Even though he was filled with an undeniable amount of reservation, Washington never
let that stop him from executing his office to “the best of his ability.” Once Washington assumed
the role of president, he made it his top priority to use the Constitution, especially Article II, as
the basis for determining his realm of power. However, there were countless situations that arose
throughout his presidency where the Constitution’s instructions were quite vague, if not absent.
These matters prompted Washington, who needed to act fast on most of these issues, to make his
own determinations about protocol and what unnamed powers were indirectly bestowed upon
him.
Many of the precedents Washington set forth were in regards to foreign relations, wars
and revolutions to be more specific. Washington used his inaugural position to his advantage and
pushed the perimeters of Article II to its limits. Even though the U.S. Senate was constitutionally
the only American power able to ratify a treaty, Washington maintained that the negotiations that
took place before the treaty was finalized fell under his direct jurisdiction. And he positioned
himself to use this new power over the talks being held with angered Native American tribes,
namely the Creek Nation. By doing so, Washington placed a sense of stability within our foreign
policy that did not need to rely on the volatile and rarely agreeable Congress for acts of
diplomacy.
Dealing with the Native Americans was one problem, but handling foreign issues across
the Atlantic proved to be an entirely different beast. The same year Washington took office, the
French Revolution exploded into full form. Of course, with the American Revolution still on
everyone’s minds, many officials believed that it was America’s turn to come to the French’s
aid. Washington held firm on his assertion that neutrality was the only way to keep our young
nation from catastrophe, and he was met with staunch opposition. This formed yet another
precedent, the President of the United States as Commander in Chief has the authority to make
final determinations regarding neutrality in foreign disputes, even if the Congress disagreed. This
decision by Washington solidified our new government by allowing a single man to have this
final say rather than a Congress which could easily descend into mob rule, as we have seen in
our modern era.
Washington was never tyrannical by any means, and highly respected our form of checks
and balances, including the Senate’s right to perform their duty of approving all cabinet officials
before allowing them to take office. However, again Washington found himself in a situation
where specifics could not be found in the Constitution: Did the president need approval from the
Senate to dismiss cabinet members or principal officers? Washington decided no and ended up
dismissing many federal officers throughout the executive branch throughout his term. This may
seem like common knowledge or average protocol in today’s world but this was a bold move by
Washington that ended up forever tying the administrative power of the American government to
the President of the United States.
Washington led us through the first many tests of our republic, one of them being the
insurgence of public anger and partisan hatred. This enveloped Washington after he had signed a
treaty brokered by John Jay with the British government over their seizure of American ships
trading with France. The treaty did not address impressment and made no attempt to compensate
Americans whose slaves were stolen by the British during the Revolutionary War. This was the
first time members of the government openly criticized Washington. He was ridiculed in
newspapers, complained about in public settings, and called a whole host of names from “saint”
to “king.” However, after the smoke cleared and public unrest had settled, our government was
still in tack, the president was still the president, and no blood had been spilled. This was the first
instance of partisan attacks consuming our political system and once it passed, America picked
herself back up and kept inching forward – a testament to our form of government and resolve.
More importantly, Washington once again gave the American people a lesson in dignity by never
publicly commenting on his criticism or attacking his opponents, because he knew the Office of
President was far above such behavior and that it would only hinder his ability to serve the
nation and distract his focus, which was seriously needed to lead a government out of its infancy.
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