President Washington faced several foreign and domestic issues while he was President. On the foreign policy front, we had to deal with Great Britain and with Spain pushing us around. Great Britain and Spain were interfering with our trade. Great Britain and Spain were also encouraging the Native Americans to attack us. The British wouldn’t leave the forts in the West. President Washington preferred diplomacy to war. This led to Jay’s Treaty being signed with Great Britain and Pinckney’s Treaty being signed with Spain to try to resolve these issues that existed.

At home, there were also issues. We needed to develop a plan to pay our debts to other countries. Alexander Hamilton, the Secretary of Treasury, developed a plan that allowed us to combined debts from the state governments and from the federal government. New bonds were issued to help pay the debt. We also had to deal with people who wanted to rebel against government policies. When the farmers of western Pennsylvania refused to pay the tax on whiskey, President Washington sent the military to the area to restore order. This sent a strong message that our government would not tolerate lawlessness.

President Washington faced several problems at home and abroad while he was President.