Anhely Hernandez
What Challenges did George Washington Face as President?
Washington was no doubt a remarkable leader, even being credited as the primary reason behind America’s victory against Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. Despite this, Washington never wanted to be president as he considered it to be too much pressure, especially given the fact that he was 56 when he was elected. With his election came a whole slew of problems for Washington, most being economic issues that stemmed from his treasurer’s financial plan to pay back the nation’s debt. Another unhelpful bump in the road came in the form of Thomas Jefferson, who often clashed with Hamilton and his ideals, leading to a rift between the people that would eventually result in the political parties we have today.
Washington’s first order of business was taking care of the large amount of debt that had amassed once the Revolutionary war was finally over. Alexander Hamilton the secretary of the treasury, proposed a financial plan that insisted on raising taxes and establishing a national bank that would “collect all tax revenue... …show more content…
Thankfully, his farewell address left Americans with some advice on how to manage in his absence, even going so far as to set some boundaries just in case. “I...warn you...against the baneful effects of political parties.” (Doc. 5) He wrote, clearly fearful of what would happen if the American people split in such a way. Washington even continued on to say that “we must steer clear of permanent alliances,” (Doc. 5) knowing that such an alliance would mean the U.S. would need to partake in any war said allies would join. Clearly, not all advice was followed to a T, but even the wisest advice must be disregarded in times of need. As awesome as George Washington was, even he could not predict the challenges his beloved United States would face in the
What Challenges did George Washington Face as President?
Washington was no doubt a remarkable leader, even being credited as the primary reason behind America’s victory against Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. Despite this, Washington never wanted to be president as he considered it to be too much pressure, especially given the fact that he was 56 when he was elected. With his election came a whole slew of problems for Washington, most being economic issues that stemmed from his treasurer’s financial plan to pay back the nation’s debt. Another unhelpful bump in the road came in the form of Thomas Jefferson, who often clashed with Hamilton and his ideals, leading to a rift between the people that would eventually result in the political parties we have today.
Washington’s first order of business was taking care of the large amount of debt that had amassed once the Revolutionary war was finally over. Alexander Hamilton the secretary of the treasury, proposed a financial plan that insisted on raising taxes and establishing a national bank that would “collect all tax revenue... …show more content…
Thankfully, his farewell address left Americans with some advice on how to manage in his absence, even going so far as to set some boundaries just in case. “I...warn you...against the baneful effects of political parties.” (Doc. 5) He wrote, clearly fearful of what would happen if the American people split in such a way. Washington even continued on to say that “we must steer clear of permanent alliances,” (Doc. 5) knowing that such an alliance would mean the U.S. would need to partake in any war said allies would join. Clearly, not all advice was followed to a T, but even the wisest advice must be disregarded in times of need. As awesome as George Washington was, even he could not predict the challenges his beloved United States would face in the