alternatehistory.com

10
Washington was inaugurated on April 30, 1789 in the temporary capital of New York to start his term as the first president of the United States. His term is largely marked by trying to pull together the widely different views and while holding together the fragile new nation. As with the situation in the French revolution many wanted to intervene in their conflict with Britain but many others wanted to intervene of the side of Britain Washington opposed involvement in the conflict believing America to be too weak and unstable to get involved in a European war and the performance of the limited US army in the Northwest Indian Wars would seem to back him up as they were destroyed and new regiments had to be raised. The defeat on the frontier lead to the creation of additional regiments under the command of Benedict Arnold and the passage of the Militia acts allowing the president to take command of them and requiring all able bodied men 18 to 45 to serve in them. The term would also see the federal government assume the war debts of the states in exchange for the new capital being located on the Potomac River. Assuming the debt was a part of Alexander Hamilton’s plan to help revive the ailing economy along with issuance of federal bonds and redeeming promissory notes from the Revolutionary War in his first report on credit in his second report he called for the creation of a national bank, congress also created the US Mint and Dollar regulating money, he also made a report on manufacturers calling for subsides, protective tariffs, and included a national plan for infrastructure. Many of his proposals were adopted except for the tariffs and the plan for federal funding of infrastructure projects. Though the proposals for the national project rejected New York charted a company to start building a canal from the Hudson River to Lake Ontario and another to build one from the Hudson to Lake Champlain which also gained support from Canada, Benedict Arnold also tried to gather support for a canal across the Niagara Peninsula owing to his time campaigning in the west during the revolution and the indian wars. His term would also see the settlement of the disputed Florida territories and Spanish agreement to stop supporting Indians in US territory and the inclusion of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Vermont as states, Tennessee and Kentucky had stayed states to avoid becoming of federal territory and the resulting ban on slavery that would entail. He also saw the first use of the navy against the Barbary Pirates to avoid the payment of tributes to protect American shipping. Washington would refuse to run for a third term setting the precedent that would be followed for over 100 years.

Washington would be followed by John Adams in a contested election that would also elect Adams chief opponent Thomas Jefferson as his vice president. Adams chose to keep most of the cabinet from Washington’s administration seeing it as important to the stability of the country though it would see Alexander Hamilton, who had tried to prevent his election wanting a more pliable candidate, exert more influence in the cabinet though Adams was still a very independent. Tensions with France rose after the US stopped paying their debts arguing, they owed it to a previous regime, the resulting French retaliation of attacking US shipping and the US attacking French ships in the Caribbean, and French representatives demanding bribes before negotiations could begin. Adams disappointed most people who were calling for war against France when he made peace with Napoleon. He would also sign acts that would become the Alien and Sedition Acts and direct taxes to pay for his increased navy and army in case of war with France. He would run for a second term but would lose to Thomas Jefferson.

Top