As everyone knows, the first president of the United States of America was George Washington. On April 30, 1789, George Washington took his official oath of office while standing on a balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York.
He wrote to James Madison, understanding how important his swearing in was, that “As the first of everything, in our situation will serve to establish a Precedent. It is devoutly wished on my part, that these precedents may be fixed on true principles.”
After the Revolutionary War, Washington actually longed to retire to his fields at Mount Vernon. He realized, however, that a new Constitution was necessary in America and he worked tirelessly to see that it was ratified. After its ratification at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, he was elected as president by a unanimous vote from the Electoral College.
The two party system developed by the end of his first term. By the end of his second term, weary of politics and feeling old, he retired. During his Farewell Address, he warned the people not to focus too much on geographical distinctions or on party lines. He also warned about long-term alliances in foreign affairs.
Even if you are the kind of person who sees yourself as totally apolitical, on some level, you are involved in politics, whether you like it or not. Of course, we’re talking here of politics with a small p. That can cover anything from where you buy your fruit to how you feel about God or the lack thereof of an omnipresent being. You don’t have to be an expert on Obama – or even have an opinion on the guy – to be political. At least, that is the case with small p politics.