preview

The Pros And Cons Of George Washington's Presidency

Decent Essays

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

Get Access