Question

What makes a government successful? When George Washington was elected the first U.S. President, he and the first Congress had to decide how to make the new government function effectively. Conflicting philosophies about the scope and power of the federal government, however, led to a division between the nation's political leaders. These differences in political philosophies are still apparent today. Democrats generally promote a more robust federal government, while Republicans support a federal government that is less involved in the social and economic affairs of the country. Do you think Americans will ever reach an agreement on how to create the most effective and successful federal government? Why or why not? Write several lines in response using specific examples to support your answer.

Answer 1

The 5 Cs for successful government transformation are:

Committed Leadership.

Clear purpose and priorities.

Cadence and coordination in delivery.

Compelling communication.

Capability for change.

As president and head of the executive branch, Washington was responsible for enforcing the government that the Constitution created. He and the rest of the First Federal Congress quickly realized that the Constitution did not have clear solutions to every problem they would face.

The way that Washington and the First Federal Congress handled some of the issues the country faced during his tenure as president created a precedent, or an example for how future presidents should deal with similar situations. In the next few paragraphs, we'll take a look at some of the important questions Washington and his cabinet took on during his presidency.

Debate over the national bank

Coming out of the American Revolution, the United States was faced with the issue of a large national debt. After taking out loans from France to cover the expenses of fighting the war, the state debt totaled about \$$dollar sign25 million. But after the Constitution brought the states under a central government, who would be responsible for the debt that the states owed? Would each individual state be responsible for paying back its debt, or would the new federal government pay?

Newly-minted Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton proposed a two-part solution: the federal government would assume the states’ debt and create a national bank. Hamilton believed a national bank would help to promote business by printing federally-backed money. There was just one problem: the Constitution said nothing about creating a national bank. However, Hamilton and his followers believed that under the “necessary and proper” clause of Article I, the Constitution gave Congress the right to create the bank to fix the debt problem.

Thomas Jefferson and his followers disagreed with Hamilton’s argument, stating that it was a misinterpretation of the necessary and proper clause. He believed that creating a national bank would be an abuse of power by the federal government.

After much debate between these two emerging factions—the Federalists, represented by Hamilton, and the Democratic-Republicans, represented by Jefferson—the bill establishing the first Bank of the United States passed the House and Senate, President Washington signed the bill into law in early 1791.

Step-by-step explanation:

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