This paper examines current debates over the scope of
presidential power through the lens of the Washington
administration. We tend to treat Washington’s decisions with an
air of inevitability, but the constitutional text left more
questions about the executive unanswered than answered.
Washington filled these gaps with a number of foundational
decisions - several on a par with those made during the writing
and ratification of the Constitution itself. He was a republican
before he was a Federalist, but ultimately Washington favored an
energetic, independent executive, even at the cost of political
harmony. He centralized decision-making in his office, so that
there would be no confusion about his responsibility and
accountability. He took the initiative in enforcing the law and
followed his own interpretation of the Constitution. He managed
diplomatic relations with other countries and set the nation’s
foreign policy. At the end of his two terms, the Presidency
looked much like the one described in The Federa