Presidency requires an immense amount of responsibility and rational thinking, and depending on the person, it can either lead to a strong and independent nation or an extensive amount dilemmas. When ranking the first four presidents of the United States from best to worst, it is not difficult to argue that the order would have to be George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and lastly James Madison.
George Washington was not only our first president, but also evidently one of the best presidents of the United States. He accomplished numerous things including fixing the many problems that America was facing at the time. He also created what is referred to as the “president’s cabinet” which consisted of a group of chosen leaders that
…show more content…
The Jay treaty with Britain offended the french and they started capturing american ships at sea. Because of these conflicts, Adams sent ambassadors to france so they could negotiate peace instead of declaring war. French ambassadors then asked for a $250,000 bribe to talk to America and Adams decided to stop the negotiations. America was desperately in need of gaining respect from other countries. Congress chose to expand the army and create a small navy against France which had some success but ultimately just created an undeclared war. Then, John Adams passed the Alien Act which stated that the president could deport any immigrants that criticized the national government, the government could deport immigrants from a country the U.S. is at war with, and that immigrants must live in U.S. for 14 years to become a citizen rather than 4 years. Along with the Alien Act came the Sedition Act which was just as ridiculous, this act stated that it was illegal to say bad things about the national government; both acts very clearly violated the constitution making John Adams highly disliked. He was not re-elected in 1800 and was the first one term president of the United States, obviously not something to be proud …show more content…
Since he took over after Thomas Jefferson, both France and Britain were still seizing american ships and were still angry about the embargo. Madison then passed the Non-Intercourse Act which opened trade to all countries except for Britain and France and stated that America would continue trading with whichever one that lifts the restrictions on american ships. Afterwards came the irrational Macon’s Bill, this opened trade with Britain and France but if one country promised to recognize american neutrality, then the U.S. would stop trade with the other country. Eventually, France agreed to american neutrality and therefore trade was stopped with Britain. Madison encouraged congress to declare war on Great Britain and began the war by invading Canada, which led to a terrible train of events and ended up being an complete fail. Napoleon was defeated and it allowed british troops to head to America, invading and burning down Washington D.C. At last, America and Britain negotiated peace in December of 1814. Even though America was able to gain respect from other countries in this time, James Madison’s illogical decisions are not justified and overall just created a mess of
After his first term, Thomas Jefferson ran for a second term and worn the presidency. During his second term he passed a few policy’s the embargo acts being one of them. The embargo act was a result of the feud between France and Great Britain, the United States was an ally to both countries and that became an issue, because France wanted the United States to stop trade with Great Britain, and Great Britain wanted the U.S to stop its trade with France . Due to this Issue the United States with the approval of Thomas Jefferson Passed the embargo acts, which stated that all ports of the United States where closed to other countries, this caused a few issues because farmers and merchants often traded with other countries. Closer to the end of
ames Madison was the President during the War of 1812. Madison opened Macon’s Bill No.2 which stated that American commerce was open to the entire world. Also, this authorized the President to reopen commerce with Great Britain or France. The only stipulation was that these countries had to withdraw their orders again American commerce. Napoleon saw this as a way to trick America and withdrew their orders. He still continued to seize American ships and do many other unlawful things. Madison decided to revive the nonintercourse with Great Britain. This was a mistake because Britain did not end up changing any Orders in Council. This made James Madison angry and he sent a message to Congress letting them know all of horrible things that Great Britain had done to their country.
Napoleon wanted madison to reinstate the act to make a partial blockade on british ports. However this failed and madison ruined america's
Jefferson and Madison were happy over this decision because it favored the Republicans. Jefferson had another issue at hand, foreign affairs. One issue escalated and Jefferson sent the navy to stop the piracy, whom were charging taxes to sail on their waters. The navy bombed the Barbary, convincing the leader to leave the U.S. ships alone. England and France were still disrespecting the United States, but this time around, Jefferson thought it would be smart to ally with France considering they are the ones who helped us get our freedom. Napoleon Bonaparte took power of France which will result in a huge win for America. Jefferson sent men over to discuss purchasing New Orleans from France for about 10 million. The men received a better offer while in France, they could have all of Louisiana for million, the men made an executive decision and took the offer and hopefully Congress and the President would be okay with their decision. The men arrived back to America to a thrilled nation for their new territory. England continued impressments even in America's own waters, America is outraged at the disrespect England has towards
After the failure of the Embargo Act due to the unwillingness of Americans, Thomas Jefferson struggled to remain favorable as president and eventually relinquished his rights as president to James Madison. Now Madison was a brilliant mind, but he was unexceptional when it came to military and diplomatic matters. Following in the footsteps of Thomas Jefferson, President Madison continued the policy of “peaceful coercion” however, despite the differences that it contained the policy was still equally ineffective. In 1809 Congress signed the Nonintercourse Act, which not only replaced the Embargo Act, but it reopened all trade with every country except Great Britain and France. Essentially, both the Embargo and Nonintercourse Acts failed to bring
The war in Europe dominated James Madison's Presidency. The previous policy of the Embargo Act had failed, and Madison repealed it with the Non-Intercourse Act, which allowed trade with any country except the belligerents. When this became unenforceable, the Macon Bill, stating that the United could trade with any country agreeing to respect US neutrality, replaced it. Napoleon agreed to this stipulation, the British refused, so the United States began trading with France but not with Great Britain. This led to increased tension with the British, manifested both in the continued impressment of American sailors by the British and an increasingly hostile Indian population in the Northwest supposedly incited by the British.
The argument on the seas, which involved trade, may have been one of the biggest concerns. Britain was blocking any vessel from going to France because of the war between the two countries. Britain considered any ship that did not stop an enemy. To try to impact the European system, President Jefferson approved the Embargo Act in 1807. This act stopped almost every
Madison and these supporters of the war looked upon it as being inevitable, causing it to eventually also be known as “Mr. Madison’s War”. Madison was influenced to believe this war was unavoidable as a cause of the British supplying already aggressive Native Americans with weapons, along with members of his party urging the idea of kicking the Indians out of the United States and putting them in Canada. While individuals like this saw the war as inevitable others, such as southerner expansionists, had ulterior motives. These expansionists sought the state of Florida, which at the time was controlled by Spain, a weak ally of Britain. Even with multiple stances on the topic of war and individuals having ulterior motives, what started the entire discussion of war was all the different unjust actions of the British towards the United States. The British were consistently impressing American sailors, taking the Americans from their vessel and forcing them to join and work for the British Navy. Along with impressment occurring there were many more reasons behind the War of 1812; such as, harassment of United States trade by British naval ships, and “During the first three decades of American independence there was a general feeling that the British government had very little respect for the young United States. And during the Napoleonic Wars the British government actively sought to meddle with — or completely suppress — American trade with European nations.” (McNamara). Britain was so desperate in attempting to squash the United States through trade they even passed laws, known as Orders in Council, which meant for all American ships that were headed towards a European port a blockade would now be there.
There is a clear reason why George Washington is the best out of the first four Presidents. He is quite possibly one of the best. He was really the one who pushed our nation to heights that were thought to have been impossible to reach. He also put out laws and regulations that balanced the government, and benefitted the people. There are good reasons as to why Jefferson, Madison, and Adams cut it close that will eventually be touched on.
George Washington was our country’s very first president. He lead America to countless victories. He was a strong leader, even during difficult times. He was a very key part of the start of our nation. He was humble about his services, and had many strong values. George Washington’s life, political views, and modern day influences are important.
The President, just like any other man, must face the judgement of his peers and the comparisons between him and those who came before. The first four Presidents are no exception. George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison all had highs and lows, but there are clear comparisons that can be made between them, and they can be rated using these comparisons. Based on each man's time as the President of the United States during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the first four presidents would rank from best to worst as follows (George Washington, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams) because of their foreign policies both during peace and war, their public relations, and their clashes with the constitution.
At the persistence of President Thomas Jefferson, the United States Congress passed the Embargo Act of 1807. This act banned American ships from engaging in foreign trade, in an effort to force Great Britain and France to change their policies. This measure, along with others that followed, proved unsuccessful and instead hurt America more than it did France or Britain. These economic decisions were all eventually repealed,
One of the most obvious, and in my opinion, most important factors to Why George Washington is the greatest president of all time, is the fact that he was the very first president ever. With John Adams at his side, George Washington started the country on its way to become the great and wonderful country that we call home today. George Washington is perhaps the single president who can truly call himself a “founding father” of the United States of America. Many people would’ve have looked at the situation and thought that it wasn’t their place to correct a whole country, or much less to lead the country to greatness. It takes great courage to lead an entire country, without anyone to look back on for experience advice or mistakes that have been made. I, myself, couldn’t or wouldn’t have even thought about doing that, I would’ve let someone like George Washington step up to the plate.
George Washington was one of the most skilled, and maybe the best person that could have held the title of founder of the United States of American. He had the capabilities of representing his people on the Continental Congress, the intelligence to flip his misfortunes to his victories on many battles against the British and on his personal life, the generosity of believing in people that were ignored or discriminated by society and more remarkably, the bravery needed to act against the laws and even risk his own life on several occasions for the liberty of his people, among many other aspects that makes him one of the most studied historical characters and sources of inspiration.
In 1789 George Washington was elected as the First President of the United States of America under the Constitution. In the following years after George Washington's administration was John Adams and succeeding him was the Third President of the United States Thomas Jefferson. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson's' administrations contributed to establishing a stable government after the adoption of the Constitution. They strengthened the national government by passing important legislature, peaceful international affairs and economic plans.