2G - The powers of the presidency: Washington and Adams as presidents, the implementation of the constitution
Learn how Washington and Adams made the presidency work in practice, how constitutional restraints shaped executive action, and why security, taxation and political opposition tested the new government.
Constitutional power and restraint
The Constitution created a single president to execute federal laws and command the armed forces. This was a major change from the Confederation's dependence on congressional committees and state cooperation. A four-year term gave the executive time to pursue policy, while election offered a republican basis for authority rather than hereditary succession.
The president could recommend measures, veto legislation, grant federal pardons except in impeachment cases, and nominate major officers and judges. These powers were substantial but shared or restricted. Congress legislated and controlled spending; it held the power to declare war. Senate consent was required for major appointments, and treaties required approval by two-thirds of senators present. Congress could override a presidential veto by two-thirds majorities in both chambers. Impeachment in the House followed by conviction in the Senate could remove a president.
Precedent
An earlier action which provides an example or expectation for how later holders of an office should act.
The written powers left practical questions open. How should a president obtain advice? How independent should executive decisions be from Congress? What action could be taken before Congress legislated? The early presidents' decisions created precedents within the constitutional framework. Article II and related provisions establish formal powers; a record of actual decisions is needed to understand their implementation.
Washington's reputation was particularly important. The first government needed enough executive authority to work without appearing to recreate monarchy. A trusted revolutionary commander could make practices acceptable which might have provoked greater suspicion under another president.
Washington builds the executive
Washington took office in April 1789 and worked with Congress to turn a constitutional plan into institutions. Congress created executive departments and the Judiciary Act of 1789 established lower federal courts alongside the Supreme Court. John Jay became the first Chief Justice. A national government now possessed officers and courts through which federal law could operate more directly.
Washington appointed Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State, Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Knox as Secretary of War and Edmund Randolph as Attorney General. He brought these principal advisers together, helping establish the practice of a cabinet. The Constitution allowed him to obtain written opinions from department heads; it did not prescribe the full cabinet system later taken for granted.
The arrangement helped coordinate administration but also brought opposing policies into the executive. Hamilton promoted national financial institutions; Jefferson became concerned that they would expand central power and benefit privileged interests. Washington initially hoped to contain disagreement through personal consultation. Their rivalry demonstrated that a president's authority included choosing among advisers rather than merely collecting an agreed answer.
Ceremony also mattered. The office needed dignity, but elaborate titles and court-like behaviour could suggest monarchy. Calling the president “Mr President” and maintaining republican forms helped distinguish the office from kingship. Washington's eventual retirement after two terms strengthened the expectation that power could be relinquished voluntarily. The original Constitution imposed no two-term limit; his departure was a precedent, not compliance with such a rule.
Washington enforces and defines authority
The Whiskey Rebellion tested whether the government could enforce unpopular federal law. Congress's 1791 excise on distilled spirits faced resistance, especially among western Pennsylvania farmers who converted grain into whiskey for transport and sale. Resistance escalated in 1794 into intimidation and violence against federal officers and supporters of the tax.
Washington attempted conciliation, then used powers provided under the Militia Act of 1792 to call a large force from several states. He accompanied the army for part of its movement west. Organised resistance collapsed. Compared with Congress's financial difficulties during Shays' Rebellion, this showed a federal government capable of obtaining resources and mobilising authority. It did not mean that resentment disappeared or that opponents of the tax ceased to regard it as unfair. Mount Vernon's account describes the legal and political test.
Foreign policy raised a different question. After war began between revolutionary France and Britain and other powers in 1793, Washington proclaimed that Americans should behave “friendly and impartial toward the belligerent powers”. The authentic proclamation of 22 April 1793 aimed to keep the vulnerable republic out of the European conflict.
Continue this lesson.
You’re previewing NovaLearn without an account. Create a free account to read the rest.
Create free account