While the Washington administration demonstrates the vast powers that the executive could wield in foreign and domestic affairs, the divergent experiences of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson illustrate that this influence does not belong to the president merely by virtue of his office.
Adams struggled to exert his will because the Federalist Party’s loyalty was split between him and Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson, as the unchallenged leader of the Republicans, commanded his partisans in Congress.
To dominate Congress, the president must also bring with him the status of party leader, a position that election to the presidency did not yet confer at this point in the republic’s history.