History of the United States I / Unit 8 USH1 1053 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Washington's Government
Captions available
The idea
Washington became president in April seventeen eighty-nine with John Adams as vice president, a Virginian paired with a Massachusetts man to symbolise national unity.
In practice
Hamilton at Treasury, Jefferson at State, Henry Knox at War and Edmund Randolph as Attorney General.
Where people slip
The pairing was deliberate. Sectional balance was a design problem from the first day.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it · Sources for History of the United States I