Washington: Role Model to Remember
Tara Petrosky
A Visionary Leader
A visionary leader is someone who can create an organized culture based on a far-reaching vision or goal. To do so, they can attract people into also striving to achieve this vision or goal.
The Whiskey Rebellion
During Washington's presidency, he tried to keep the government strong to help the people. When Alexander Hamilton raised the taxes on whiskey, the people were enraged and rebelled. Although the people knew that Washington was an exceptional leader and cherised the people, their wants, and their needs, they did not expect him to come out to this rebellion with the governments troops. However, Washington did try to negotiate first, showing that he did not want to go that far against the people. Even when he did bring in troops, he did not attack. In fact, he did not have to attack. The people settled down once they saw him with the troops. The people respected him and trusted him and his goals for the future of the country, which they also wanted, and did not want this incident to ruin his plans. This shows Washington as a visionary leader because, not only did he get the people to effectively believe in his plans, but also showed that he was not afraid to enforce the laws. Without the enforced laws, the country would have been chaotic and full of crime.
Shay's Rebellion
Compared to The Shay's Rebellion, in which the government had too little power with no militia and the people had too much, the Whiskey Rebellion was handled by Washington much better, as he tried to negotiate before bringing in the government's troops.
Political Parties
In his Farewell Address, WAshington warned against the political parties. He knew that, if these political parties were to continue as strong as they were, a divide would be created between Americans when he was trying to create one united nation.
Overly Powerful Military
Washington warned against an overly powerful military in his Farewell Address because if the military becomes too powerful, the United States might get cocky and not care as much as we should. This happened to Britain during the Revolutionary War; the one fatal mistake that caused them to loose.
Neutrality Proclaimation
The United States and France made an alliance long before the French Revolution. However, during the revolution, a fight broke out between England and France, which turned into a war. After carefully considering the options of choosing an ally, Washington decided to remain neutral. Washington knew what state military and economy were in during this time and decided that it would be better if the United States was to remain friends with both countries instead of picking one and loosing the benefits of the other. For this reason, Washington warns against any permanent alliances with other countries.