George Washington Presidency
Washington was unanimously elected as the first President of the United States on February 4, 1789. To date he is the only person ever unanimously chosen by the electoral college in a presidential election (a feat he duplicated in 1792). However, one President has come close: James Monroe took all but one vote in the electoral college in 1820, and John Quincy Adams was embarrassed by that vote.
George Washington Presidency - his inauguration was planned to be held in New York on on March 4, 1789, but was delayed until April 30. Many hoped inaugurations would be continued to be held on April 30 because of the fine weather, but they were held as scheduled.
When president george washington was elected, it was a disappointment to his wife, the first First Lady of the United States, who wanted to continue living in quiet retirement at Mount Vernon after the war. Nevertheless, she quickly assumed the role of hostess, opening her parlor and organizing weekly dinner parties for as many dignitaries as could fit around the presidential table.
In 1791, the Federal government imposed an excise tax on whiskey. This tax was highly unpopular on the American frontier, and in July 1794, in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, a Federal marshal was attacked by a mob and a regional inspector's house was burned. On August 7, 1794, Washington called out the militias of several states and personally led a force of 13,000 to suppress the unrest. The event has gone down in history as the "Whiskey Rebellion." By his actions, Washington ensured that Federal law would be upheld and that the new nation would not fall to insurrection.
President George Washington held the first Cabinet meeting of any U.S. President on February 25, 1793.
In 1793, the revolutionary government of France sent diplomat Citizen Genet, who attempted to turn popular sentiment towards American involvement in the war against Great Britain. Genet also was authorized to issue letters of marque and reprisal to American ships and gave authority to any French consul to serve as a prize court. Genet's activities forced Washington to ask the French government for his recall.
George Washington Presidency:
Is he really the first President?
Some wonder why the leaders in the intervening time period between the American Revolution and the signing of the United States Constitution are not recognized as the President of the United States.
Some people argue that the Presidents of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation should be retroactively recognized as the true first Presidents of the United States. Politically, the two positions are different in that one was simply a chairman of a Congress that controlled a loose confederation while the other is an active executive official who heads a true federal government. Given this, virtually all historians believe that the positions are not the same, and therefore the first "true" US President (in the sense of being America's full Head of State) is George Washington.
Washington himself believed that the first president was John Hanson.
George Washington Presidency information.