Inventing the Presidency: Washington, Adams and Jefferson

This set of lectures will examine the creation of the US Constitution in 1787 and its implementation in 1789 and beyond with special emphasis on their administrations covering the crucial formative years of 1789 to 1809. We will explore the challenges that Washington faced as the first president, the critical precedents set by all three, the foreign and domestic challenges each faced, and the long-term legacies they left both in the institution of the presidency as well as in the broad course of American history generally.