The New Nation 4 George Washington 1789 1797 10 John Adams 1797 1801 26 Thomas Jefferson 1801 1809 36 The Impact of Washington Adams and Jefferson 50 Cabinet Members 55 Timeline 56 Presidents of the United States 60 Index 62 Further Reading 64
4 The New Nation The New Nation When George Washington was inaugurated as America’s first president in 1789 the United States was already a large country consisting of nearly 800,000 square miles 2,071,990 square kilometers of land The nation extended westward from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and southward from the border of Canada to the Gulf of Mexico Twenty years later when Thomas Jefferson the third president left office the United States doubled to almost twice its size The country now consisted of nearly 1 7 million square miles 4 4 million square kilometers of land and extended westward from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rocky Mountains Four states had been added to the original 13 Vermont in 1791 Kentucky in 1792 Tennessee in 1796 and Ohio in 1803 Unclaimed Territory Rupert’s Land England Disputed between United States and Rupert’s Land England Mississip pi R i v e r Viceroyalty of New Spain Spain Unorganized Territory Pennsylvania Louisiana Spain Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Pacific Ocean West Florida Spain Disputed between United States and West Florida Gulf of Mexico East Florida Spain Disputed between Massachusetts and Colony of New Brunswick England New Hampshire Vermont Republic Erie Triangle New York Connecticut Western Reserve Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New Jersey Delaware Maryland Atlantic Ocean Colonies Territories Other countries Disputed areas Prior to the election of George Washington as the first president in 1789 the United States consisted of 13 colonies now recognized as states The Old State House later called Independence Hall was built in Philadelphia in the 1700s
