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Even though many people dream of becoming president of the United States, George Washington did not really want to be the president. He wanted to retire to his home in Mount Vernon, Virginia, after leading the Continental Army in the fight against the British in the Revolutionary War. He was also a private man and knew whoever was going to be the first president would attract attention from around the world. However, when he was the unanimous choice to be the first president on February 4, 1789, he did not want to let the new country down, so he accepted the nomination.
The U.S. Constitution says that the country must have a president. The Founding Fathers wanted to make sure that nobody in the government has too much control, so the president cannot make laws without the Senate. The country's founders did not want the U.S. to be ruled by a king or queen. What the Constitution does not say, though, is how the office of the president should work. Washington knew he was going to have to decide for himself what the job should be like. He also knew that whatever decisions he made would probably set the stage for every president after him. With that in mind, Washington made his decisions very carefully.
Washington understood that when it was time to make important decisions about the country, the president would need advisers. However, he thought that the Senate had too many people in it to give him advice. He would have received too many opinions. So, one of the first things he did as president was create a 'cabinet'. The president's cabinet is a group of advisers on different parts of the government. Washington's cabinet had advisers on war, finance, and foreign relations. His foreign relations adviser, called the Secretary of State, was Thomas Jefferson, who became the third president. Presidents still choose members of their cabinet today. Modern presidents may want advisers on matters such as security, health, and education.
There was nothing in the Constitution that said how many terms a president could serve. After his first term, Washington was ready to let someone else be president. However, members of his cabinet were not getting along and the country's relationship with Great Britain was still not good. Washington was worried about the future of the young nation, so he agreed to let himself be elected president one more time. His second term was his last, though. He did not think that anybody should be president more than twice and that was the unwritten rule that presidents followed until Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected four times during the Great Depression. In 1951, an amendment was added to the Constitution limiting presidents to two terms.
On March 4, 1797, Washington was finally able to retire. He went home to Mount Vernon and spent his days tending to his estate. He probably should not have been surprised that he was asked to be the senior officer of the army and create a new army in case there was war. He agreed to do it because he had a hard time saying 'no' when his country needed him. He did not serve long, though, because he died in 1799. Still, we remember George Washington not just because he was the first president, but because he made important decisions about the presidency that still exist over two centuries later.
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AP US History: Homework Help Resource29 chapters | 332 lessons
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