2. Washington leads a new nation
• In1789 George Washington became the
first president of the United States
• Congress and the president organized the
executive branch and judicial branches of
government
• Americans had high expectations for their
new nation
3. Imagine….
• If you were there….
You are a seamstress in New York City in 1789. You’ve
joined the excited crowd in the streets for inauguration
day. Church bells are ringing and people are cheering.
Even though you were just a young child during the
Revolution, Washington is your hero. How you watch as he
takes the oat of office. You are proud to see that he is
wearing a suit of American-made cloth.
Take a second and think about what America’s future will be
like to you under the jurisdiction of President
Washington…..
4. George Washington
• Honest leader, hero of
Revolution to people
in United States
• People believed he
should be the first
U.S. president
• Convinced by friends
to run for president
5. Electoral College
• Body of electors who represent the people’s
vote in choosing the president
– Unanimously voted in George Washington in
first election
– John Adams as vice president
6. Organizing the Government
• Washington – cabinet, • Create policies and
different department leaders
in government procedures that
– Alexander Hamilton: would determine
secretary of treasury the future of the
– Thomas Jefferson: country
secretary of the state • Precedent: action or
– Henry Knox: secretary of
war decision that later
– Samuel Osgood: post serves as an
master general example
8. Cabinet 2012
• Current United States Cabinet consists of 15
departments with various ranges of responsibility for
the United States.
9. Judiciary Act of 1789
• Act that created three levels of federal
courts and defined their powers and
relationship to the state courts.
– Set up federal districts
– Set up circuit court appeals
– President nominates federal judges
10. Americans’ Expectations for the Nation
• Urban v. Rural – 5%
to 95%
• By 1790 the U.S. was
home to almost 4
million people
• Most Americans were
farmers
• Small number of
townspeople
