Challenges Of George Washington's Presidency

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DBQ - Challenges of George Washington’s Presidency Please type the final copy of your essay in this document. George Washington was the first president of the United States. He became very well known for some of the most important events in our history. During the revolutionary war, Washington was the leader of the Continental army. The success of the army made him a war hero. After the war, Washington was asked to preside over the Constitutional Convention, where a new government was formed. By 1789, he was inaugurated in New York City and served two terms as president. During the eight years of Washington's presidency he faced many challenges as lead of the new nation. One of the first main challenges for Washington during his presidency …show more content…

This was part of Hamiltons, secretary of treasury financial plan to help pay back war debts from the Revolutionary war because the bank would collect taxes and revenues. This idea was supported by Washington and Hamiltion but the challenge was people like Jefferson or farmers who opposed the idea of a national bank because they feared the great power of the bank. In the first line of the primary document (doc#2), Jefferson firmly opposed the creation of a national bank and believed in strict construction of the Constitution which means only going by what the constitution is saying word for word. This caused Jefferson to say it was unconstitutional and against the laws of monopoly. He also thought it would take away the rights of the states. This challenge put the national bank on hold for …show more content…

It all started because of taxes that the government put in place to pay for all of the services they provide for their citizens. Most of the revenue came from tariffs, taxes on imported goods or taxes on distilled liquor. This angered farmers from Pennsylvania and Virginia because they turned most of their corn crop into whiskey. Farmers refused to pay these taxes and rebelled. (Known as the Whiskey Rebellion). This is where it states in the first line of the primary document (doc#5), that Washington sent 13,000 soldiers with Hamilton to Pennyslvannia to put down this revolt. In Washington's statement he mentioned that laws need to be duly enforced and followed by everyone. He commanded all persons in the revolt to disperse and retire, which most did. And that was the day that Washinhton showed that the new government wasn't afraid to enforce their