The impact of the first five presidents on early American government

¶ … American history as it relates to the first five Presidents of the United States. Specifically, it will discuss the impact of early leaders of America on the democratic government, and how the first five presidents impacted early American government. It will also look at the accomplishments of each president and different facts about each that contributed positively and negatively on America as it formed as a nation. The first five presidents of the United States were George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. Each man influenced American history in his own unique and significant ways, with both positive and negative results. These leaders were really creating the office of President as they tried to run the country with intelligence and finesse. Their accomplishments were not always perfect, but they did the best they could with the knowledge and resources available at the time.

THE IMPACT OF EARLY LEADERS

GEORGE WASHINGTON

When the electors selected George Washington as the nation's first president in 1789, the office was far different from the presidency today. Washington's presidency began by a vote of presidential electors, not the people. He did not have an official residence; John Adams was the first president to live in the newly completed White House. Neither Washington nor his Vice-president John Adams represented a definitive political party, although they aligned themselves with the Federalist movement, who believed in "a strong central government. Those in accord with their principles wanted them reelected for a second term of four years.[...] Those who differed were known as Democratic Republicans or Republicans" (Kane 5).

Between Washington's first election in 1789, and the time he left office in 1797, he literally created much of government as we know it today - from scratch. He created the first State Department, Department of War, U.S. Mint, Treasury Department, the office of Attorney General, authorized the first U.S. Census, signed the first copyright laws, and created the District of Columbia (Kane 8). Washington was an innovator because he had to be; our government literally came into being during this time, and Washington was the impetus that kept on creating what was needed to run the country smoothly and efficiently. He was also the first president to veto a bill, and the first president to decline a third term in office.

Washington's contributions to American government were lengthy. The first person in any office certainly creates the office according to his own methods and beliefs, leaving a legacy behind no matter how much is changed after he leaves the office. Washington's efforts created a new and functional government and governmental departments that would last through history.

Other developments during his tenure can be attributed less to Washington's personal influence than to the circumstances of the time or to the role of others. The creation of the judicial branch was largely the responsibility of Roger Sherman, and the Bill of Rights was the consequence of the efforts of James Madison. The latter formulated the first national revenue system, and Alexander Hamilton created a financial system that funded the government's debts, instituted a national central bank, and established a national mint and stable currency. Washington's role in these developments was largely incidental, except that he either actively endorsed or indicated no opposition (which in itself constituted endorsement) to their implementation (Spragens 5).

Washington contributed much to the history of the nation. If he was negligent in any area, diplomacy was his weakest point, and he relied heavily on his advisors and political allies for advice in this area. "No single area of his administration caused greater controversy and contributed to his political decline as much as did diplomacy" (Spragens 6). The first President helped define and create the office. His initial creation relied too heavily on a central government, taking away power from the states, which Thomas Jefferson tried to remedy during his two terms in office. Washington was not the perfect President, but his great attention to detail helped create a working form of government that is a testament to his organizational powers and his understanding of successful governing bodies.

THOMAS JEFFERSON

Thomas Jefferson served as the Vice-president under John Adams, and defeated him in the presidential election of 1800 as a member of the Democratic-Republican Party. His Vice-president was Aaron Burr. The two were actually elected in February 1801, as they had both received the same number of president elector votes, and the tie had to be broken by additional voting. Jefferson served two terms as President. During his terms, he created the Army Corps of Engineers and the United States Military Academy, and signed the Louisiana Purchase, nearly doubling the size of the United States with the purchase. He also funded the exploration of Lewis and Clark, which ultimately led to the expansion of the United States all the way to the Pacific Ocean (Kane 28).

Jefferson was a Republican who believed in less national power and more power for the states and the people. "The powers of the national government would be cut drastically and control returned to the states and to the people. He would 'support State governments in all their rights.' [...] State governments would be reestablished as the 'surest bulwarks against anti-republican tendencies'" (Spragens 36). While Jefferson struggled with many issues during his presidency, one of his most important contributions to history was the Louisiana Purchase and the land it brought under U.S. control. His funding of the Lewis and Clark expedition to the Pacific Coast was also far-sighted, bringing far-flung results to the country with eventual colonization and land acquisition all the way to the Pacific Coast. Jefferson's policies and prowess helped establish the United States as a vital and powerful global presence. He was a strong ambassador and diplomat, and a learned and well-written man who raised the office of President to a new level.

Among the final acts of Adams's Administration, however, was one of the most important that he ever performed. After his dismissal of Pickering from the post of Secretary of State, he had appointed John Marshall to that office; then, toward the end of his Presidency, he raised Marshall to the Chief Justiceship of the United States. There were to be no more Federalist Presidents; but for the next generation an arch-Federalist was to interpret the Constitution. Mr. James Truslow Adams writes: 'By his nomination of Washington as Commander-in-Chief, Adams had made a nation possible. By his nomination of Marshall he gave, for centuries following, the fundamental law to that nation' (Agar 60).

If he negatively affected history, it was with his lack of action on trade embargos with Britain and France, which many feel ultimately led to the War of 1812 under James Madison's presidency. "But the embargo failed to produce the desired result, and the subsequent war with England was 'Mr. Madison's War' only because Jefferson did not push the issue in 1809 when, left to their own direction, Congress repealed the embargo without substituting war" (Spragens 37).

JAMES MADISON

James Madison was the first president to preside over a full-fledged war, when problems with the British escalated into the War of 1812. Most of his two terms in office were spent dealing with the war and its after-effects on America. During his administration, the British captured Washington D.C. And burned the Capitol building and the White House.

President James Madison was the only President to face enemy gunfire while in office and the first and only President to exercise actively his authority as commander-in-chief.

On August 19, 1814, General Robert Ross, in command of British regulars, and Admiral George Cockburn, commanding the Marines, landed at Benedict, Md., on the Patuxent River. They started a forty-mile march to Washington, D.C. Five days later, at Bladensburg, Md., they encountered and routed the militia and marines under General William Henry Winder, who fled to Georgetown after a losing battle. President James Madison on August 25 assumed command of Commodore Joshua Barney's battery, known as "Barney's Battery," stationed a half-mile north of Bladensburg, Md., to forestall the capture of Washington by the British (Kane 39).

While Madison's administration saw the ravages of war, it also saw the build-up of American manufacturing in New England, and the development of many of the resources of the country.

The war of 1812, like other wars, was followed in time by an economic depression, but this depression was far less severe than it would have been had the shipping trade been allowed to expand to the full extent which England's preoccupation with war made possible (Smith 328).

If there was a negative impact of Madison's presidency, it was the ravages of war that helped decimate our nation's capital, and his lack of inspiration as a leader and diplomat. "As always throughout his life, he was regarded as a learned and agreeable person, but not as an inspiring leader" (Smith 330).

JAMES MONROE

James Monroe also served two terms as President. During his time in office, he helped created the standardized American flag, authorized the construction of the Erie Canal, and created the Monroe Doctrine, which stipulated that America was not open to colonization by any other nation (Kane 45). "James Monroe was so popular during his first term, 1817-1821, that an 'era of good feeling' swept the nation. All of the 232 electors, with only one exception, voted for Monroe for a second term" (Kane 43). His popularity waned slightly during his second term, but remained high with the American people. "After two highly successful terms as President -- the most notable achievements of which are in the field of foreign relations, [...] Monroe retired, in 1825, to Oak Hill, his place in London County, Virginia" (Agar 88-89). Perhaps that is the biggest tragedy of Monroe's presidency, that it was so dramatically less notable than those of his predecessors.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, each of the first five Presidents of the United States influenced American history in his own unique and significant ways, with both positive and negative results. These leaders were really creating the office of president as they tried to run the country with intelligence and finesse. Their accomplishments were not always perfect, but they did the best they could with the knowledge and resources available at the time.