George Washington
George Washington was probably the single most influential person in the development of the United States Government. He not only set the standards for those presidents who would succeed him, but also for the country that would rise out of the ashes of the Revolutionary War. Washington fully understood the significance of his presidency. “I walk on untraded ground,” he said, “There is scarcely any part of my conduct that could not be drawn into precedent.” Washington invented the model for the presidency that has been preserved to this day: gathering a cabinet of advisors, limiting himself to two terms, establishing the authority of the executive branch, and respecting the separate powers of the legislative and judicial branches of government. Besides that, Washington established foreign policy precedents, fostered the concept of a strong Central Government, and faced the problem of how strictly the constitution was to be interpreted. George Washington was inaugurated into office on April 30, 1789. Within six months of taking the oath, President Washington had staffed the new government. During his two terms, Washington would do innumerable things to influence the future of the presidency.
