One of the last acts of the Congress of the Confederation
was to arrange for the first presidential election, setting March 4,
1789, as the date that the new government would come into being. One
name was on everyone's lips for the new chief of state -- George Washington
-- and he was unanimously chosen president on April 30, 1789. In words
spoken by every president since, Washington pledged to execute the duties
of the presidency faithfully and, to the best of his ability, to "preserve,
protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
When Washington took office, the new Constitution enjoyed
neither tradition nor the full backing of organized public opinion.
Moreover, the new government had to create its own machinery. No taxes
were forthcoming. Until a judiciary could be established, laws could
not be enforced. The Army was small. The Navy had ceased to exist.
Congress quickly created the departments of State and
Treasury, with Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton as their respective
secretaries. Simultaneously, the Congress established the federal judiciary,
establishing not only a Supreme Court, with one chief justice and five
associate justices, but also three circuit courts and 13 district courts.
Both a secretary of war and an attorney general were also appointed.
And since Washington generally preferred to make decisions only after
consulting those men whose judgment he valued, the American presidential
Cabinet came into existence, consisting of the heads of all the departments
that Congress might create.
Meanwhile, the country was growing steadily and immigration
from Europe was increasing. Americans were moving westward: New Englanders
and Pennsylvanians into Ohio; Virginians and Carolinians into Kentucky
and Tennessee. Good farms were to be had for small sums; labor was in
strong demand. The rich valley stretches of upper New York, Pennsylvania
and Virginia soon became great wheat-growing areas.
Although many items were still homemade, the Industrial
Revolution was dawning in America. Massachusetts and Rhode Island were
laying the foundation of important textile industries; Connecticut was
beginning to turn out tinware and clocks; New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania
were producing paper, glass and iron. Shipping had grown to such an
extent that on the seas the United States was second only to Britain.
Even before 1790, American ships were traveling to China to sell furs
and bring back tea, spices and silk.
At this critical juncture in the country's growth, Washington's
wise leadership was crucial. He organized a national government, developed
policies for settlement of territories previously held by Britain and
Spain, stabilized the northwestern frontier and oversaw the admission
of three new states: Vermont (1791), Kentucky (1792) and Tennessee (1796).
Finally, in his Farewell Address, Washington warned the nation to "steer
clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world."
This advice influenced American attitudes toward the rest of the world
for generations to come.