policies. Genet went as far as organizing groups of pro-French U.S. citizens against Washington. This tactic backfired, leading even Jefferson, France’s most ardent supporter, to endorse Washington’s position. Washington prevailed and established the principle of U.S. neutrality in European affairs.
Quelling civil strife
Just when a return to normal, quiet times seemed possible, another crisis arose. In 1794, at Hamilton’s urging, Congress passed a new tax on distilled liquor. This new tax threatened many distillers in western Pennsylvania. In the fall of 1794, violent resistance to the new tax broke out, ending in the murder of a federal officer in Pennsylvania.
Washington knew that he had to act quickly for a couple of reasons:
- Violence against the government could not be tolerated.
- Not responding to the violence would be considered a sign of weakness, thus threatening the new government.
Washington called on the military to stop what is now known as the Whiskey Rebellion. Washington even decided to head the military force himself. This military action ended the rebellion without much bloodshed. For the first time, the new government flexed its muscles and showed its critics that it was here to stay.
The final controversy of Washington’s presidency was the Jay Treaty. Washington sent Chief Justice John Jay to Britain in 1794 after Britain seized U.S. ships in the West Indies. Jay returned in 1795 with a treaty that many U.S. citizens, especially Democratic-Republicans, found unacceptable.
The Jay Treaty contained several clauses beneficial to the United States, but it also obligated the United States to repay pre-revolutionary debts to Britain. In turn, the British agreed to pay for damages caused by the British navy’s seizure of U.S. ships and to abandon some of their forts still left in the northwestern part of the United States.
Despite Democratic-Republican opposition, the Federalists controlling the Senate approved the treaty. However, Democratic-Republicans in the House of Representatives demanded that the House be able to vote on the treaty. They argued that because the treaty included disbursing government funds and it was the responsibility of the House to appropriate funds, representatives were entitled to vote on the treaty.
But Washington refused to submit the treaty, claiming that, based on the Constitution, only the president and the Senate should be involved in treaty negotiations. Washington prevailed, setting the precedent that still holds true today.
Stepping Down
By 1796, Washington had had enough. Disgusted with the constant partisanship in Congress, Washington wanted nothing more than to return home. He longed for Mount Vernon and was ready to retire after over 40 years of public service.
Before leaving office, however, he made one final speech to warn the U.S. public about future dangers and to set the political foundation for future presidents. He delivered his famous “Farewell Address” on September 17, 1796, saying, “The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible.”
Washington’s farewell address was actually a speech written for him by James Madison back in 1792, when Washington contemplated retiring after his first term. Now at odds with Madison, a Democratic-Republican, Washington turned to Hamilton to polish up the speech for him. Hamilton did so, and his influence is clearly visible in the address.
In his farewell address, Washington set out to warn the country against making any kind of alliance with foreign powers for several reasons:
- He was afraid that the United States was not yet powerful enough to face off against European countries. He was aware that any of them could easily destroy the new country in a major war.
- He stated that alliances forced the U.S. public to take sides. With the United States so ethnically divided, this could split the country and create long-lasting divisions.
Finally, he warned the country against “factions” — as he called political parties — because they divided the country along partisan lines and undermined the spirit of cooperation so necessary for the new country to survive.
Although Washington’s warnings on foreign alliances were listened to, his warnings against factionalism and partisan conflict fell on deaf ears, as the following presidential election showed. Thus, his address had its most lasting impact in the foreign affairs arena. True to Washington’s words, the United States stayed out of world affairs (back then the equivalent of European affairs) and became isolationist until the 20th century and the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt.
Retiring Briefly
Washington left office in March 1797 to go into his well-deserved retirement. To his disappointment, his retirement didn’t last long. President Adams sought his help only a year later. A conflict with France started, and Adams was afraid it would turn into a full-fledged war. So he asked Washington to take control of the U.S. armed forces. Washington reluctantly agreed. He commanded the military without ever leaving Mount Vernon, and the conflict never turned into a war.
A year later, Washington wrote his will. In it, he freed almost half of his slaves.
In December 1799, he caught pneumonia while inspecting his plantation. The founding father of the United States died on December 14, 1799, and the U.S. public mourned him for many generations.
George Washington was one of twelve generals to become president of the United States. To distinguish Washington from the other eleven, President Gerald Ford named Washington “General of the Armies of the United States” in 1976. With this title George Washington forever ranks above all other officers of the United States Army.