Thanks, but you only answered the second question.
Would Washington be considered a liberal by today's standards?
I think the word liberal has
generally the same meaning today (not the right wing framed version) as it did in Washingtons time.
We know he was totally against political parties so he obviously wouldn't be Dem or Repub (or Whig or Bull Moose, or any other party created after his time).
We also know that he help create the most liberal government and country on the planet at that time. He helped create a democracy run by the people, based on individual liberty and freedom from church and monarchies.
here is a definition of the word from the Oxford English Dictionary:
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_us1263252?rskey=KZBrKH&result=1#m_en_us1263252adjective
1 open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values:they have more liberal views toward marriage and divorce than some people
favorable to or respectful of individual rights and freedoms:
liberal citizenship laws
(in a political context) favoring maximum individual liberty in political and social reform:
a liberal democratic state
(Liberal)of or characteristic of Liberals or a Liberal Party(Liberal)(in the UK) of or relating to the Liberal Democrat Party:
the Liberal leader
Theologyregarding many traditional beliefs as dispensable, invalidated by modern thought, or liable to change2 [attributive] (of education) concerned mainly with broadening a person's general knowledge and experience, rather than with technical or professional training3 (especially of an interpretation of a law) broadly construed or understood; not strictly literal or exact:
they could have given the 1968 Act a more liberal interpretation
4 given , used , or occurring in generous amounts:
liberal amounts of wine had been consumed
(of a person) giving generously:
Sam was too liberal with the wine
Origin:
Middle English: via Old French from Latin liberalis, from liber 'free (man)'. The original sense was 'suitable for a free man', hence 'suitable for a gentleman' (one not tied to a trade), surviving in liberal arts. Another early sense 'generous'
(liberal (sense 4 of the adjective) ) gave rise to an obsolete meaning 'free from restraint', leading to liberal (sense 1 of the adjective) (late 18th century)