What did George Washington accomplish when he was a president?
Washington voluntarily resigned as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in 1783. Because of his victories in the Revolutionary War, some wanted to make him king of the new nation. But Washington refused. He wanted a free, democratic and united country. Washington longed to retire to his fields in Mount Vernon, Virginia. But he soon realized that the nation, under its Articles of Confederation, was not moving ahead. He helped organize the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787. When the new Constitution was ratified, the Electoral College unanimously elected Washington the first President. During his first term in office, Washington joined the states together and helped establish the federal government. He did not interfere with the policy-making powers that he felt the Constitution gave Congress. He believed that foreign policy was a main concern for the young nation.
