President George Washington: Shaping the Presidency

This resource is an Inquiry Pack to accompany the Presidential Powers Timeline on LegalTimelines.org, which explores the shifting powers of the chief executive throughout American history.

Built around primary sources from the Library of Congress and other collections, this Inquiry Pack facilitates a deep dive into an important aspect of the history of suffrage and voting rights in the United States.

Each Inquiry Pack includes a background reading, several primary sources (documents, articles, images), discussion questions about the sources, an inquiry question, and an inquiry extension question.

This pack includes the following components:

• Introduction: Creating the Presidency
• First Executive Order
• First Presidential Veto
• Executive Privilege
• Neutrality Proclamation
• First Presidential Pardon
• Two-Term Limit and Farewell Address
• Tug of War: War Powers of the Congress and President
• Inquiry Question: In what ways did President George Washington shape the presidency through the precedents he established?
• Inquiry Extension Question: To what extent do modern presidents follow the precedents set by President George Washington?
• Inquiry Question Graphic Organizer