“First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen”

First US President George Washington was the role model for all future presidents.

A facsimile of his face adorns our money. He was one of a few notable men at the time who never wore a wig.  He had been a hero during the American Revolution and was made the president of the Constitutional Convention. He was the first president of the United States of America, and the only president to be elected unanimously, twice!

He set many precedents and helped shape the office’s future role and powers, as well as set both formal and informal precedents for future presidents during his time in office that still stand to this day. He provided a blueprint of how the president should act and what role he should take setting a delicate balance of enough power to function effectively as a federal government, while rejecting the establishment of the appearance of a monarchy.

As anyone familiar with the history of this great country knows that man’s name is George Washington, and he is known as the “father of our country”. And, Contrary to popular belief, he never chopped down any cherry trees!

Washington had a reputation, and was known to be incredibly honest in all his dealings. The cherry tree myth was created by Washington’s biographer Mason Weems, who wrote the book shortly following the death of the first president entitled “The Life of Washington” that created the myth, as a way of showing Washington’s honesty.

“First in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen…”

—  “Light Horse Harry” Lee

George Washington (1732-1799) served for eight years as the first President of the United States under the new Constitution. His first four years were dominated by domestic issues and the second four years by foreign policy issues.

Major-General Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee of the Virginia Lee family. The Lee’s were an original family from Virginia dating back to other original Virginia families: William Randolph and John Rolfe (husband of Pocahontas).

Washington set standards in all aspects of governance, including political power, military practice, and economic policy. Washington created the chief executive’s private, trusted advisers called the Cabinet. Washington’s private cabinet included just four original members. Those members consisted of: Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State, Henry Knox as Secretary of War, Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of Treasury and Edmund Randolph as Attorney General. Washington set the precedents for how these roles would interact with the presidency. The cabinet is not mandated by either the Constitution or established law and the current presidential cabinet includes sixteen members. Washington significantly influenced the path for all future presidents by his first steps.

Washington chose not to run for a third term as president. In his farewell address, Washington dedicated a large part of it to discussing relations with foreign  countries and the dangers of permanent alliances between the United States and those foreign nations, which he called “foreign entanglements”.

During President John Adams’ administration there was a threat of war with France. Washington answered America’s call to service and came back to serve as Commander-in-Chief. When the threat of war was over he returned to his beloved Mt. Vernon. He died there 220 years ago, on December 14, 1799.

Major-General Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, of Stratford Hall Virginia, and father of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, remarked at a Congressional memorial service that George Washington was, “First in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen…second to none in the humble and endearing scenes of private life.”

Michael Reed is Editor of The Standard.