George Washington's First Inaugural Address Analysis

Introduction After the failure of the Articles of Confederation, Americans not only needed a stronger Constitution they also needed a strong leader, enter George Washington. On April 30, 1789 George Washington gave the first inaugural address after being sworn in as the first President of the United States of America. As the first leader of the United States he had to set the stage for the rest of the Presidents to come after him. Being the first president of the United States presented many challenges because there were no precedents here to for to follow, it was a constant learning situation with many trials and tribulations. There were no previous presidents before him to seek advice from. Laws, protocols, alliances, and advisors, now referred to as the cabinet, all had to be created from scratch, a very difficult task indeed. He came from humble beginnings having been raised on a farm and his formal education ended at the eighth grade, however, he was innately intelligent and was able to overcome the lack of advanced formal education. His mother played a
He was a humble man by nature who was not seeking power or authority over others as described by his hesitancy to accept the position to head the assembly that developed the constitution. However, because of his love of the country and the dislike of monarchies, Washington accepted the position because he felt a strong constitution was necessary to enable free men to govern themselves. In keeping with his belief, he spent many months traveling the country to ensure the ratification of the freshly created constitution, which was achieved in June of 1788. Washington was well respected by his peers, and this is why there was a movement afoot to appoint George Washington to the newly created position of President. Although flattered by such suggestions, was not interested in the