A Volunteer
George Washington is, so far, the first and only presidential candidate to have received all the electoral votes! He never even ran for the position but got voted into power by popular demand anyway. It happened for both the terms he had, and it is fascinating to hear that he did not accept a salary during his time in the office. He even used his personal money to pay for the salaries of his cabinet members and those with positions in the executive branch. He might have been involved in the planning of the White House and Washington DC, but he did not live in either place. He was inaugurated in New York and Pennsylvania, which were both capital cities back then.
A Volunteer
Established Presidential Traditions
During his time in office, George Washington established a lot of president traditions that continue to be used to this day. For one thing, he was the first one to say “So help me God” after the Presidential Oath of Office. These words have since been repeated by every president that came after him. He was also the one to come up with the idea of calling the chief officer “Mr. President.” On top of these, he created the two-term limit for the sitting president and issued the very first Thanksgiving Proclamation.
Established Presidential Traditions
