The Challenges After The Presidency Of George Washington

It was after the American Revolution. The colonies had just broken free from the reign of Great Britain. The people were weak, tired, but ready to start a new country. There were many arguements about how the government should work: whether or not there should be a strong central government or a weak one. Eventually, a strong central government was decided upon, and then the problem of who was going to run it became a question in everyone’s minds. Finally, an election took place, and the person with the most votes would be the head, would be president. George Washington, who was previously a general in the American Revolution, got the most votes, and was elected president. It was a difficult job to have, because all eyes were on him. He was

Washington faced many issues during his time being president. After the American Revolution, the U.S. was very deep in debt and needed a plan to recover. The first example would be the National Bank. Alexander Hamilton, the secretary of treasury, had a plan to create a national bank and combine each state's’ debt to pay off the war debts. The First Bank, which issued paper currency, was used to pay taxes and debts owed to the federal government. This was an issue because they needed to pay the federal government quick, because in order to gain trust from foreign countries, the U.S. had to pay them back as soon as possible. Another example is Hamilton’s financial plan. The national bank would collect all the tax revenues from the citizens. This was also an issue because the southern states had already paid their tax and it would be unfair. In the end, the southern states would’ve paid more than the northern states. The following was Jefferson’s memo back to the president. It was written during the time they were setting up the national bank, because Jefferson had a different point of view than Hamilton about the

The first example of formation of political parties was how to interpret the constitution. Various parties held different interpretations regarding the Constitution. For example, Jefferson created the Democratic Republicans. The Democratic Republicans is the name used primarily by modern political scientists for the first "Republican Party" (as it called itself at the time.) Jefferson interpreted the Constitution strictly (If the Constitution says one can not do it, you can). On the other hand, Hamilton interpreted the Constitution loosely. (If the Constitution says one can do it can not be done). There was also the challenge of choosing sides and who to support. Jefferson and Hamilton were polar opposites. Jefferson favored states' rights and a strictly limited federal government, and. Hamilton believed in the importance of a strong central government, and convinced Congress to use an elastic interpretation of the Constitution. Washington had to agree with one of them, even though they both founded political parties that rivaled the other. “I… warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects [of political parties]” (Document 6). This Document was created by Washington during his Farewell Address. It was written in 1796. Washington needed to share his advice to Congress and the citizens. Washington was warning the citizens about how harmful the parties could be. He was