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George Washington was at Mount Vernon when Charles Thompson, the long-term secretary of the Continental [[Congress]] brought him the news that he was elected [[President]]. The arrival of the document at Mount Vernon made it legal. Washington left on April the 16th traveling to [[New York City]], the temporary capital of the new Republic. On April 30, George Washington stood on the balcony of New York City Hall to take the oath of President of the United States. His Presidency almost never happened as he almost died of [[pneumonia]] in 1790 and was unable to function as Chief Executive for several weeks.

George Washington was at Mount Vernon when Charles Thompson, the long-term secretary of the Continental [[Congress]] brought him the news that he was elected [[President]]. The arrival of the document at Mount Vernon made it legal. Washington left on April the 16th traveling to [[New York City]], the temporary capital of the new Republic. On April 30, George Washington stood on the balcony of New York City Hall to take the oath of President of the United States. His Presidency almost never happened as he almost died of [[pneumonia]] in 1790 and was unable to function as Chief Executive for several weeks.

Washington acted carefully and deliberately, aware of the need to build an executive structure that could accommodate future presidents. Hoping to prevent sectionalism from dividing the new nation, he toured every state in the union in his first term, from New England (1789) to the South (1791). The [[White House]] was built mainly by George Washington's government, with him micromanaging the designs of the executive mansion as well as the future capital. (Construction began on October 13, 1792 and was ready for occupancy on about November 1, 1800).

Washington acted carefully and deliberately, aware of the need to build an executive structure that could accommodate future presidents. Hoping to prevent sectionalism from dividing the new nation, he toured every state in the union during his first term, from New England (1789) to the South (1791). The [[White House]] was built mainly by George Washington's government, with him micromanaging the designs of the executive mansion as well as the future capital. (Construction began on October 13, 1792 and was ready for occupancy on about November 1, 1800).

Washington's Presidency marked the first United States Cabinet in the Executive Branch, the first federal judiciary system and oversaw the ratification of the United States [[Bill of Rights]]. An able administrator, he nevertheless failed to heal the widening breach between factions led by [[Secretary of State]] [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[Secretary of the Treasury]] [[Alexander Hamilton]]. Because he supported many of Hamilton's controversial fiscal policies--the assumption of state debts, the Bank of the United States, and the excise [[tax]]--Washington became the target of attacks by Jeffersonian [[Democratic-Republican]]s.

Washington's Presidency marked the first United States Cabinet in the Executive Branch, the first federal judiciary system and oversaw the ratification of the United States [[Bill of Rights]]. An able administrator, he nevertheless failed to heal the widening breach between factions led by [[Secretary of State]] [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[Secretary of the Treasury]] [[Alexander Hamilton]]. Because he supported many of Hamilton's controversial fiscal policies--the assumption of state debts, the Bank of the United States, and the excise [[tax]]--Washington became the target of attacks by Jeffersonian [[Democratic-Republican]]s.