Reluctant Politician

George Washington: Reluctant Politician George Washington, although unanimously elected to two terms of the Presidency by the Electoral College, disliked politics and believed them to be a divisive and potentially dangerous development for the future of the new United States of America. In this view he may have blamed the politics and not the underlying, varied needs and desires of the various groups, but it was a view he held to steadfastly throughout his political career. He worked hard to minimize the effects of politics while he was in office, but ultimately failed, with political parties forming before his second term as President ended. Washington was not unfamiliar with politics. Before being chosen to lead the Revolutionary Armies, Washington served at both Continental Congresses. After the war, he recognized the need for a Constitutional Convention. He helped organizes that and was a representative, although he preferred to work in the background, working to unite factions and lead the country to speak with one voice. (White House web site, 2002) Washington was always true to this philosophy and personal style. He accepted nomination for the Presidency reluctantly, and never campaigned on his own behalf before either election, something hard to imagine today. The citizens did not actually vote in 1788, when he was first elected: the Electoral College elected the President without any guidance from each Congressman’s constituents. The truth was that Washington didn’t need to campaign because he was so popular with the new country’s leaders after successfully leading the Revolutionary Armies to triumph. He accepted the nomination reluctantly because of repeated appeals from citizens. After being elected, he told a friend, "I feel very much like a man who is condemned to death does when the time of his execution draws nigh." (White House web site, 2002) Until the Twelfth Amendment was passed in 1804, the presidential candidate who received the most...