George Washington Setting the Standard (1789-92)

     George Washington was America’s first president, and he is fondly remembered by many. But that doesn’t necessarily make him the best president; many don’t know how to define that. Here, let’s defer to the Constitution. According to the Constitution, he was a great president, until his second term.

    Washington was definitely a war hero and was arguably a good guy. There’s a reason he became the first president. During Washington’s first term, he was determined to uphold the Constitution, whether that meant following his personal beliefs on the matter or not. He attempted to maintain this standard all throughout his presidency. In doing so, he created precedents and traditions that many presidents followed, such as stepping down after only two terms, creating a standard that was clearly opposing monarchical practices and upholding Constitutional values.

     In his second term, Washington made a few big mistakes according to the Constitution. The first was the Neutrality Proclamation. Although the act itself may have been the right call, according to the Constitution, it was not Washington’s call to make. A president has authority over a declaration after it has been made, such as in times of war, but he was never meant to have a say in the declaration. That has always been meant for Congress, but they were left out of this decision, setting a bad standard for future leaders.

     Handling the Whiskey Rebellion was also not under the president’s jurisdiction. It is unconstitutional to send in federal law enforcement to fix a State problem unless the State governor requests that help. The Whiskey Rebellion wasn’t a big deal, but Washington sent in law enforcement to make the government look stronger. This also made them look sillier because there wasn’t anybody there to arrest when they got there. The governor didn’t ask for assistance because it was hardly an issue. Now, presidents do this all the time and point to Washington.

     Lastly, the Bank. According to the Tenth Amendment, if the Constitution doesn’t explicitly say it is under the federal government’s authority, then it isn’t. The central bank was supposed to be an option for individual states to instate. This way, if the bank or economy fell or wasn’t working in one state, people could move, or the state could ask for help from neighboring states that made better economic decisions. Washington messed this up when he listened to his Presidential Cabinet rather than looking at the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson disliked this idea. However, since this was a matter of money, Washington ultimately agreed with his Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton.

     Now, central banking have become so bad that we have done away with the penny. Presidents often send in their law enforcement as they please, and feel they have more sway in acts of war and peace without congressional declarations. Looking at modern governance, these mistakes are minor, but back then they weren’t, because Washington was setting the stage. He made a few errors and got away with them, and it caused a snowball effect. Most people don’t blink twice at anymore. Ultimately, he was a good guy, and a good president, but he certainly wasn’t the best or most Constitutional.