George Washington
IN OFFICE 1789-97 NO PARTY AFFILIATION
George Washington was the first president in US history - and I'm nominating him as the best, too. I am basing this on his success as a leader, his ability to negotiate conflict in his administration, and most importantly the example he set for future presidents.
Americans at the time of the Revolutionary War were enamoured with the ideal of the virtuous republican leader, in the model of the ancient Roman general Cincinnatus.
Washington was no perfect man, of course, and like many elite southern Americans he was a slaveholder. But in politics he came the closest to manifesting the republican ideal of any American president.
Washington became president after serving as the commander of the American Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. His leadership of the army was not uniformly positive, but his tenacity ultimately led to a successful outcome in the conflict with Britain. Many suspected he might simply remain in the position as a kind of benevolent American autocrat, but he resigned from the army in late 1783, returning to his Mount Vernon home in Virginia.
Befitting the respect that he commanded, Washington was chosen to preside over the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where the US Constitution was drafted. Then he became the first president of the US to be elected under that Constitution in 1789, in a unanimous vote of the electoral college.
Washington dealt with major political conflicts in his administration, especially between the treasury secretary, Alexander Hamilton, and secretary of state, Thomas Jefferson, who bitterly disagreed over economic policy and the direction of the new republic. Washington was largely (if not completely) able to rise above the partisan bickering, and always believed that the republic and its leaders needed to manifest consensus for the public good.
Denne historien er fra January 2025-utgaven av BBC History UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra January 2025-utgaven av BBC History UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
A modern icon
IVWWAN MORGAN lauds an insightful and clear-eyed examination of a leader blessed with charisma and quality but also marred by personal flaws
Shipwrecks on Scilly
Beneath the clear waters of the Isles of Scilly lurk treacherous rocks on which more than 1,000 ships have foundered. CLARE HARGREAVES discovers their stories
Medieval sambocade
ELEANOR BARNETT recreates an early cheesecake - a dish with surprisingly long roots stretching back well over two millennia
Greek drama
LLOYD LLEWELLYN-JONES is swept along by an engaging exploration of the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt in the final centuries before Rome conquered this ancient land
Unravelling the enigma
JOSEPH ELLIS is impressed by a detailed, colourful and insightful biography of George Villiers, a Stuart royal favourite who made powerful enemies
The Elusive Pimpernel
Some suffragettes marched with banners, or printed and distributed propaganda pamphlets. Others took more direct action. DIANE ATKINSON tells the story of one activist who employed arson to spark awareness of the burning issue of women’s suffrage
A HILL TO DIE ON
In early 1944, the Allied advance in Italy was brought to a halt at a rocky outcrop called Monte Cassino. And at the heart of the bloodbath that followed, writes James Holland, was flawed leadership
How to build a radical
How to build a radical 6 8 The experiences that shaped Guy Fawkes and his gunpowder plot co-conspirators into violent extremists seem all too familiar today. Lucy Worsley tells a story of religious clashes, state-sanctioned torture and comrades-in-arms willing to die for the cause
WHO WAS GREATEST THE US PRESIDENT?
With Donald Trump set to be inaugurated as the 47th president, we asked seven historians to nominate their choice for the most accomplished American leader
Land of make believe?
Marco Polo's adventures in Asia earned him everlasting fame. But are his accounts of his travels essentially works of fiction? Peter Jackson asks if we can trust this medieval travel-writing superstar
