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The Role Of Commander In Chief As Exemplified By Washington And Jackson

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The Role of Commander in Chief as Exemplified by Washington and Jackson
The position of President of the United States was created through the ratification of the United States Constitution. One of the many roles assigned to the President was that of Commander in Chief. To date, that role has been held by 45 different presidents. Two of the earliest presidents exemplified the role of being Commander in Chief of a national military by personally leading a United States militia to combat a rebellion and by using military intimidation to quell rebellions. Both George Washington and Andrew Jackson exemplified the role of Commander in Chief when they faced the issue of rebellion at different times in American history. George Washington quelled a rebellion of farmers in Pittsburgh who were protesting the “Whiskey Tax” by physically leading an armed militia into the city. Andrew Jackson, on the other hand, threatened South Carolina with military force by passing the Force Bill following South Carolina’s resistance to federal taxes.
Following the ratification of the Articles of Confederation in March of 1781, the Constitution of the United States was placed in effect on March 4th, 1789 (“Nat'l Constitution Center”). The Constitution was created as a replacement for the Articles of Confederation with multiple purposes in mind. One of the purposes of the Constitution was to create a national government, consisting of three branches, along with a system of checks and balances to

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