Who was the first president of the United States?

The first president of the United States was George Washington. He was unanimously chosen by the Electoral College in the election of 1788, the only president to achieve such a distinction. His Vice President was John Adams, who finished second in the voting (in those days, each elector cast two votes, and the candidate who received the second-highest total became Vice President--every elector voted for Washington). While President, Washington faced a number of challenges. He...

The first president of the United States was George Washington. He was unanimously chosen by the Electoral College in the election of 1788, the only president to achieve such a distinction. His Vice President was John Adams, who finished second in the voting (in those days, each elector cast two votes, and the candidate who received the second-highest total became Vice President--every elector voted for Washington). While President, Washington faced a number of challenges. He had to set a precedent for presidential power and behavior. He had to supervise a plan laid out by Alexander Hamilton to deal with the nation's fiscal crisis. He had to figure out the correct response to the outbreak of the French Revolution and the resulting French war with England. He faced challenges from Native peoples in the Ohio Valley (which resulted in open war) and the Southwest. And he had to deal with the development of political factions, or parties, as a result of differences on how to deal with these issues. Most historians credit Washington with handling these crises and challenges with diplomacy and restraint, but many of the issues persisted after his presidency.