George Washington, born in 1732 into a Virginia planter family, inherited his famous Mt. Vernon estate at the age of 20, and until the outbreak of the American Revolution managed this estate and associated himself with the Virginia House of Burgesses. He was married to a widow, Martha Dandridge Custis.
George Washington had interest in military arts and explorations since a very early age. He had surveyed the Shenandoah lands for Lord Fairfax when he was 16 years of age. In 1754, he became a Lieutenant colonel and fought in the first skirmishes of what would later become the French and Indian War. Like other nationalists, he resented the exploitation and restrictions fostered by the British and took a leading role in opposing the British policies.
[...] The treaty, concluded in June 1794, while allowing American ships to trade in French West Indies on same terms as British shops did was nevertheless more favorable to Britain, and George Washington got his first major accusation of a sell-out. Relationship with Native Americans One of the major concerns of George Washington's presidency was the Native American issue of the West. He addressed the problems in his first address to the Congress. In 1791, George Washington sent a force to defend settlements north of the Ohio River. [...]
[...] George Washington handled the situation firmly by sending a 12000 strong force that overawed the “whiskey boys.” The trial of the two leaders of this rebellion found them guilt of treason, but George Washington pardoned them. Origin of political parties Alexander Hamilton promoted industries and a strong central government based on financial trading and speculation, and preferred the wealthy to fund the central government, ignoring the interests of the common man. In 1791 he send a “Report on Manufacturers” to the Congress arguing that the United States should promote industries over agriculture since industries yielded a higher rate of return than agriculture and would thus make the nation more wealthy. [...]
[...] Striking a compromise amongst the various pressure groups took much of George Washington's time during his first year in presidency. The manufacturers of the northern states lobbied for higher duties as protection from foreign competition. For instance, the Pennsylvanian iron manufactures had a hard time competing against cheap British iron and thus advocated higher duties. The southern states wanted a high tariff on hemp used to make rope, but New England opposed this proposal, which would increase the cost to rig ships. [...]
[...] He also obliged the Congress' request for a show of pomp and circumstance by appearing in coach drawn by four or six horses and escorted by liveried retainers. The Congress, fearing that a future president might make a bid for the throne, stopped the move to stamp coins with the head of the incumbent president and preferred coins with the head of the Liberty instead. The origins of the cabinet George Washington appointed his close confidants in important positions of the new state. [...]
[...] The later years of George Washington's presidency saw the rift widen into the establishment of a two political parties Hamilton's Federalist Party and Jefferson's Republican Party. Washington was not a member of any political party and feared that political parties would lead to conflict and stagnation. He nevertheless supported Hamilton and continued with his policies of establishing national credit and building a financially powerful nation. FOREIGN POLICY George Washington believed that the American experiment in trying to find a government based on the will of the people was of vital importance to the whole world, and he made this clear in his first inaugural address. [...]
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