George Washington Dbq Essay

George Washington was one of America's founding fathers serving as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. The commander was crucial in securing independence from Great Britain for America. Washington's leadership and military success earned him the admiration and respect of his fellow patriots. He became one of the most popular and influential figures in American history. Electing the first president of the United States was an easy choice, and Washington won unanimously. As for John Adams, before becoming president, Adams helped write the Declaration of Independence. He also played a role as a negotiator for the US, negotiating in France and helping to negotiate the treaty of Paris. During Washington's presidency,

The first one is the ratification of the Constitution. The Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation and fixed many of the Articles’ main problems. In Washington’s first inaugural address, he attempted to better national unity by promising the new government under the Constitution would represent all of America and not just one side (Doc A). It failed because most of the decisions made by his administration favored federalist viewpoints. Causing the people of the US to lose faith in the new government. These decisions fueled Democratic-Republican anger and hurt national unity. The Federal Government showed its increased power after it created the Whiskey Tax. It placed a tax on all imported and domestic alcohol. Under the Articles of Confederation, the states would have had to vote on this. However, under the new Constitution, the Federal Government had the power to pass it. However, this act was very controversial as many southerners and farmers were angry over the tax. In 1794, farmers were angry over the Whiskey Tax and were threatening revolution. Washington and the government responded to the farmers by saying they would enforce the Constitution to stop the rebellions and show they will no longer be walked over. In the previous Shays Rebellion, the Federal Government could not stand up and stop the rebellion. Washington used force and his military to stop the revolt, which showed the improved

The problems America faced were whether or not to establish a national bank or state banks, whether to focus on an agricultural economy or an industrial economy, and finally, how to deal with state debt. On his cabinet, Washington had the best federalist, Alexander Hamilton, and democratic-republican, Thomas Jefferson. In 1791, whether or not to install a national bank was a topic. Thomas Jefferson believed in the strict interpretation of the Constitution and argued that instilling a national bank was unconstitutional. The power to choose should have belonged to the state governments (Doc C). Hamilton and Federalists argued against Jefferson and Democratic-Republicans on the topic of the national bank by questioning the meaning of the word necessary. Hamilton supported the loose interpretation of the Constitution and claimed that since the bank would significantly improve the economy, it would progress public good, thus making it necessary. The Elastic Clause supported Hamilton’s interpretation because it allowed Congress to pass any laws necessary (Doc D). The decision to install a national bank created a lot of angry Democratic-Republicans and further damaged national unity. Although he argues against it, when Jefferson took over as president he allowed the charter to run out. The assumption plan was another major decision made by the administration. Again, Jefferson and the south were