Born on February 22nd, 1732, in Westmorland County, Virginia, George Washington is a central figure in American history and frankly, in the overall history of the 18th century, around the entire world.
His father, Augustine Washington, managed properties in Virginia, although George wouldn’t get to know his father that much, because he died when George was 11.
When the American colonies were still a part of the British empire, George became a soldier in the British army. He would become an officer and would be involved in the start of the French and Indian War, which itself was involved in the greater Seven Years War, which is often considered to be the real first world war. I’ve written an article on that, which you can find here.
I will not go over his role in the American Revolution and in the birth of the United States of America because you can find all that information in the article of mine I linked just above.
Instead, here, I want to focus on Washington’s Presidency, which lasted from April 30th, 1789, to March 4th, 1797.
The Presidency of George Washington
Washington was a very wise man and an extraordinary leader. He knew that being the first President of the United States was a difficult task. He said, “I walk on untrodded ground.”
His Presidency began on April 30th, 1789, when he was inaugurated.
Before really diving into his Administration, let’s go over his Cabinet.
John Adams, a fellow founding father, served as his Vice President for the entirety of his term.
During Washington’s first term, his Secretary of State was Thomas Jefferson, his Secretary of the Treasury was Alexander Hamilton, his Secretary of War was Henry Knox and his Attorney General was Edmund Jennings Randolph.
During his second term, Thomas Jefferson served as Secretary of State until January 2nd, 1794, when he was replaced by Edmund Jennings Randolph, who served as Secretary of State until August 20th, 1795, when he was replaced by Timothy Pickering.
Alexander Hamilton continued to serve as Secretary of the Treasury until February 2nd, 1795, when Oliver Wolcott Jr replaced him.
Henry Knox continued serving as Secretary of War until January 2nd, 1795, when he was replaced by Timothy Pickering, who himself served as Secretary of War until February 6th, when he was replaced by James McHenry.
Edmund Jennings Randoplh continued to served as AG until January 29th, 1794, when he was replaced by William Bradford, who himself served as AG until December 10th, 1795, when he was replaced by Charles Lee.
Foreign affairs
Washington was a president who was adamant that the US should stay out of foreign conflicts. The French Revolution led to a war between the eternal rivals France and Great Britain and he decided to completely remain out of it. His Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, supported the British while his Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, heavily supported the French. But Washington held firm. He strongly believed the young United States should remain out of this war for its own good. It was none of its business after all.
A key example of this was the Citizen Genêt affair of 1793.
Genêt, or by his full name, Edmond Charles Genêt, was the Ambassador of France to the United States dispatched by the new French Republic that was created because of the French Revolution. The war between France and Great Britain had started the year before and Genêt took it upon himself to help fight the British, even while being all the way on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. He started using US ports to attack British commerce, while also using privateers to help his cause. Washington had none of it. He disapproved of it in its entirety.
Even though Genêt promised Washington that the activities in US harbors would stop, they didn’t, and Washington demanded France to recall Ambassador Genêt. But in the chaos of the French Revolution, the radical Jacobins were now in charge of France, and they ordered Genêt arrested. Washington didn’t send him over to France however, and he ended up staying in America for the rest of his life. I had difficulties verifying this during my research, but I once read in several YouTube comments that it was Treasury Secretary Hamilton who convinced Washington to grant Genêt asylum in the US and that Genêt praised Washington “to his dying day.”
In 1795, Washington oversaw the signing of the Treaty of San Lorenzo, which solved territorial issues between Spain, which controlled Florida at the time, and the United States. It gave American navigators the right to use the Mississippi River as a navigation route while also giving the Americans a duty-free right to the port of New Orleans, which was also controlled by Spain back then. This treaty was key, because it established a relationship of trust and friendship between Spain and the US.
Before leaving office, President Washington also oversaw the Treaty of Tripoli (forgive me for citing Wikipedia as a source, but it was the best document I found about this treaty), although this one was signed by the 2nd President of the United States, John Adams, who served as Washington’s Vice President. This treaty gave American ships shipping rights in the Mediterranean Sea and guaranteed them security from Barbary pirates operating in the Mediterranean Sea.
Relations with the native American tribes
This is one thing I learned during my research: in 1794, the Canandaigua Treaty was signed between the United States and six Iroquois tribes: the Seneca, the Cayuga, the Onondaga, Oneika, Mohawk and Tuscarora.
This treaty established peace between these six tribes and the new United States. President Washington signed it himself.
It is good to know this treaty was never ripped apart by anyone. There have been some instances of this treaty not being respected, but it still applies to this day. In my opinion this is one of the greatest examples of the legacy that Washington leaves behind.
On slavery
As POTUS, Washington signed into law two bills regarding slavery that contradict themselves:
the first one is the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, which made it illegal for people to help slaves that escaped their plantation. It also set up a mechanism to return slaves to their masters.
the second one is the Slave Trade Act of 1794, which limited the participation of Americans in the African slave trade.
Various accomplishments by George Washington
He signed the Judiciary Act of 1789 that created the Supreme Court of the United States, which, at the time, had six members(compared to nine as of today).
After this, he appointed fellow Founding Father Jon Jay as the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
He is the one who created the capital city of the United States of America by the Residence Act of 1790. This act entered into effect a decade later, in 1800, when the US capital city officially became Washington, DC, a city that was, of course, named after the country’s first President. That same year, in 1800, the construction of the White House was finished.
Nowadays, the US Military is known to have six branches: the Army, the Aavy, the Air Force, the Marines, the Coast Guard and the Space Force.
Well, the US owes its navy to President Washington, who, in 1794, signed the Naval Act of 1794.
Washington also signed the Copyright Act of 1790, giving authors protections for their work.
Growth of the Union
Under Washington’s watch, five states joined the new country:
North Carolina, in 1789
Rhode Island, in 1790
Vermont, in 1791
Kentucky, in 1792
Tennessee, in 1796
Retirement to Mount Vernon
Declining to run for a third term, Washington decided to retire and to return to his home in Mount Vernon, Virginia.
On September 19th, 1796, Washington published his Farewell Address. It is one of the best texts in American history. In it, Washington:
explains his reasons to not seek a third term, while also pointing out that he had hoped to retire at this end of his first because of foreign affairs relating to the conflict between France and Great Britain.
expressed confidence the new country would be safe in the hands of a new leader
hoped for a government that would unite all the people together while bringing them prosperity and freedom.
warned Americans about the dangers of forming political parties, because to him, partisanship “opened the door to foreign influence and corruption.”
reminded Americans of the need to always put first their loyalty to their nation before their state or their region.
warned Americans about too much foreign involvement and advised the United States should have friendly and neutral relations with everyone. Relations based on respect.
advised his country to keep sound fiscal policies
he ended by touching his legacy. He had served for decades and hoped for the people to look past his mistakes “with indulgence”.
Upon returning to Mount Vernon, Washington’s concerns were to make sure his plantation was as successful as it had been before his Presidency.
He left a written declaration that, upon the death of his wife, Martha Washington, he hoped to see his slaves freed.
Washington’s death
Washington was a strong man, one that was extremely difficult to kill. In his life, he suffered from diphtheria, tuberculosis, smallpox, malaria, dysentery, quinsy, carbuncle and pneumonia. He survived them all.
However, on December 14th, 1799, less than three years after he left the Presidency, George Washington died from a throat infection at the age of 67.
Washington’s legacy
His legacy cannot be overstated. He led the Continental Army to victory against the British in the American Revolutionary War, he showed humility by stepping down from his role as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, he created one of the six branches of the US Armed Forces, he set the standard that a US President should only serve two terms maximum while showing another example of humility from him, by voluntarily giving up his power after two terms, he created the US capital city that harbors his name and, to this day, still remains the only US President to have been unanimously elected. I could go on forever. He still remains, to this day, arguably the most important man in US history and has a legacy that few could dream of.
Excellent biography Max!!