Finances of George Washington
Significant taxation imposed by the British greatly affected Washington, consuming 75% of his income by his own estimates.
His extravagances also meant he regularly went into debt to fund his lifestyle, while anticipating income from the sale of the annual harvest.
As his slaves grew older, their productivity inevitably declined, and Washington refused to re-sell them on principle due to the potential for families to be dispersed.
[2] Whilst acting as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, Washington declined an income of $48 000 in favour of receiving a personal expense account in which he could be reimbursed.
During the duration of his involvement in the Revolutionary War (June 19, 1775 – December 23, 1783), Washington managed to amass an expense account totalling $449, 261.51.
[12] The excursion required 1500–2000 men from multiple segments of the army, a significant portion of manpower which would take a period of 6 weeks to complete.
[13] When Congress had the capacity to respond to Washington's requests for supplies, contractual arrangements were put into operation with some difficulty, but the remaining army was able to be sustained as a result.
[16] The condition faced by America following the economic damage incurred by the expenses of the Revolutionary War that Alexander Hamilton, acting as an aide to Washington at this time had strong concerns surrounding the future of broader America was such that he was planning possibly moving to Geneva if New York was no longer a stable place to consider moving to if the situation did not improve.
[17] No longer acting as a Commander in Chief for the Revolutionary War and becoming elected as president in 1789, Washington later faced a financially devastated federal government and economy.
[18] George Washington used his time in and out of public office to interact with the U.S. economy in a way that would benefit both his personal finances and the American people.
Washington's interactions with the economy in his public and private lives were characterised by a sense of entrepreneurship, pursuing personal and communal wealth for America.
[23] His policies of careful debt repayments via taxation and promotion of manufacturing aimed towards the creation of national wealth were relatively novel in the 18th century, contrasting against the British Mercantilist system.
[24] Washington voiced his opposition to the British commandeering of profits from the Virginian tobacco trade, asking, "Can it be otherwise than a little mortifying to find that we, who … contribute so largely to the dispatch of your ships in this country should meet with such unprofitable returns?".
