The Presidency First President of the United States was George Washington. PrecedentHe set the Precedent (he set the example) for all future presidents. He did not want America to get involved with other countries affairs. Electoral CollegeThe President is elected by the Electoral College

Alexander Hamilton He was the Secretary of the Treasury. His first challenge was to pay off the national debt. Governments raise money by selling bonds. A bond is a certificate of debt that promises to buy back the bond at a higher price.

Hamilton vs Jefferson Hamilton’s plan was to pay back the foreign debt as soon as possible. He then planned to pay back the bond debt gradually back to the people of the US. Hamilton did not agree with Jefferson. He stated that the speculators took the risk of the bonds not being worth anything. Therefore they are entitled to their profit. George Washington sided with Hamilton. This began Jefferson’s problems with Washington and Hamilton. Jefferson did not agree to the second part of the plan. Speculators, people who buy items at low prices in hopes that the value of an item will rise, had bought many of the bonds at below face value. Jefferson argued that they would make huge profits off the government and poor unfortunate people.