George Washington (1732-1799)
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Washington’s family life:
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raised on colonial VA plantation
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father died at age 11, not close with mother
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7 or 8 years of school… no higher education
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married widow Martha Dandridge Custis (she had 2
children by 1st marriage)
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never had children of his own (there are no living
descendants of GW)
Washington’s occupations:
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Farmer…plantation owner (all his life)
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1747-1752…worked as a surveyor
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1753…joined the VA Militia…fought in Fr & Indian War
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1758…elected to House of Burgesses (VA legislature)
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1774…elected to first Continental Congress
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1775-1783…commanded the Continental Army and
defeated the British in American Revolutionary War
1787… elected president of the Constitutional Convention
in Philadelphia
1789…elected President of the United States (only person
elected unanimously by the Electoral College)
Terms of Presidency:
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1st term: 1789-1793
2nd term: 1793-1797
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Washington's major political opponent: John Adams
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Washington’s Vice President:
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1st term:
John Adams
2nd term: John Adams
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Washington’s political party: none
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Major domestic events of the Washington administration:
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1789… inaugurated as the 1st president of the US
…created 1st cabinet of advisors
…implemented Judiciary Act, set up US courts
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1790…implemented Alex. Hamilton's Financial Program to
pay old war debts and moved capitol city south
1791…The Bill of Rights passed (first 10 amendments to the
Constitution)
…first Bank of the US started (Hamilton’s plan)
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1791 & 1792…Vermont and Kentucky admitted into the
United States as the 14th and 15th states
1793…inaugurated into his second term as president
…Fugitive Slave Law (to capture run-away slaves)
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1794/5… Battle of Fallen Timbers and Treaty of Greenville –
pushed Indians out of the way…made it safer for white
settlers to move into Ohio.
1796…Washington's farewell address
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Major domestic conflict of Washington’s administration:
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the Whiskey Rebellion (1794)
- farmers in western PA refused to pay taxes
- GW sent 15,000 troops to western PA
- established the principle that citizens must pay their taxes and
obey the laws
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Major foreign affairs of the Washington administration:
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Proclamation of Neutrality (1793) - stated that U.S. would not get
involved in foreign wars or disputes
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Genet affair (1793) - Genet, a French ambassador, tried to convince
Americans to side with the French against the British
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Jay Treaty (1794) - treaty with England to regulate trade between US
and Britain…also directed British troops to give up their western
forts as of 1796
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Pinkney Treaty (1795) - treaty with Spain to open up trade along the
Mississippi River.
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Major social changes of the Washington administration:
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Fugitive Slave Law (1793) – helped to re-capture escaped slaves
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Whiskey Rebellion (1794) – people had to pay their taxes
Major inventions and technological advances: during the
Washington administration:
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First Factory (1790) - Samuel Slater established the first waterpowered cotton mill in MA
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Cotton Gin (1793) - a device that led to the mass production of
cotton, invented by Eli Whitney