went forward. The place was at what they then called Federal Hall, in
New York, and Chancellor Livingstone administered the oath:
I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully administer and execute
the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best
of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of
the United States.
A salute of thirteen guns followed, amid the cheers of thousands of
people. Washington then delivered his inaugural speech to both houses in
the Senate Chamber. After this ceremony he walked to St. Paul's Church,
where the Bishop of New York read prayers. Maclay, who was a Senator in
the first Congress, says:
He was agitated and embarrassed more than he ever was by the
leveled cannon or pointed musket. He trembled and several times
could scarce make out to read his speech, though it must be
supposed he had often read it before.
Fisher Ames says:
He addressed the two houses in the Senate Chamber. It was a very
touching scene, and quite of a solemn kind. His aspect, grave
almost to sadness, his modesty, actually shaking, his voice deep, a
little tremulous, and so low as to call for close attention.
John Adams had taken his place as President of the Senate two days
before. As he did not always in after life speak any too cordially of
Washington, it is worth noting that at this critical period he said that
he congratulated the people of America on "the prospect of an executive
authority in the hands of one whose portrait I shall not pretend to
draw.... Were I blessed with powers to do justice to his character, it
would be impossible to increase the confidence, or affection of his
country, or make the smallest addition to his glory. This can only be
effected by a discharge of the present exalted trust on the same
principles, with the same abilities and virtues which have uniformly
appeared in all his former conduct, public or private. May I
nevertheless be indulged to inquire, if we look over the catalogue of
the first magistrates of nations, whether they have been denominated
presidents or consuls, kings or princes, where shall we find one whose
commanding talents and virtues, whose overruling good fortune, have so
completely united all hearts and voices in his favor? who enjoyed the
esteem and admiration of foreign nations and fellow-citizens with equal
unanimity? Qualities so uncommon are no common blessings to the country
that possesses them. By these great qualities and their benign effects
has Providence marked out the head of this Nation, with a hand so
distinctly visible as to have been seen by all men, and mistaken by
none."
Whether on this occasion, there were too much ceremony was a question
discussed at the time, in connection with the heated discussion as to
the etiquette of the new Administration. There is a correspondence
between Washington and an old friend, Stuart, of Virginia, who had told
him that the people of that State accused him of "regal manners."
Washington's reply, with his usual good sense, answers a good many
questions which are bruited to-day. Dr. Albert Shaw, in the _Review of
Reviews_, once brought some of these questions forward. "How far is it
right for the people of a free state to kill their magistrates by
inches?" This is the question reduced to its simplest terms. It was
generally understood, when the late Governor Greenhalge died in
Massachusetts, that his career, invaluable to the people of that State
and of the country, had been cut off untimely by a certain etiquette,
which obtains in Massachusetts, that whenever there is a public dinner
the Governor of the State must be present and make a speech. With
reference to a somewhat similar notion, Washington says:
Before the present custom was established I was unable to attend to
any business whatever. Gentlemen, consulting their own convenience
rather than mine, were calling from the time I rose from breakfast,
often before, until I sat down to dinner. To please everybody was
impossible. I therefore adopted that line of conduct which combined
public advantage with private convenience.
In another place he says:
Had I not adopted the principle of returning no visits, I should
have been unable to have attended to any sort of business.
In contrast with the simple ceremonies at which a sensitive democracy
took exception, we find now that a great nation considers no honors too
profuse for the ceremonies which attend the inauguration of its chief
magistrate.
FOOTNOTES:
[12] Reprinted from _The Independent_.
* * * * *
WASHINGTONIANA
_Extracts from the Contemporary Newspapers and other Accounts of the
Inauguration of our First President in 1789_
From _The Massachusetts Sentinel_, May 6, 1789:
New York, May 1. Yesterday the great and illustrious Washington, the
favorite son of liberty, and deliverer of his country, entered upon the
execution of the office of First Magistrate of the United States of
America; to which important station he had been unanimously called by
the united voice of the people. The ceremony which took place on this
occasion was truly grand and pleasing, and every heart seemed anxious to
testify the joy it felt on so memorable an event. His Excellency was
escorted from his house by a troop of light Dragoons, and the Legion,
under the command of Colonel Lewis, attended by a committee of the
Senate and House of Representatives, to Federal Hall, where he was
formally received by both Houses of Congress, assembled in the Senate
Chamber; after which he was conducted to the gallery in front of the
hall, accompanied by all the members when the oath prescribed by the
Constitution was administered to him by the Chancellor of this State,
who then said--
"Long live George Washington,
"President of the United States;" which was answered by an immense
concourse of citizens, assembled on the occasion, by the loudest plaudit
and acclamation that love and veneration ever inspired. His Excellency
then made a speech to both Houses, and then proceeded, attended by
Congress, to St. Paul's Church, where Divine Service was performed by
the Right Rev. Samuel Provost, after which His Excellency was conducted
in form to his own house. In the evening a most magnificent and
brilliant display of fireworks was exhibited at the Fort, under the
direction of Colonel Beuman. The houses of the French and Spanish
Ministers were illuminated in a superb and elegant manner; a number of
beautiful transparent paintings were exhibited, which did infinite
credit to the parties concerned in the design and execution.
* * * * *
April 30. We have had this day one of those impressive sights which
dignify and adorn human nature. At nine o'clock all the churches were
opened--and the people, in prodigious numbers, thronged these sacred
temples--and, with one voice, put up their prayers to Almighty God for
the safety of the President.
At twelve the procession moved to the Federal State House, where in the
gallery fronting Broad Street, in the presence of an immense concourse,
His Excellency took the oath, the book being placed on a velvet cushion.
The Chancellor then proclaimed him President--and in a moment the air
trembled with the shouts of the citizens, and the roar of artillery. His
Excellency, with that greatness of soul--that dignity and calmness,
which are his characteristics--then bowed to his "fellow-citizens"--who
again huzzaed.
* * * * *
From "_History of the Arts of Design in America_," by William Dunlap:
Major L'Enfant was a native of France; he was employed to rebuild after
a design of his own the old New York City Hall in Wall Street, fronting
Broad Street; making therefrom the Federal Hall of that day (1789). The
new building was for the accommodation of Congress; and in the balcony
upon which the Senate Chamber opened, the first President of the United
States was inaugurated. A ceremony which I witnessed, and which for its
simplicity, the persons concerned in it, the effect produced upon my
country and the world, in giving stability to the Federal Constitution,
by calling Washington to administer its blessings, remains on my mind
unrivaled by any scene witnessed, through a long life, either in Europe
or America.
* * * * *
From Dunlap's "_School History of New York_":
In 1789, I saw Washington divested of the garb of war, place his hand on
the Bible, and swear to support that Constitution under which I have
since lived happily half a century. Between the pillars of the old City
Hall, in Wall Street, as altered for the reception of the Federal
Congress, in view of thousands who filled Broad Street as far as the eye
could extend its view, and every avenue within sight of the building,
the man of the people's choice was announced to them, as the first
President of the United States of America.
* * * * *
Abstract of account in _New York Packet_:
New York, May 1, 1789. Yesterday at two o'clock was solemnly inaugurated
into office, our Illustrious President.
The ceremony was begun by the following procession from the Federal
House to the President's house, viz.:
Troop of Horse
Assistants
Committee of Representatives
Committee of Senate
Gentlemen to be admitted in the Senate Chamber
Gentlemen in coaches
Citizens on foot
On their arrival, the President joined the procession in his carriage
and four, and the whole moved through the principal streets to the State
House in the following order:
Troop of Horse
Infantry
Sheriff on horseback
Committee of Representatives
Committee of Senate
President and
Assistants (President's Suite) Assistants
Gentlemen to be admitted in the Senate Chamber
Gentlemen in coaches
Citizens on foot
When the van reached the State House, the troops opening their ranks
formed an avenue, through which, after alighting, the President,
advancing to the door, was conducted to the Senate Chamber, where he was
received by both branches of Congress, and by them accompanied to the
balcony or outer gallery in front of the State House, which was
decorated with a canopy and curtains of red interstreaked with white for
the solemn occasion. In this public manner the oath of office required
by the Constitution was administered by the Chancellor of this State,
and the illustrious Washington thereupon declared by the said
Chancellor, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, amidst the repeated huzzas
and acclamations of a numerous and crowded audience.
After the inauguration, the President, returning to the Senate Chamber,
delivered a speech to both Houses of Congress.
After this the President, accompanied by both Houses of Congress,
proceeded on foot to St. Paul's Church (where divine service was
performed by the Right Rev. Dr. Provost, suitable to the immediate
occasion) in the following order, viz.:
Troop of Horse
Infantry
Door Keeper and Messenger of Representatives
Clerk
Representatives
Speaker
President and Vice-President
President's Suite
Senators
Secretary
Door Keeper and Messenger of the Senate
Gentlemen admitted into the Senate Chamber
Sheriff
Citizens
Constables, marshals, etc., on each side of the Members of Congress at
proper distances, from the front of the Representatives to the rear of
the Senators.
In the evening fireworks were displayed under the direction of Colonel
Bauman.--The brilliancy and excellency of them does honor to the
projector.
The houses of their Excellencies the French and Spanish Ambassadors were
most elegantly illuminated on this auspicious occasion.
* * * * *
Extract of a letter from a gentleman in New York to his friend in
Philadelphia, dated May 1, 1789:
Yesterday the great Patriot Washington took a solemn charge of the
liberties of America. The magnificence and splendor of the procession,
from his house to the Federal Building, commanded the admiration of
every beholder. But above all, the solemnity which appeared while he
took the oath of office, was truly affecting. The silent joy which every
rank of spectators exhibited in their countenances, bespoke the sincere
wishes of their hearts. I could have wished you to have been a
spectator.
The fireworks exhibited in the evening were truly brilliant; and the
illuminations and transparent paintings of the Spanish and French
Ambassadors surpassed even conception itself.
* * * * *
New York, May 2, 1789. We feel satisfied in adding to the account given
in yesterday's paper of the inauguration of the President,--that His
Excellency on that great day, was dressed in a complete suit of elegant
broadcloth of the manufacture of his country.--_Pennsylvania Packet_,
May 6, 1789.
From the _Gazette of the United States_:
THE PRESIDENT, accompanied by His Excellency the Vice-President, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, and both Houses of Congress,
went to St. Paul's Chapel, where divine service was performed by the
Right Rev. Dr. Provost, Bishop of the Episcopal Church in this State,
and Chaplain to the Senate.
The religious solemnity being ended, the President was escorted to his
residence.
* * * * *
Evening Celebration
The transparent paintings exhibited in various parts of the city, on
Thursday evening, were equal at least to anything of the kind ever
before seen in America.
That displayed before the Fort at the bottom of Broad-way did great
honor to its inventors and executors, for the ingenuity of the design,
and goodness of the workmanship; it was finely lighted and
advantageously situated: The virtues, Fortitude,[13] Justice,[14] and
Wisdom[15] were judiciously applied; of the first, all America has had
the fullest evidence; and with respect to the two others, who does not
entertain the most pleasing anticipations.
His Excellency Don Gardqui's residence next caught the eye--and fixed it
in pleasing contemplation: The _Tout-en-semble_ here, formed a most
brilliant front; the figures well fancied. The Graces suggested the best
ideas; and the pleasing variety of emblems, _flowers_, shrubbery,
_arches_, &c., and above all the Moving Pictures, that figured in the
windows or, as it were, in the _background_, created by fixing the
transparencies between the windows, afforded a new--an animated and
enchanting spectacle.
The residence of his Excellency, Count Meustier, was illuminated in a
stile of novel elegance; the splendid bordering of lamps round the
windows, doors, &c., with the fancy pieces of each window; and above all
the large designs in front, the allusions, of which we cannot at present
particularly describe, did great honor to the taste and sentiment of the
inventor.
The above two instances of attention to honor this great and important
occasion, so highly interesting to our "dear country," evince the
friendship, the delicacy, and politeness of our illustrious allies.
The portrait of "THE FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY" exhibited in Broad-Street,
was extremely well executed, and had a fine effect.
There was an excellent transparency, also shown at the Theatre, and at
the corner, near the Fly-Market: In short, emulation and ingenuity were
alive; but perhaps were in no instance exhibited to greater advantage
than in the display of fireworks, which, from one novelty to another,
continued for two hours, to surprise by variety, taste, and brilliancy.
The illumination of the Federal State House was among the most
agreeable of the exhibitions of the evening; and the ship Carolina
formed a beautiful pyramid of stars: The evening was fine--the company
innumerable--everyone appeared to enjoy the scene, and no accident casts
the smallest clouds upon the retrospect.
* * * * *
May 1. Yesterday morning The President received the compliments of His
Excellency the Vice-President, His Excellency the Governor of this
State, the principal Officers of the different Departments; the foreign
Ministers; and a great number of other persons of distinction.
We are informed that the President has assigned every Tuesday and
Friday, between the hours of two and three, for receiving visits; and
that visits of compliment on other days, and particularly on Sundays,
will not be agreeable to him.
It seems to be a prevailing opinion that so much of The President's time
will be engaged by the various and important business imposed upon him
by the Constitution, that he will find himself constrained to omit
returning visits, or accepting invitations to Entertainments.
FOOTNOTES:
[13] The President.
[14] The Senate.
[15] The Representatives of the United States.
* * * * *
LESSONS FROM THE WASHINGTON CENTENNIAL
BY GEORGE A. GORDON
Picture to yourselves the joy and expectation of that day which saw the
establishment of our Government a century ago. As the patriots of that
day in the midst of festivity and joy look back upon famine and
nakedness and peril and sword, upon battlefields and garments rolled in
blood, as they think of their emergence from the long struggle weary and
exhausted, as they recall their precarious existence as a nation under
the articles of confederation, as they behold the blessing of God upon
their faith and courage and energy, can we not hear those voices, hushed
so long ago, speaking to us and assuring us that they that sow in tears
shall reap in joy?
We think of the founding of our Government and we recall at this moment
the representatives of three generations of statesmen, Washington and
Hamilton, Clay and Webster, Lincoln and Sumner. Our attention will be
concentrated on the unique and commanding figure of the first President.
Through the renewed study and statement of his public career many
lessons, familiar indeed, but of fresh importance, will be read into the
hearts of our country.
We cannot doubt in the case of Washington the fact of a divine call.
Joshua was not more evidently called to command the armies of Israel
than Washington to lead the forces of the united colonies. David was
not more signally summoned from the sheep-folds to the throne of his
people than Washington from his quiet home on the Potomac to the seat of
supreme power over his countrymen. There was not a single believer in
the Divine Being in the Constitutional Congress who did not hear in the
voice of John Adams, when he moved the appointment of George Washington
as Commander-in-Chief of all the forces raised or to be raised, the
creation and appointment of God.
So, in his election and re-election to the office of President, Hamilton
set forth the clearness and urgency of the call in the remark that
circumstances left Washington no option. That wonderful triumphal
procession from Mount Vernon to New York, through Baltimore,
Philadelphia, and Trenton, is in response to the appeal and command not
only of earth, but of Heaven. As the nation's first President was called
of God, so is the nation itself called. The divine ideal is before it as
it was before him. God had work for Washington; he had work for his
nation; he had work for every one of his fellow-citizens. An ideal good
is before every man, and divine power behind him. Let him consent to the
control of the power.
The nation's life and each individual life within it is founded on the
sense of obligation. We have in the model of Washington a definition of
duty in the special sense of the term, in the saying, "I most heartily
wish the choice may not fall upon me. The wish of my soul is to spend
the evening of my days as a private citizen on my farm." There is the
power of inclination, the pleading of personal ease and comfort, the
assertion of individual good. In all this there is nothing wrong, until
it comes into conflict with the national call, with the universal good.
Then came the fight between the special and the general, the private and
the public, the individual and the universal good.
The hope of a nation is in the choice of office of its best men. The
historic peril of the republic lies in the choice of unfit men for
eminent official position. This is our peril. It is well we are becoming
more and more alive to it. Nevertheless it is well to remember that
there have been times in our history when the voice of electors has been
the voice of God. When Washington was elected, the fittest man was
chosen. His was the rule of the wisest and best man. There are few
living who will not confess that Abraham Lincoln was another example of
the choice by the people of the best man. We turn in hope to the great
future. After he had taken the oath, Washington bowed his head, kissed
the Bible, and, with the deepest feeling, uttered the words, "So help me
God." There was his hope. There is the hope of every man. There is the
hope of the nation.
* * * * *
PRESIDENT WASHINGTON'S RECEPTIONS
BY WILLIAM SULLIVAN
He devoted one hour every other Tuesday, from three to four, to these
visits. He understood himself to be visited as the "President of the
United States," and not on his own account. He was not to be seen by
anybody and everybody; but required that everyone who came should be
introduced by his secretary, or by some gentleman whom he knew himself.
He lived on the South side of Market Street, just below Sixth. The place
of reception was the dining-room in the rear, twenty-five or thirty feet
in length, including the bow projecting over into the garden. Mrs.
Washington received her visitors in the two rooms on the second floor,
from front to rear.
At three o'clock, or at any time within a quarter of an hour afterward,
the visitor was conducted to this dining-room, from which all seats had
been removed for the time. On entering, he saw the tall, manly figure of
Washington, clad in black velvet; his hair in full dress, powdered and
gathered behind in a large silk bag; yellow gloves on his hands; holding
a cocked hat with cockade in it, and the edges adorned with a black
feather, about an inch deep. He wore knee and shoe buckles; and a long
sword with a finely wrought and polished steel hilt. The scabbard was
white polished leather.
He stood always in front of the fireplace, with his face toward the door
of entrance. The visitor was conducted to him, and he required to have
the name so distinctly pronounced that he could hear it. He had the very
uncommon faculty of associating a man's name and personal appearance so
durably in his memory, as to be able to call anyone by name, who made a
second visit. He received his visitor with a dignified bow, while his
hands were so disposed of as to indicate that the salutation was not to
be accompanied with shaking hands. This ceremony never occurred in these
visits, even with his most near friends, that no distinction might be
made.
As these visitors came in, they formed a circle round the room. At a
quarter-past three, the door was closed, and the circle was formed for
that day. He then began on the right and spoke to each visitor, calling
him by name and exchanging a few words with him. When he had completed
his circuit he resumed his first position, and the visitors approached
him in succession, bowed, and retired. By four o'clock the ceremony was
over.
On the evenings Mrs. Washington received visitors, he did not consider
himself as visited. He was then as a private gentleman, dressed usually
in some colored coat and waistcoat, often brown with bright buttons, and
black on his lower limbs. He had then neither hat nor sword; he moved
about among the company, conversing with one and another. He had once a
fortnight an official dinner, and select companies on other days. He sat
(it is said) at the side in a central position, Mrs. Washington
opposite; the two ends were occupied by members of his family, or by
personal friends.
* * * * *
THE FOREIGN POLICY OF WASHINGTON
BY CHARLES JAMES FOX