George Washington's Precedents

1. George Washington Precedents

2. Examine the Image below of George Washington George Washington.Painting by Gilbert Stuart 1796. George Washington, President 1732-1799 What do you notice? What does it make you think? What does it make you wonder?

3. Examine this video of George Washington What do we learn about George Washington from this video clip? What adjectives would you use to describe Washington based on the information from this video clip? https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fomFgePZjnzCCtsIUEJZBkzfV2RDiJBP/view?resourcekey

4. Examine Video #2 about George Washington What do we learn about George Washington from this video? What adjectives would you use to describe him based on this video? https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T_i1FZfqoASwmzRsFgknD1t9DGpWa6vy/view?resourcekey

5. Source Comparison How do these videos demonstrate the importance of looking at multiple sources when doing research? What other sources would you like to examine to help you get a complete picture of George Washington?

6. Read this source on Washington’s precedents and complete the Stop and Think Precedent - an early rule or principle on which all other decisions/events are based. In this case, what did Washington do that all other presidents followed? Washington’s Precedents (Article is copied to the next few slides)

7. Presidential Precedents On the afternoon of April 30, 1789, George Washington stepped out onto the balcony of Federal Hall in Lower Manhattan to take the oath as the first President of the United States. When Samuel Otis, the Secretary of the Senate, held out a Bible before Washington, he placed his right hand upon it. Robert Livingston, the Chancellor of New York, using the words prescribed in Article II of the Constitution, asked Washington if he would solemnly swear to execute the office of President of the United States, and to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. Washington answered that he would, reciting the oath back to the chancellor. George Washington intentionally did not sit for this presidential era portrait while wearing military attire. He wanted to emphasize the Office of the President's civilian nature. - George Washington, Gilbert Stuart, ca. 1796. [NPG.2001.13]. Courtesy National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.

8. Washington was well aware that he had been given the power to shape the American presidency. "I walk on untrodden ground," was a frequent comment he made in the days leading up to his first inauguration. He clearly understood that he needed to bring the executive branch to life in the republic he helped to found with no historic models to follow. Washington believed that the precedents he set must make the presidency powerful enough to function effectively in the national government, but at the same time these practices could not show any tendency toward monarchy or dictatorship. Washington made the office of the presidency powerful by appointing a cabinet and proposing major legislation to Congress. But at the same time he defined practices that emphasized the republican character of the position. When politicians suggested titles for the nation's chief executive ranging from "His Excellency" to "His Highness, the Protector of Our Liberties," Washington recommended the more democratic "Mr. President."3 He presented the annual State of the Union report, required by the Constitution, as a speech given directly to the Congress. Thomas Jefferson would break this precedent in the nineteenth century, however it was restored by Woodrow Wilson in the twentieth.

9. Washington also set precedents for the social life of the president. Troubled by how the presidents of the Confederation Congress had been overwhelmed by visitors, Washington spent his days doing the business of government and set aside the late afternoon for meetings with the public and evenings for dinner parties with invited guests. These practices are still followed by White House protocol. Well-known for his love of Mount Vernon, Washington made it acceptable for presidents to retreat from the pressures of the job to their own homes while in office. Finally, in part because of his wish to return to his estate on the Potomac, but likewise to escape the relentless attacks of the opposition press, he retired after serving eight years and so set the precedent that presidents should only serve for two terms. While President Franklin D. Roosevelt broke this precedent by winning a third and fourth term, the precedent became law when Amendment XXII of the Constitution was ratified in 1951.

11. Vote: Which precedent did you think was most important? Be prepared to share why! Precedents: Two Term Limit Social Norms Formation of a cabinet Oath of Office State of the Union Address

12. My PowerPoint on Washington’s Presidency https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1lytofGIFMv70qjHXpCiKQVsssP1ItA-U/edit#slide=id.gfa895fffd2_0_82