George Washington after the War
Though worn out by battle, George Washington reluctantly accepted the call to become the first president, relinquishing his genteel retirement at Mount Vernon. Mindful that his leadership was sorely needed to unify the infant nation, he pressed for ratification of the U.S. Constitution, which he firmly believed was the best that could be written at the time. Washington was so popular that if he gave this new document and governmental creation his blessing, then others would also. But, wise as ever, Washington also knew that he had no example from which he could learn. “I walk on untrodden ground,” he said. “There is scarcely any part of my conduct which may not hereafter be drawn in precedent.”
The First Presidency
On April 30, 1789, Washington took the oath of office in the portico of Federal Hall on Wall Street, New York City. Also present were Vice President John Adams, both houses of the newly organized Congress, and an exuberant crowd of onlookers. His first inaugural address was brief and modest, containing only one suggestion to the new Congress — that its members “would carefully avoid every alteration which might endanger the benefits of an united and effective government, or which ought to await the future lessons of experience.”
Washington knew there was widespread support for the original amendments that made up the Bill of Rights. He supported these, but also had the foresight to know that further attempts to amend the document too quickly would hinder the fledgling nation.
Washington Eases into Power
Washington was careful not to set precedents that would start dangerous trends toward a monarchy or dictatorship. He respected the divisions of power created in the Constitution, and he spent his first days in office listening to divergent viewpoints as he organized the executive branch. Landowners tended to have more conservative views, and as George Washington was a propertied gentleman himself, he tried to recognize the more liberal outlook of farmers and artisans who made up the majority of the population.
Congress delivered a tariff, or tax bill, to Washington in June for his signature. The measure would provide the new government a source of much-needed revenue.
The original cabinet, which is part of the “Unwritten Constitution,” consisted of only four departments: the State Department, Treasury Department, War Department, and the Office of the Attorney General. Today's cabinet consists of fifteen departments: the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, and the Office of the Attorney General.
The issue of where to establish the permanent seat of government was postponed until the next congressional session, but by the close of the first one, bills had been passed establishing three executive departments representing the president's cabinet — State, Treasury, and War. In addition, Congress established a federal judiciary comprising the Supreme Court of one chief justice, five associate justices, and thirteen district courts. An attorney general would be the nation's highest law officer. In keeping with his careful decisions, Washington chose a balance of liberals and conservatives for his cabinet. Alexander Hamilton became secretary of the treasury and Henry Knox the first secretary of war; Edmund Randolph of Virginia was offered the post of attorney general. Washington awaited the return of Thomas Jefferson, who was the U.S. diplomatic representative to France, in order to offer him the position of secretary of state. Our first president nominated John Jay of New York as chief justice of the United States.
