SECT. 3. He shall, from time to time, give to the Congress information

of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration

such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on

extraordinary occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, and

in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of

adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper;

he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take

care that the laws be faithfully executed; and shall commission all the

officers of the United States.

SECT. 4. The president, vice-president, and all civil officers of the

United States shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and

conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

ARTICLE III.

SECT. 1. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one

supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may, from

time to time, ordain and establish. The judges, both of the supreme

and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior; and

shall, at stated times, receive for their services a compensation, which

shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.

SECT. 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases in law and equity,

arising under this constitution, the laws of the United States, and

treaties made, or which shall be made under their authority; to all

cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls; to all

cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to which

the United States shall be a party; to controversies between two or more

States, between a State and citizens of another State, between citizens

of different States, between citizens of the same State, claiming lands

under grants of different States, and between a State, or the citizens

thereof, and foreign States, citizens, or subjects.

In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls,

and those in which a State shall be a party, the supreme court shall

have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned,

the supreme court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and

fact, with such exceptions and under such regulations as the Congress

shall make.

The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by

jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes

shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the

trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have

directed.

SECT. 3. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying

war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and

comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony

of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.

The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason; but

no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture,

except during the life of the person attainted.

ARTICLE IV.

SECT. 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the

public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And

the Congress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner in which such

acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.

SECT. 2. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges

and immunities of citizens in the several States.

A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, who

shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on demand

of the executive authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered

up, to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime.

No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof,

escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation

therein, be discharged from such service or labor; but shall be

delivered up, on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be

due.

SECT. 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but

no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any

other State, nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more

States, or parts of States, without the consent of the legislatures of

the States concerned, as well as of the Congress.

The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules

and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging

to the United States; and nothing in this constitution shall be so

construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any

particular State.

SECT. 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union

a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against

invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive

(when the legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence.

ARTICLE V.

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it

necessary, shall propose amendments to this constitution; or, on the

application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several States,

shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either

case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this

constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the

several States, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the

one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress:

Provided, that no amendment which may be made prior to the year 1808,

shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth

section of the first article; and that no State, without its consent,

shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.

ARTICLE VI.

All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption

of this constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under

this constitution as under the confederation.

This constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made

in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made,

under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of

the land; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby,

any thing in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary

notwithstanding.

The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members of

the several State legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers,

both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by

oath or affirmation to support this constitution; but no religious test

shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust

under the United States.

ARTICLE VII.

The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient

for the establishment of this constitution between the States so

ratifying the same.

Done in convention, by the unanimous consent of the States present,

the 17th day of September, in the year of our Lord 1787, and of the

independence of the United States of America, the twelfth. In witness

whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names.

GEORGE WASHINGTON,

_President, and Deputy from Virginia._

_New Hampshire_.

JOHN LANGDON,

NICHOLAS GILMAN.

_Massachusetts_.

NATHANIEL GORHAM,

RUFUS KING.

_Connecticut._

WILLIAM SAMUEL JOHNSON,

ROGER SHERMAN.

_New York_.

ALEXANDER HAMILTON.

_New Jersey_.

WILLIAM LIVINGSTON,

DAVID BREARLY,

WILLIAM PATTERSON,

JONATHAN DAYTON.

_Pennsylvania_.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,

THOMAS MIFFLIN,

ROBERT MORRIS, G

GEORGE CLYMER,

THOMAS FITZSIMONS,

JARED INGERSOLL,

JAMES WILSON,

GOUVERNEUR MORRIS.

_Delaware_.

GEORGE READ,

GUNNING BEDFORD, JR.,

JOHN DICKINSON,

RICHARD BASSETT,

JACOB BROOM.

_Maryland_.

JAMES M'HENRY,

DANIEL OF ST. THOMAS JENIFER,

DANIEL CARROLL.

_Virginia_.

JOHN BLAIR,

JAMES MADISON, JR.

_North Carolina_.

WILLIAM BLOUNT,

RICHARD DOBBS SPAIGHT,

HUGH WILLIAMSON.

_South Carolina_.

JOHN RUTLEDGE,

CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY,

CHARLES PINCKNEY,

PIERCE BUTLER.

_Georgia_.

WILLIAM FEW,

ABRAHAM BALDWIN.

Attest: WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary.

1. Footnote: "Life of Washington," p. 389.

2. Footnote: "Men and Times of the Revolution, or Memoirs of Elkanah

Watson."

3. Footnote: Marshall, "Life of Washington."

4. Footnote: It is a very interesting fact that the proposition in which

the Convention that formed the Constitution originated should have been

made at Mount Vernon, in Washington's presence, if not by himself.

As Faneuil Hall is called the Cradle of Liberty, Mount Vernon may be

regarded as the Cradle of the Constitution.

5. Footnote: The occasion and effect of this insurrection, commonly

called Shay's Rebellion, are thus described by a recent writer. The

jealousy felt toward the statesmen of the Republic, or toward the upper

by the middle class--if the terms may be allowed--was likely to operate

fatally in marring the project of a Constitution, and rendering any

innovation for the purpose impracticable; since the dissentient States

were resolved not to choose delegates, or accede to the desire of

Virginia.

These democratic opinions of the middle classes, however, and the

resolutions founded upon them, were eventually shaken and overturned by

the extreme to which they were carried by the lower orders. These were

no sooner inspired by the same political feelings, than, after their

fashion, they rose in insurrection; bade defiance not only to Congress,

but to the State authorities themselves; and, collecting in armed bands,

threatened to effect a serious revolution by taking law and property

into their own hands. The New England States, principally Massachusetts,

were the scenes of these disorders, which took place toward the close of

1786.

A body of 2,000 men, assembled in the northwestern region of the State,

chose one of their number, Daniel Shay, for leader. They asked for

suspension of taxes, and the remission of paper money; but it was

known that their favorite scheme was that of an agrarian law--a general

division of property. Respectable classes were, of course, thrown into

alarm; Congress recovered a portion of that vigor which had marked it

during the war; troops were dispatched, under General Lincoln and other

officers, against the insurgents; and the citizens of the New England

towns forgot their late jealousy of the military so far as to join them

in the task of putting down their domestic foes. Funds were raised by

private subscription to supply the emptiness of the public treasury; and

an efficient force was enabled to march, in the midst of winter, against

the insurgents, who were soon dispersed and reduced.

The rebellion thus suppressed was productive of the most salutary

result. The middle classes, terrified at the exaggeration of their own

doctrines, and at the risk of exciting the mob as supporters, rallied

universally to the support of Congress.

Jealousy of those above was counterbalanced by fear of those below; and

the majority of the State Legislatures was brought to coincide with

the views of the Federal statesmen. Convinced by late experience of the

necessity of an established and general government, even for purposes

of domestic security, the hitherto refractory States named, without

hesitation, their delegates to the appointed convention for forming a

constitution. Rhode Island alone refused.

6. Footnote: Sparks, "Writings of Washington."

7. Footnote: George Ticknor Curtis, "History of the Constitution of the

United States."

* * * * *

PART VI.

WASHINGTON AS PRESIDENT AND IN RETIREMENT.

CHAPTER I.

THE ELECTION. 1789.

As soon as it was ascertained that the new form of government had

received the sanction of the people and would go into immediate

operation, all eyes were at once turned to Washington as the first

President of the United States. During the war he had, in fact, directed

the course of public affairs. His suggestions had been almost invariably

followed by Congress. His recommendations had influenced the action of

the different States. His practical administrative abilities were known

to all. He alone possessed the confidence of the people to that degree

which was necessary to carry the constitution into vigorous effect

at the outset and to defend it against its secret as well as its open

enemies. But it was by no means certain that he would accept the office.

By all who knew him, fears were entertained that his preference for

private life would prevail over the wishes of the public, and soon after

the adoption of the constitution was ascertained, his correspondents

began to press him on a point which was believed essential to the

completion of the great work on which the grandeur and happiness of

America was supposed to depend. "We cannot," said Mr. Johnson, a man

of great political eminence in Maryland, "do without you; and I, and

thousands more, can explain to anybody but yourself why we cannot do

without you." "I have ever thought," said Gouverneur Morris, "and

have ever said, that you must be President; no other man can fill that

office. No other man can draw forth the abilities of our country into

the various departments of civil life. You alone can awe the insolence

of opposing factions and the greater insolence of assuming adherents.

I say nothing of foreign powers nor of their ministers. With these last

you will have some plague. As to your feelings on this occasion they

are, I know, both deep and affecting: you embark property most precious

on a most tempestuous ocean; for, as you possess the highest reputation,

so you expose it to the perilous chance of popular opinion. On the other

hand, you will, I firmly expect, enjoy the inexpressible felicity of

contributing to the happiness of all your countrymen. You will become

the father of more than three millions of children; and while your bosom

glows with parental tenderness, in theirs or at least in a majority of

them, you will excite the duteous sentiments of filial affection. This,

I repeat it, is what I firmly expect; and my views are not directed by

that enthusiasm which your public character has impressed on the public

mind. Enthusiasm is generally short-sighted and too often blind. I form

my conclusions from those talents and virtues which the world believes

and which your friends know you possess."

In a letter detailing the arrangements which were making for the

introduction of the new government, Col. Henry Lee proceeded thus to

speak of the presidency of the United States. "The solemnity of

the moment and its application to yourself have fixed my mind in

contemplations of a public and a personal nature, and I feel an

involuntary impulse which I cannot resist, to communicate without

reserve to you some of the reflections which the hour has produced.

Solicitous for our common happiness as a people, and convicted as

I continue to be that our peace and prosperity depend on the proper

improvement of the present period, my anxiety is extreme that the new

government may have an auspicious beginning. To effect this and to

perpetuate a nation formed under your auspices it is certain that again

you will be called forth.

"The same principles of devotion to the good of mankind which have

invariably governed your conduct will no doubt continue to rule your

mind, however opposite their consequences may be to your repose and

happiness. It may be wrong, but I cannot suppress, in my wishes for

national felicity, a due regard for your personal fame and content.

"If the same success should attend your efforts on this important

occasion which has distinguished you hitherto, then, to be sure, you

will have spent a life which Providence rarely if ever before gave to

the lot of one man. It is my anxious hope, it is my belief, that this

will be the case; but all things are uncertain, and perhaps nothing more

so than political events." He then proceeded to state his apprehensions

that the government might sink under the activity hostility of its

foes, and in particular the fears which he entertained from the circular

letter of New York, around which the minorities in the several States

might be expected to rally. Before concluding his letter, Colonel Lee

said, "Without you the government can have but little chance of success;

and the people of that happiness which its prosperity must yield."

In reply to this letter Washington said: "Your observations on the

solemnity of the crisis and its application to myself bring before me

subjects of the most momentous and interesting nature. In our

endeavors to establish a new general government the contest, nationally

considered, seems not to have been so much for glory as existence.

It was for a long time doubtful whether we were to survive as

an independent Republic or decline from our federal dignity into

insignificant and wretched fragments of empire. The adoption of the

constitution so extensively and with so liberal an acquiescence on the

part of the minorities in general, promised the former; but lately

the circular letter of New York has manifested, in my apprehension, an

unfavorable if not an insidious tendency to a contrary policy. I still

hope for the best, but before you mentioned it I could not help fearing

it would serve as a standard to which the disaffected might resort. It

is now evidently the part of all honest men who are friends to the new

constitution, to endeavor to give it a chance to disclose its merits and

defects, by carrying it fairly into effect in the first instance.

"The principal topic of your letter is to me a point of great delicacy

indeed--insomuch that I can scarcely without some impropriety touch upon

it. In the first place, the event to which you allude may never happen;

among other reasons, because, if the partiality of my fellow-citizens

conceive it to be a means by which the sinews of the new government

would be strengthened, it will of consequence be obnoxious to those

who are in opposition to it, many of whom unquestionably will be placed

among the electors.

"This consideration alone would supersede the expediency of announcing

any definite and irrevocable resolution. You are among the small number

of those who know my invincible attachment to domestic life, and that

my sincerest wish is to continue in the enjoyment of it solely, until

my final hour. But the world would be neither so well instructed, nor

so candidly disposed, as to believe me to be uninfluenced by sinister

motives, in case any circumstance should render a deviation from the

line of conduct I had prescribed for myself indispensable. Should the

contingency you suggest take place, and (for argument sake alone, let me

say) should my unfeigned reluctance to accept the office be overcome

by a deference for the reasons and opinions of my friends, might I not,

after the declarations I have made (and heaven knows they were made in

the sincerity of my heart), in the judgment of the impartial world, and

of posterity, be chargeable with levity and inconsistency, if not

with rashness and ambition? Nay, further, would there not even be some

apparent foundation for the two former charges? Now, justice to myself,

and tranquility of conscience, require that I should act a part, if not

above imputation, at least capable of vindication. Nor will you conceive

me to be too solicitous for reputation. Though I prize as I ought the

good opinion of my fellow-citizens, yet, if I know myself, I would not

seek or retain popularity at the expense of one social duty or moral

virtue. While doing what my conscience informed me was right, as it

respected _my God_, my country, and myself, I could despise all the

party clamor and unjust censure which must be expected from some,

whose personal enmity might be occasioned by their hostility to the

government. I am conscious that I fear alone to give any real occasion

for obloquy, and that I do not dread to meet with unmerited reproach.

And certain I am, when-so-ever I shall be convinced the good of my

country requires my reputation to be put in risk, regard for my own fame

will not come in competition with an object of so much magnitude.

"If I declined the task it would be upon quite another principle.

Notwithstanding my advanced season of life, my increasing fondness for

agricultural amusements, and my growing love of retirement, augment and

confirm my decided predilection for the character of a private citizen,

yet it will be no one of these motives, nor the hazard to which my

former reputation might be exposed, or the terror of encountering new

fatigues and troubles, that would deter me from an acceptance, but

a belief that some other person, who had less pretense and less

inclination to be excused, could execute all the duties full as

satisfactorily as myself. To say more would be indiscreet, as a

disclosure of a refusal beforehand might incur the application of the

fable in which the fox is represented as undervaluing the grapes

he could not reach. You will perceive, my dear sir, by what is here

observed (and which you will be pleased to consider in the light of

a confidential communication), that my inclinations will dispose

and decide me to remain as I am, unless a clear and insurmountable

conviction should be impressed on my mind, that some very disagreeable

consequences must in all human probability result from the indulgence of

my wishes."

About the same time Colonel Hamilton concluded a letter on miscellaneous

subjects with the following observations. "I take it for granted, sir,

you have concluded to comply with what will, no doubt, be the general

call of your country in relation to the new government. You will permit

me to say that it is indispensable you should lend yourself to its first

operations. It is to little purpose to have introduced a system, if

the weightiest influence is not given to its firm establishment in the

outset."

"On the delicate subject," said Washington in reply, "with which you

conclude your letter, I can say nothing; because the event alluded to

may never happen; and because, in case it should occur, it would be

a point of prudence to defer forming one's ultimate and irrevocable

decision so long as new data might be afforded for one to act with the

greater wisdom and propriety. I would not wish to conceal my prevailing

sentiment from you. For you know me well enough, my good sir, to be

persuaded that I am not guilty of affectation, when I tell you it is my

great and sole desire to live and die in peace and retirement on my own

farm. Were it even indispensable a different line of conduct should

be adopted, while you and some others who are acquainted with my heart

would acquit, the world and posterity might probably accuse me of

inconsistency and ambition. Still, I hope I shall always possess

firmness and virtue enough to maintain (what I consider the most

enviable of all titles) the character of an honest man."

This answer drew from Hamilton the following reply: "I should be deeply

pained, my dear sir, if your scruples in regard to a certain station

should be matured into a resolution to decline it; though I am neither

surprised at their existence, nor can I but agree in opinion that the

caution you observe in deferring the ultimate determination is prudent.

I have, however, reflected maturely on the subject, and have come to

the conclusion (in which I feel no hesitation) that every public and

personal consideration will demand from you an acquiescence in what will

certainly be the unanimous wish of your country.

"The absolute retreat which you meditated at the close of the late war

was natural and proper. Had the government produced by the Revolution

gone on in a tolerable train, it would have been most advisable to have

persisted in that retreat. But I am clearly of opinion that the crisis

which brought you again into public view left you no alternative but to

comply; and I am equally clear in the opinion that you are by that act

pledged to take a part in the execution of the government. I am not

less convinced that the impression of the necessity of your filling the

station in question is so universal that you run no risk of any uncandid

imputation by submitting to it. But even if this were not the case, a

regard to your own reputation, as well as to the public good, calls upon

you in the strongest manner to run that risk.

"It cannot be considered as a compliment to say that, on your acceptance

of the office of President, the success of the new government in its

commencement may materially depend. Your agency and influence will

be not less important in preserving it from the future attacks of its

enemies than they have been in recommending it in the first instance to

the adoption of the people. Independent of all considerations drawn from

this source, the point of light in which you stand at home and abroad

will make an infinite difference in the respectability with which the

government will begin its operations, in the alternative of your being

or not being at the head of it. I forbear to mention considerations

which might have a more personal application. What I have said will

suffice for the inferences I mean to draw.

"First. In a matter so essential to the well-being of society as the

prosperity of a newly-instituted government, a citizen of so much

consequence as yourself to its success has no option but to lend his

services if called for. Permit me to say it would be inglorious, in such

a situation, not to hazard the glory, however great, which he might have

previously acquired.

"Secondly. Your signature to the proposed system pledges your judgment

for its being such a one as, upon the whole, was worthy of the public

approbation. If it should miscarry (as men commonly decide from success

or the want of it), the blame will, in all probability, be laid on

the system itself. And the framers of it will have to encounter the

disrepute of having brought about a revolution in government without

substituting anything that was worthy of the effort; they pulled down

one utopia, it will be said, to build up another. This view of the

subject, if I mistake not, my dear sir, will suggest to your mind

greater hazard to that fame which must be, and ought to be, dear to you,

in refusing your future aid to the system than in affording it. I will

only add that in my estimate of the matter that aid is indispensable.

"I have taken the liberty to express these sentiments and to lay before

you my view of the subject. I doubt not the considerations mentioned

have fully occurred to you, and I trust they will finally produce in

your mind the same result which exists in mine. I flatter myself the

frankness with which I have delivered myself will not be displeasing to

you. It has been prompted by motives which you would not disapprove."

In answer to this letter, Washington expressed himself without reserve.

"In acknowledging," said he, "the receipt of your candid and kind letter

by the last post, little more is incumbent on me than to thank you

sincerely for the frankness with which you communicated your sentiments,

and to assure you that the same manly tone of intercourse will always be

more than barely welcome--indeed, it will be highly acceptable to me.

"I am particularly glad, in the present instance, that you have dealt

thus freely and like a friend. Although I could not help observing, from

several publications and letters, that my name had been sometimes spoken

of, and that it was possible the contingency which is the subject of

your letter might happen, yet I thought it best to maintain a guarded

silence, and to lack the counsel of my best friends (which I certainly

hold in the highest estimation), rather than to hazard an imputation

unfriendly to the delicacy of my feelings. For, situated as I am, I

could hardly bring the question into the slightest discussion, or ask an

opinion even in the most confidential manner, without betraying, in

my judgment, some impropriety of conduct, or without feeling an

apprehension that a premature display of anxiety might be construed into

a vainglorious desire of pushing myself into notice as a candidate. Now,

if I am not grossly deceived in myself, I should unfeignedly rejoice, in

case the electors, by giving their votes in favor of some other person,

would save me from the dreadful dilemma of being forced to accept or

refuse. If that may not be, I am, in the next place, earnestly desirous

of searching out the truth, and of knowing whether there does not

exist a probability that the government would be just as happily and

effectually carried into execution without my aid as with it. I am

truly solicitous to obtain all the previous information which the

circumstances will afford, and to determine (when the determination can

with propriety be no longer postponed), according to the principles of

right reason and the dictates of a clear conscience, without too great

a reference to the unforeseen consequences which may affect my person

or reputation. Until that period, I may fairly hold myself open to

conviction, though I allow your sentiments to have weight in them, and I

shall not pass by your arguments without giving them as dispassionate a

consideration as I can possibly bestow upon them.

"In taking a survey of the subject, in whatever point of light I have

been able to place it, I will not suppress the acknowledgment, my dear

sir, that I have always felt a kind of gloom upon my mind, as often as I

have been taught to expect I might, and perhaps must ere long, be called

to make a decision. You will, I am well assured, believe the assertion

(though I have little expectation it would gain credit from those who

are less acquainted with me), that if I should receive the appointment,

and should be prevailed upon to accept it, the acceptance would be

attended with more diffidence and reluctance than ever I experienced

before in my life. It would be, however, with a fixed and sole

determination of lending whatever assistance might be in my power to

promote the public weal, in hopes that at a convenient and an early

period, my services might be dispensed with, and that I might be

permitted once more to retire--to pass an unclouded evening, after the

stormy day of life, in the bosom of domestic tranquility."

This correspondence was thus closed by Hamilton: "I feel a conviction

that you will finally see your acceptance to be indispensable. It is no

compliment to say that no other man can sufficiently unite the public

opinion, or can give the requisite weight to the office, in the

commencement of the government. These considerations appear to me of

themselves decisive. I am not sure that your refusal would not throw

everything into confusion. I am sure that it would have the worst effect

imaginable.

"Indeed, as I hinted in a former letter, I think circumstances leave no

option."

Although this correspondence does not appear to have absolutely decided

Washington on the part he should embrace, it could not have been without

its influence on his judgment, nor have failed to dispose him to

yield to the wish of his country. "I would willingly," said he, to his

estimable friend, General Lincoln, who had also pressed the subject on

him, "pass over in silence that part of your letter in which you

mention the persons who are candidates for the two first offices in the

executive, if I did not fear the omission might seem to betray a want

of confidence. Motives of delicacy have prevented me hitherto from

conversing or writing on this subject, whenever I could avoid it with

decency. I may, however, with great sincerity, and I believe without

offending against modesty or propriety, say to you that I most heartily

wish the choice to which you allude might not fall upon me; and that

if it should, I must reserve to myself the right of making up my final

decision at the last moment, when it can be brought into one view and

when the expediency or inexpediency of a refusal can be more judiciously

determined than at present. But be assured, my dear sir, if from any

inducement I shall be persuaded ultimately to accept, it will not be (so

far as I know my own heart) from any of a private or personal nature.

Every personal consideration conspires to rivet me (if I may use

the expression) to retirement. At my time of life, and under my

circumstances, nothing in this world can ever draw me from it, unless

it be a conviction that the partiality of my countrymen had made my

services absolutely necessary, joined to a fear that my refusal might

induce a belief that I preferred the conservation of my own reputation

and private ease to the good of my country. After all, if I should

conceive myself in a manner constrained to accept, I call Heaven

to witness that this very act would be the greatest sacrifice of my

personal feelings and wishes that ever I have been called upon to make.

It would be to forego repose and domestic enjoyment for trouble--perhaps

for public obloquy; for I should consider myself as entering upon an

unexplored field, enveloped on every side with clouds and darkness.

"From this embarrassing situation I had naturally supposed that my

declarations at the close of the war would have saved me, and that my

sincere intentions, then publicly made known, would have effectually

precluded me forever afterward from being looked upon as a candidate for

any office. This hope, as a last anchor of worldly happiness in old age,

I had still carefully preserved, until the public papers and private

letters from my correspondents in almost every quarter taught me to

apprehend that I might soon be obliged to answer the question whether I

would go again into public life or not."

"I can say little or nothing new," said he in a letter to Lafayette, "in

consequence of the repetition of your opinion on the expediency there

will be for my accepting the office to which you refer. Your sentiments,

indeed, coincide much more nearly with those of my other friends than

with my own feelings. In truth, my difficulties increase and magnify as

I draw toward the period when, according to the common belief, it will

be necessary for me to give a definitive answer in one way or other.

Should circumstances render it, in a manner, inevitably necessary to

be in the affirmative, be assured, my dear sir, I shall assume the task

with the most unfeigned reluctance and with a real diffidence, for which

I shall probably receive no credit from the world. If I know my own

heart, nothing short of a conviction of duty will induce me again to

take an active part in public affairs. And in that case, if I can form

a plan for my own conduct, my endeavors shall be unremittingly exerted

(even at the hazard of former fame or present popularity) to extricate

my country from the embarrassments in which it is entangled through

want of credit, and to establish a general system of policy which, if

pursued, will insure permanent felicity to the commonwealth. I think I

see a path, as clear and as direct as a ray of light, which leads to the

attainment of that object. Nothing but harmony, honesty, industry, and

frugality are necessary to make us a great and happy people. Happily,

the present posture of affairs, and the prevailing disposition of my

countrymen, promise to cooperate in establishing those four great and

essential pillars of public felicity."

After the electors had been chosen, and before the electoral

colleges met, Washington was assailed with the usual importunities of

office-seekers.

As marking the frame of mind with which he came into the government,

the following extract is given from one of the many letters written to

persons whose pretensions he was disposed to favor. "Should it become

absolutely necessary for me to occupy the station in which your letter

presupposes me, I have determined to go into it perfectly free from all

engagements of every nature whatsoever. A conduct in conformity to this

resolution would enable me, in balancing the various pretensions of

different candidates for appointments, to act with a sole reference to

justice and the public good. This is, in substance, the answer that I

have given to all applications (and they are not few) which have already

been made. Among the places sought after in these applications, I

must not conceal that the office to which you particularly allude is

comprehended. This fact I tell you merely as matter of information.

My general manner of thinking, as to the propriety of holding myself

totally disengaged, will apologize for my not enlarging further on the

subject.

"Though I am sensible that the public suffrage which places a man in

office should prevent him from being swayed, in the execution of it, by

his private inclinations, yet he may assuredly, without violating his

duty, be indulged in the continuance of his former attachments."

Although the time appointed for the new government to commence its

operations was the 4th of March, 1789, the members of Congress were so

dilatory in their attendance that a House of Representatives was not

formed till the 1st nor a Senate till the 6th of April.

When at length the votes for President and Vice-President were opened

and counted in the Senate, it was found that Washington was unanimously

elected President, and that the second number of votes was given to John

Adams. George Washington and John Adams were therefore declared to be

duly elected President and Vice-President of the United States, to serve

for four years from the 4th of March, 1789.

In a letter to General Knox, just before this announcement, Washington

thus adverts to the delay in forming a quorum of Congress: "I feel

for those members of the new Congress, who, hitherto, have given an

unavailing attendance at the theater of action. For myself, the delay

may be compared to a reprieve; for, in confidence, I tell you (with the

world it would obtain little credit) that my movements to the chair of

government will be accompanied by feelings not unlike those of a culprit

who is going to the place of his execution; so unwilling am I, in the

evening of life, nearly consumed in public cares, to quit a peaceful

abode for an ocean of difficulties, without that competency of political

skill, abilities, and inclination which are necessary to manage the

helm. I am sensible that I am embarking the voice of the people, and a

good name of my own, on this voyage; but what returns will be made for

them heaven alone can foretell. Integrity and firmness are all I can

promise; these, be the voyage long or short, shall never forsake me,

although I may be deserted by all men; for of the consolations which

are to be derived from these, under any circumstances, the world cannot

deprive me." There is every reason to believe that the diffidence

expressed in the above was sincere. It is perfectly consistent with the

unaffected modesty of Washington's character.

CHAPTER II.

THE ADMINISTRATION FORMED. 1789.

Washington's election was announced to him by a special messenger from

Congress, on the 14th of April, 1789. His acceptance of it, and

his expressions of gratitude for this fresh proof of the esteem

and confidence of his country, were connected with declarations of

diffidence in himself. "I wish," he said, "that there may not be

reason for regretting the choice--for, indeed, all I can promise is to

accomplish that which can be done by an honest zeal."

As the public business required the immediate attendance of the

President at the seat of government, he hastened his departure, and, on

the second day after receiving notice of his appointment, took leave of

Mount Vernon.

In an entry made by himself in his diary, the feelings inspired by an

occasion so affecting to his mind are thus described: "About 10 o'clock

I bade adieu to Mount Vernon, to private life, and to domestic felicity,

and, with a mind oppressed with more anxious and painful sensations

than I have words to express, set out for New York in company with Mr.

Thomson and Colonel Humphreys, with the best dispositions to render

service to my country in obedience to its call, but with less hope of

answering its expectations."

"The President and his lady," says Mr. Custis, "bid adieu with extreme

regret to the tranquil and happy shades where a few years of repose had,

in a great measure, effaced the effects of the toils and anxieties of

war; where little Eden had bloomed and nourished under their fostering

hands and where a numerous circle of friends and relatives would

sensibly feel the privation of their departure. They departed and

hastened to where duty called the man of his country."

Soon after leaving Mount Vernon he was met by a cavalcade of gentlemen,

who escorted him to Alexandria, where a public dinner had been prepared

to which he was invited. Arrived at that place, he was greeted by a

public address, to which he made an appropriate reply. The address

differs from others, inasmuch as it came from his personal friends and

neighbors, and gives some interesting personal details. The tenor of the

following passage must have sensibly touched the feelings of Washington:

"Not to extol your glory as a soldier; not to pour forth our gratitude

for past services; not to acknowledge the justice of the unexampled

honor which has been conferred upon you by the spontaneous and unanimous

suffrages of 3,000,000 of freemen, in your election to the supreme

magistracy; nor to admire the patriotism which directs your conduct, do

your neighbors and friends now address you. Themes less splendid, but

more endearing, impress our minds. The first and best of citizens must

leave us; our aged must lose their ornament; our youth their model; our

agriculture its improver; our commerce its friend; our infant academy

its protector; our poor their benefactor; and the interior navigation of

the Potomac (an event replete with the most extensive utility, already,

by your unremitted exertions, brought into partial use) its institutor

and promoter."

Washington left Alexandria on the afternoon of the same day and attended

by his neighbors proceeded to Georgetown, where he was received by a

number of citizens of Maryland. His journey thenceforth to the seat

of government was a continual triumph. Military escorts, cavalcades of

citizens, and crowds of people of all ages and both sexes awaited

his arrival at each town. We may imagine the enthusiastic shouts and

welcomes with which he was received by the people.

On his approach to Philadelphia he was met by Governor Mifflin, Judge

Peters, and a military escort, headed by General St. Clair, and followed

by the usual cavalcade of gentlemen. Washington was mounted on a

splendid white horse. The procession passed into the city through

triumphal arches adorned with wreaths of flowers and laurel, attended

by an immense crowd of people. The day was a public festival, and in

the evening an illumination and a display of fireworks testified the

enthusiasm of the occasion. The next day, at Trenton, he was welcomed

in a manner as new as it was pleasing. In addition to the usual

demonstrations of respect and attachment which were given by the

discharge of cannon, by military corps, and by private persons of

distinction, the gentler sex prepared in their own taste a tribute of

applause indicative of the grateful recollection in which they held

their deliverance twelve years before from a formidable enemy. On

the bridge over the creek which passes through the town was erected a

triumphal arch highly ornamented with laurels and flowers and supported

by thirteen pillars, each entwined with wreaths of evergreen. On the

front arch was inscribed in large gilt letters, "The defender of the

mothers will be the protector of the daughters."

On the center of the arch, above the inscription, was a dome or cupola

of flowers and evergreens, encircling the dates of two memorable events

which were peculiarly interesting to New Jersey. The first was the

battle of Trenton, and the second the bold and judicious stand made

by the American troops at the same creek, by which the progress of

the British army was arrested on the evening preceding the battle of

Princeton.

At this place he was met by a party of matrons leading their daughters,

dressed in white, who carried baskets of flowers in their hands and

sang, with exquisite sweetness, an ode of two stanzas, composed for the

occasion.

At New Brunswick he was joined by the Governor of New Jersey, who

accompanied him to Elizabethtown Point. A committee of Congress received

him on the road and conducted him with military parade to the Point,

where he took leave of the Governor and other gentlemen of New Jersey

and embarked for New York in an elegant barge of thirteen oars, manned

by thirteen branch pilots, prepared for the purpose by the citizens of

New York.

"The display of boats," says Washington, in his private journal, "which

attended and joined on this occasion, some with vocal and others with

instrumental music, on board, the decorations of the ships, the roar of

cannon, and the loud acclamations of the people, which rent the sky as

I passed along the wharves, filled my mind with sensations as painful

(contemplating the reverse of this scene, which may be the case after

all my labors to do good) as they were pleasing."

At the stairs on Murray's wharf, which had been prepared and ornamented

for the purpose, he was received by Governor Clinton, of New York, and

conducted with military honors, through an immense concourse of people,

to the apartments provided for him. These were attended by all who

were in office and by many private citizens of distinction, who pressed

around him to offer their congratulations and to express the joy which

glowed in their bosoms at seeing the man in whom all confided at the

head of the American empire. This day of extravagant joy was succeeded

by a splendid illumination.

Mr. Custis, writing of the journey from Mount Vernon to New York, and of

Washington's mode of living at the seat of government, says:

"The august spectacle at the bridge of Trenton brought tears to the eyes

of the chief, and forms one of the most brilliant recollections of the

age of Washington.

"Arrived at the seat of the Federal government, the President and

Mrs. Washington formed their establishment upon a scale that, while it

partook of all the attributes of our republican institutions, possessed

at the same time that degree of dignity and regard for appearances so

necessary to give our infant Republic respect in the eyes of the world.

The house was handsomely furnished; the equipages neat, with horses of

the first order; the servants wore the family liveries, and, with the

exception of a steward and housekeeper, the whole establishment differed

but little from that of a private gentleman. On Tuesdays, from 3 to 4

o'clock, the President received the foreign ambassadors and strangers

who wished to be introduced to him. On these occasions, and when opening

the sessions of Congress, the President wore a dress sword. His

personal apparel was always remarkable for its being old-fashioned and

exceedingly plain and neat. On Thursdays were the congressional dinners

and on Friday nights Mrs. Washington's drawing-room. The company usually

assembled about 7 and rarely stayed exceeding 10 o'clock. The ladies

were seated, and the President passed around the circle, paying his

compliments to each. At the drawing-rooms Mrs. Morris always sat at the

right of the lady president, and at all the dinners, public or private,

at which Robert Morris was a guest, that venerable man was placed at the

right of Mrs. Washington.

"On the great national festivals of the 4th of July and 22d of February,

the sages of the Revolutionary Congress and the officers of the

Revolutionary army renewed their acquaintance with Mrs. Washington; many

and kindly greetings took place with many a recollection of the days of

trial. The Cincinnati, after paying their respects to their chief, were

seen to file off toward the parlor, where Lady Washington was in waiting

to receive them, and where Wayne, and Mifflin, and Dickinson, and

Stewart, and Moylan, and Hartley, and a host of veterans were cordially

welcomed as old friends, and where many an interesting reminiscence was

called up, of the headquarters and the 'times of the Revolution.'

"On Sundays, unless the weather was uncommonly severe, the President

and Mrs. Washington attended divine service at Christ Church, and in the

evening the President read to Mrs. Washington, in her chamber, a

sermon or some portion from the sacred writings. No visitors, with the

exception of Mr. Speaker Trumbull, were admitted to the presidoliad on

Sundays.

"There was one description of visitors, however, to be found about the

first President's mansion on all days. The old soldiers repaired, as

they said, to headquarters just to inquire after the health of his

Excellency and Lady Washington. They knew his Excellency was, of course,

much engaged, but they would like to see the good lady, one had been

a soldier of the life guard, another had been on duty when the British

threatened to surprise the headquarters, a third had witnessed that

terrible fellow, Cornwallis, surrender his sword; each one had some

touching appeal with which to introduce himself to the peaceful

headquarters of the presidoliad. All were 'kindly bid to stay,' were

conducted to the steward's apartments, and refreshments set before them,

and, after receiving some little token from the lady, with her best

wishes for the health and happiness of an old soldier, they went their

ways, while blessings upon their revered commander and the good Lady

Washington were uttered by many a war worn veteran of the Revolution."

[1]

The simple mode of life above described did not save Washington from

public censure by those who are always ready to carp at the doings of

distinguished men, however unexceptionable their conduct may be. Free

levees were said to savor of an affectation of royal state. In a

letter to his friend, Dr. Stewart, Washington thus puts to silence this

calumny, with his usual good sense and unanswerable argument:

"Before the custom was established which now accommodates foreign

characters, strangers, and others, who, from motives of curiosity,

respect to the chief magistrate, or any other cause, are induced to

call upon me, I was unable to attend to any business whatsoever. For

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. This, as I resolved not to neglect my public duties,

reduced me to the choice of one of these alternatives--either to refuse

them altogether or to appropriate a time for the reception of them. The

first would, I well knew, be disgusting to many; the latter I expected

would undergo animadversion from those who would find fault with or

without cause. To please everybody was impossible. I therefore adopted

that line of conduct which combined public advantage with private

convenience, and which, in my judgment, was unexceptionable in itself.

"These visits are optional. They are made without invitation. Between

the hours of 3 and 4 every Tuesday I am prepared to receive them.

Gentlemen, often in great numbers, come and go, chat with each other,

and act as they please. A porter shows them into the room, and they

retire from it when they choose, and without ceremony. At their first

entrance they salute me and I them, and as many as I can talk to I

do. What pomp there is in all this I am unable to discover. Perhaps it

consists in not sitting. To this two reasons are opposed: first, it is

unusual; secondly (which is a more substantial one); because I have

no room large enough to contain a third of the chairs which would

be sufficient to admit it. If it is supposed that ostentation or the

fashions of courts (which by the by, I believe originate oftener in

convenience, not to say necessity, than is generally imagined) gave rise

to this custom, I will boldly affirm that no supposition was ever more

erroneous, for were I to indulge my inclinations every moment that

I could withdraw from the fatigues of my station should be spent in

retirement. That they are not proceeds from the sense I entertain of

the propriety of giving to everyone as free access as consists with that

respect which is due to the chair of government; and that respect, I

conceive, is neither to be acquired or preserved but by maintaining a

just medium between too much state and too great familiarity.

"Similar to the above, but of a more familiar and sociable kind, are

the visits every Friday afternoon to Mrs. Washington, where I always am.

These public meetings, and a dinner once a week to as many as my table

will hold, with the references to and from the different departments of

state and other communications with all parts of the Union, is as much

if not more than I am able to undergo; for I have already had within

less than a year two severe attacks--the last worse than the first;

a third, it is more than probable, will put me to sleep with my

fathers--at what distance this may be I know not."

The inauguration of Washington deserves particular notice, inasmuch as

in its chief outlines it has served for the precedent to all succeeding

inaugurations. Congress had determined that the ceremony of taking the

oath of office should be performed in public and in the open air. It

took place on the 30th of April, 1789. In the morning religious

services were performed in all the churches of the city. At 12 o'clock a

procession was formed at the residence of the President, consisting of a

military escort and the committees of Congress and heads of departments

in carriages, followed by Washington alone in a carriage, and his

aid-de-camp, Colonel Humphreys, and secretary, Mr. Lear, in another

carriage, with the foreign ministers and citizens bringing up the rear.

The procession moved to the hall of Congress, where Washington alighted

with his attendants and entered the senate chamber. Here he was received

by the Senate and House of Representatives. The Vice-President, John

Adams, conducted Washington to his appointed seat, and shortly after

announced to him that all was prepared for his taking the oath of

office. Washington then proceeded to an open balcony in front of the

house, where was a table with an open Bible lying upon it. On his

appearance in the balcony, he was received with a most enthusiastic

burst of popular applause, which he acknowledged by bowing to the

people. Chancellor Livingston administered the oath, while Adams,

Hamilton, Knox, Steuben, and others stood near the President. While the

oath was being administered Washington laid his hand on the Bible. At

its conclusion he said, "I swear, so help me God." His administration

proves that the oath was sincere. He then stooped down and kissed

the Bible. When the ceremony was concluded, he returned to the senate

chamber and delivered his inaugural address to the two branches of

Congress. He then proceeded on foot, with the whole assemblage, to St.

Paul's Church, where prayers were read by the bishop, and the public

ceremonial of the day was completed.

The occasion was celebrated by the people as a grand festival, and

in the evening there was a display of fireworks as well as a general

illumination of the city.

This display of enthusiasm on the part of the people was far from

rendering Washington over-confident of success in his new position.

He was thoroughly aware of the difficulties which would have to be

encountered in putting the new government into action, so as to insure

its stability and success. The opening of his inaugural address to both

branches of Congress gives a clear indication of his views and feelings

on taking office. It is as follows:

"Among the vicissitudes incident to life, no event could have filled

me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was

transmitted by your order and received on the 14th day of the present

month. On the one hand I was summoned by my country, whose voice I can

never hear but with veneration and love, from a retreat which I had

chosen with the fondest predilection, and, in my flattering hopes, with

an immutable decision, as the asylum of my declining years; a retreat

which was rendered every day more necessary as well as more dear to me

by the addition of habit to inclination, and of frequent interruptions

in my health to the gradual waste committed on it by time. On the other

hand, the magnitude and difficulty of the trust to which the voice of

my country called me, being sufficient to awaken in the wisest and

most experienced of her citizens a distrustful scrutiny into his

qualifications, could not but overwhelm with despondence one, who,

inheriting inferior endowments from nature, and unpracticed in the

duties of civil administration, ought to be peculiarly conscious of his

own deficiencies. In this conflict of emotions, all I dare aver is,

that it has been my faithful study to collect my duty from a just

appreciation of every circumstance by which it might be effected. All

I dare hope is, that if, in accepting this task, I have been too

much swayed by a grateful remembrance of former instances or by an

affectionate sensibility to this transcendent proof of the confidence of

my fellow-citizens, and have thence too little consulted my incapacity,

as well as disinclination for the weighty and untried cares before

me, my error will be palliated by the motives which misled me, and its

consequences be judged by my country with some share of the partiality

in which they originated.

"Such being the impressions under which I have, in obedience to the

public summons, repaired to the present station, it will be peculiarly

improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplications

to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe--who presides in the

councils of nations, and whose Providential aids can supply every

human defect--that his benediction may consecrate to the liberties and

happiness of the people of the United States, a government instituted by

themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every instrument

employed in its administration to execute with success the functions

allotted to his charge. In tendering this homage to the great Author of

every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your

sentiments not less than my own, nor those of my fellow-citizens at

large less than either. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore

the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the

people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to

the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished

by some token of Providential agency, and in the important Revolution

just accomplished in the system of their united government, the tranquil

deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities,

from which the event has resulted, cannot be compared with the means

by which most governments have been established, without some return

of pious gratitude, along with an humble anticipation of the future

blessings which the past seem to presage. These reflections, arising out

of the present crisis, have forced themselves too strongly on my mind

to be suppressed. You will join with me, I trust, in thinking that there

are none under the influence of which the proceedings of a new and free

government can more auspiciously commence."

It will be seen by these expressions that the same sense of solemn

responsibility and the same undoubting trust in Providence, so often

evinced by Washington during the conflicts and perils of the war, marked

his entrance upon the arduous duties of chief magistrate of the nation.

As in the previous instance of accepting office, he now signified to

Congress that he would receive no compensation for his services, except

such as should be necessary to defray the expenses incident to the

position in which he was placed.

This determination was announced in the concluding portion of the

inaugural address, which was as follows:

"By the article establishing the executive department, it is made the

duty of the President 'to recommend to your consideration such measures

as he shall judge necessary and expedient.' The circumstances under

which I now meet you will acquit me from entering into that subject,

further than to refer to the great constitutional charter under which

you are assembled, and which, in defining your powers, designates

the objects to which your attention is to be given. It will be more

consistent with those circumstances and far more congenial with the

feelings which actuate me to substitute in place of a recommendation

of particular measures the tribute that is due to the talents, the

rectitude, and the patriotism which adorn the characters selected to

devise and adopt them. In these honorable qualifications I behold the

surest pledges that, as on one side no local prejudices or attachments,

no separate views nor party animosities will misdirect the comprehensive

and equal eye which ought to watch over this great assemblage of

communities and interests; so, on another, that the foundations of our

national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of

private morality, and the pre-eminence of free government be exemplified

by all the attributes which can win the affections of its citizens and

command the respect of the world. I dwell on this prospect with every

satisfaction which an ardent love for my country can inspire, since

there is no truth more thoroughly established than that there exists in

the economy and course of nature, an indissoluble union between virtue

and happiness--between duty and advantage--between the genuine maxims

of an honest and magnanimous policy and the solid rewards of public

prosperity and felicity, since we ought to be no less persuaded that

the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that

disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has

ordained, and since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and

the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered

as deeply, perhaps as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the

hands of the American people.

"Besides the ordinary objects submitted to your care it will remain

with your judgment to decide how far an exercise of the occasional

power delegated by the fifth article of the constitution is rendered

expedient, at the present juncture, by the nature of objections which

have been urged against the system or by the degree of inquietude

which has given birth to them. Instead of undertaking particular

recommendations on this subject, in which I could be guided by no lights

derived from official opportunities, I shall again give way to my entire

confidence in your discernment and pursuit of the public good, for I

assure myself that, whilst you carefully avoid every alteration which

might endanger the benefits of a united and effective government, or

which ought to await the future lessons of experience, a reverence for

the characteristic rights of freemen and a regard for the public harmony

will sufficiently influence your deliberations on the question how far

the former can be more impregnably fortified or the latter be safely and

advantageously promoted.

"To the preceding observations I have one to add, which will be most

properly addressed to the House of Representatives. It concerns myself,

and will, therefore, be as brief as possible. When I was first honored

with a call into the service of my country, then on the eve of an

arduous struggle for its liberties, the light in which I contemplated my

duty required that I should renounce every pecuniary compensation. From

this resolution I have in no instance departed. And being still under

the impressions which produced it, I must decline, as inapplicable to

myself, any share in the personal emoluments which may be indispensably

included in a permanent provision for the executive department, and must

accordingly pray that the pecuniary estimates for the station in which

I am placed, may, during my continuance in it, be limited to such actual

expenditures as the public good may be thought to require.

"Having thus imparted to you my sentiments, as they have been awakened

by the occasion which brings us together, I shall take my present leave,

but not without resorting once more to the benign Parent of the human

race, in humble supplication, that since He has been pleased to favor

the American people with opportunities for deliberating in perfect

tranquility and dispositions for deciding with unparalleled unanimity on

a form of government for the security of their union and the advancement

of their happiness, so his divine blessing may be equally conspicuous in

the enlarged views, the temperate consultations, and the wise measures

on which the success of his government must depend."

This speech was read to Congress by the President himself. The practice

of sending a message instead of reading the speech in person was

introduced by President Jefferson, who did not appear to advantage as an

orator, and it has been continued to the present time. The same persons

who found fault with Washington's levees would probably have regarded

the practice introduced by Washington as anti-republican, as it is

practiced by the sovereigns of Great Britain.

The executive departments which had existed under the confederation were

necessarily continued until Congress should make new arrangements. Mr.

Jay still acted as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, an office analogous to

that which is now denominated Secretary of State, and General Knox

as Secretary of War. The treasury was entrusted to a board of

commissioners. Each of these at the request of the President furnished

a full report of the state of the department respectively under their

control. To the digesting, condensing, and studying of these, and of the

diplomatic correspondence of the government since the close of the war,

Washington now devoted himself with unwearied attention.

Of the mode in which his daily life was now passed during the hours

when not engaged in official duty, we gain a pleasing glimpse from

the following extract from G. W. P. Custis' "Recollections and Private

Memoirs of the Life and Character of Washington," as follows:

"In the then limited extent and improvement of the city there was

some difficulty in selecting a mansion for the residence of the chief

magistrate and a house suitable to his rank and station. Osgood's house,

a mansion of very moderate extent, was at length fixed upon, situated in

Cherry street.

"There the President became domiciled. His domestic family consisted

of Mrs. Washington, the two adopted children, Mr. Lear, as principal

secretary, Colonel Humphreys, with Messrs. Lewis and Nelson,

secretaries, and Maj. William Jackson, aide-de-camp.

"Persons visiting the house in Cherry street at this time of day will

wonder how a building so small could contain the many and mighty spirits

that thronged its halls in olden days. Congress, cabinets, all public

functionaries in the commencement of the government were selected

from the very elite of the nation. Pure patriotism, commanding talent,

eminent services, were the proud and indispensable requisites for

official station in the first days of the Republic. The first Congress

was a most enlightened and dignified body. In the Senate were several

of the members of the Congress of 1776 and signers of the Declaration of

Independence--Richard Henry Lee, who moved the Declaration, John Adams,

who seconded it, with Sherman, Morris, Carroll, etc.

"The levees of the first President were attended by these illustrious

patriots and statesmen, and by many other of the patriots, statesmen,

and soldiers, who could say of the Revolution, '_magna pars fui_,' while

numbers of foreigners and strangers of distinction crowded to the seat

of the general government, all anxious to witness the grand experiment

that was to determine how much rational liberty mankind is capable of

enjoying, without said liberty degenerating into licentiousness.

"Mrs. Washington's drawing-rooms, on Friday nights, were attended by

the grace and beauty of New York. On one of these occasions an incident

occurred which might have been attended by serious consequences. Owing

to the lowness of the ceiling in the drawing-room, the ostrich feather

in the head-dress of Miss McIver, a belle of New York, took fire from

the chandelier, to the no small alarm of the company. Major Jackson,

aide-de-camp to the President, with great presence of mind and equal

gallantry, flew to the rescue of the lady, and, by clapping the burning

plumes between his hands, extinguished the flames, and the drawing-room

went on as usual.

"Washington preserved the habit, as well in public as in private life,

of rising at 4 o'clock and retiring to bed at 9. On Saturdays he rested

somewhat from his labors by either riding into the country, attended by

a groom, or with his family in his coach drawn by six horses.

"Fond of horses, the stables of the President were always in the finest

order and his equipage excellent, both in taste and quality. Indeed,

so long ago as the days of the vice-regal court of Lord Botetourt, at

Williamsburg, in Virginia, we find that there existed a rivalry between

the equipages of Colonel Byrd, a magnate of the old _régime_, and

Colonel Washington--the grays against the bays. Bishop, the celebrated

body-servant of Braddock, was the master of Washington's stables. And

there were what was termed muslin horses in those days. At cockcrow the

stable boys were at work; at sunrise Bishop stalked into the stables,

a muslin handkerchief in his hand, which he applied to the coats of the

animals, and, if the slightest stain was perceptible upon the muslin,

up went the luckless wights of the stableboys and punishment was

administered instanter; for to the veteran Bishop, bred amid the iron

discipline of European armies, mercy for anything like a breach of duty

was altogether out of the question.

"The President's stables in Philadelphia were under the direction of

German John, and the grooming of the white chargers will rather surprise

the moderns. The night before the horses were expected to be rode

they were covered entirely over with a paste, of which whiting was the

principal component part; then the animals were swathed in body clothes

and left to sleep upon clean straw. In the morning the composition had

become hard, was well rubbed in, and curried and brushed, which process

gave to the coats a beautiful, glossy, and satin-like appearance. The

hoofs were then blacked and polished, the mouths washed, teeth picked

and cleaned, and, the leopard-skin housings being properly adjusted,

the white chargers were led out for service. Such was the grooming of

ancient times.

"There was but one theater in New York in 1789 (in John street), and so

small were its dimensions that the whole fabric might easily be placed

on the stage of one of our modern theaters. Yet, humble as was the

edifice, it possessed an excellent company of actors and actresses,

including old Morris, who was the associate of Garrick, in the very

outset of that great actor's career, at Goodrhan's Fields. The stage

boxes were appropriated to the President and Vice-President, and were

each of them decorated with emblems, trophies, etc. At the foot of the

playbills were always the words, '_Vivat Respublica_.' Washington

often visited this theater, being particularly gratified by Wignell's

performance of Darby, in the 'Poor Soldier.'

"It was in the theater in John street that the now national air of 'Hail

Columbia,' then called the 'President's March,' was first played. It was

composed by a German musician by the name of Fyles, the leader of the

orchestra, in compliment to the President. The national air will last as

long as the nation lasts, while the meritorious composer has been long

since forgotten.

"It was while residing in Cherry street that the President was attacked

by a severe illness that required a surgical operation. He was attended

by the elder and younger Drs. Bard. The elder, being somewhat doubtful

of his nerves, gave the knife to his son, bidding him 'cut away--deeper,

deeper still; don't be afraid; you see how well he bears it.' Great

anxiety was felt in New York at this time, as the President's case

was considered extremely dangerous. Happily, the operation proved

successful, and the patient's recovery removed all cause of alarm.

During the illness a chain was stretched across the street and the

sidewalks laid with straw. Soon after his recovery the President set out

on his intended tour through the New England States.

"The President's mansion was so limited in accommodation that three of

the secretaries were compelled to occupy one room--Humphreys, Lewis, and

Nelson. Humphreys, aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief at Yorktown,

was a most estimable man, and at the same time a poet. About this period

he was composing his 'Widow of Malabac.' Lewis and Nelson, both young

men, were content, after the labors of the day, to enjoy a good night's

repose. But this was often denied them, for Humphreys, when in the vein,

would rise from his bed at any hour, and, with stentorian voice, recite

his verses. The young men, roused from their slumbers, and rubbing their

eyes, beheld a great burly figure, '_en chemise_,' striding across

the floor, reciting, with great emphasis, particular passages from his

poems, and calling on his room-mates for their approbation. Having,

in this way, for a considerable time, 'murdered the sleep' of his

associates, Humphreys, at length, wearied by his exertions, would sink

upon his pillow in a kind of dreamy languor. So sadly were the young

secretaries annoyed by the frequent outbursts of the poet's imagination

that it was remarked of them by their friends, that, from 1789 to the

end of their lives, neither Robert Lewis nor Thomas Nelson was ever

known to evince the slightest taste for poetry."

Washington had hardly recovered from the severe attack of illness above

referred to, when he heard of the death of his mother, who died on the

25th of August, 1789. He had paid her a visit just before leaving

Mount Vernon for the seat of government. She was then residing at

Fredericksburg, and was gradually sinking under a disease which was

evidently mortal; and Washington, fully aware that he was seeing her for

the last time, was much affected at the interview. She also felt that

they were parting to meet no more in this world. "But she bade him go,

with Heaven's blessing and her own, to fulfill the high destinies to

which he had been called."

The mother of Washington was, in many respects, a remarkable woman. Her

influence over her son in early life we have already had occasion

to notice. In her last days she presents a true picture of matronly

dignity. Mr. Custis states that she was continually visited and solaced,

in the retirement of her declining years, by her children and numerous

grandchildren. Her daughter, Mrs. Lewis, repeatedly and earnestly

solicited her to remove to her house and there pass the remainder of her

days. Her son pressingly entreated her that she would make Mount Vernon

the home of her age. But the matron's answer was: "I thank you for your

affectionate and dutiful offers, but my wants are few in this world and

I feel perfectly competent to take care of myself." To the proposition

of her son-in-law, Colonel Lewis, to relieve her by taking the direction

of her concerns, she replied. "Do you, Fielding, keep my books in

order, for your eyesight is better than mine; but leave the executive

management to me." Such were the energy and independence she preserved

to an age beyond that usually allotted to mortals, and till within three

years of her death, when the disease under which she suffered (cancer of

the breast) prevented exertion.

Her meeting with Washington, after the victory which decided the fortune

of America, illustrates her character too strikingly to be omitted:

"After an absence of nearly seven years it was, at length, on the return

of the combined armies from Yorktown, permitted to the mother to see and

embrace her illustrious son. So soon as he had dismounted, in the midst

of a numerous and brilliant suite, he sent to apprise her of his arrival

and to know when it would be her pleasure to receive him. And now, mark

the force of early education and habits, and the superiority of the

Spartan over the Persian schools, in this interview of the great

Washington with his admirable parent and instructor. No pageantry of war

proclaimed his coming--no trumpets sounded--no banners waved. Alone,

and on foot, the Marshal of France, the General-in-Chief of the combined

armies of France and America, the deliverer of his country, the hero of

the age, repaired to pay his humble duty to her whom he venerated as the

author of his being, the founder of his fortune and his fame. Full well

he knew that the matron was made of sterner stuff than to be moved by

all the pride that glory ever gave or by all the "pomp and circumstance"

of power. The lady was alone--her aged hands employed in the works of

domestic industry--when the good news was announced, and it was further

told that the victor chief was in waiting at the threshold. She welcomed

him with a warm embrace, and by the well-remembered and endearing names

of his childhood. Inquiring as to his health, she remarked the lines

which mighty cares and many trials had made on his manly countenance,

spoke much of old times and old friends, but of his glory, not one word!

"Meantime, in the village of Fredericksburg, all was joy and revelry.

The town was crowded with the officers of the French and American

armies, and with gentlemen from all the country around, who hastened to

welcome the conquerors of Cornwallis. The citizens made arrangements for

a splendid ball to which the mother of Washington was specially invited.

She observed that although her dancing days were pretty well over

she should feel happy in contributing to the general festivity, and

consented to attend.

"The foreign officers were anxious to see the mother of their chief.

They had heard indistinct rumors respecting her remarkable life and

character, but, forming their judgment from European examples, they were

prepared to expect in the mother that glare and show which would have

been attached to the parents of the great in the old world. How were

they surprised when the matron, leaning on the arm of her son, entered

the room! She was arrayed in the very plain, yet becoming garb worn by

the Virginia lady of the olden time. Her address, always dignified and

imposing, was courteous though reserved. She received the complimentary

attentions which were profusely paid her without evincing the slightest

elevation, and, at an early hour, wished the company much enjoyment of

their pleasures, and observing that it was time for old people to be at

home, retired, leaning as before on the arm of her son."

To this picture may be added another:

"The Marquis de Lafayette repaired to Fredericksburg, previous to his

departure for Europe in the fall of 1784, to pay his parting respects to

the mother, and to ask her blessing. Conducted by one of her grandsons

he approached the house, when the young gentleman observed: 'There, sir,

is my grandmother.' Lafayette beheld--working in the garden, clad in

domestic-made clothes, and her gray head covered with a plain straw

hat--the mother of 'his hero, his friend, and a country's preserver.'

The lady saluted him, kindly observing: 'Ah, marquis! you see an old

woman, but come, I can make you welcome to my poor dwelling without the

parade of changing my dress.'"

To the encomiums lavished by the marquis on his chief, the mother

replied: "I am not surprised at what George has done for he was always

a very good boy." So simple, in her true greatness of soul, was this

remarkable woman.

Her piety was ardent, and she associated devotion with the grand and

beautiful in nature. She was in the habit of repairing every day for

prayer to a secluded spot, formed by rocks and trees, near her dwelling.

The person of Mrs. Washington is described as being of the medium height

and well proportioned--her features pleasing, though strongly marked.

There were few painters in the Colonies in those days, and no portrait

of her is in existence. Her biographer saw her but with infant eyes,

but well remembered the sister of the chief. Of her we are told nothing,

except that "she was a most majestic woman and so strikingly like the

brother that it was a matter of frolic to throw a cloak around her and

place a military hat upon her head, and such was the perfect resemblance

that had she appeared on her brother's steed, battalions would have

presented arms, and senates risen to do homage to the chief."

Mrs. Washington died at the age of eighty-five, rejoicing in the

consciousness of a life well spent, and the hope of a blessed

immortality. Her ashes repose at Fredericksburg, where a splendid

monument has been erected to her memory. [2]

Deeply as Washington felt the loss of his estimable parent his attention

was speedily withdrawn from his private and personal interests by the

important political affairs which were pressing upon him. Congress were

now fairly engaged in giving form and efficiency to the newly-created

government. [3]

The continued existence of the constitution itself was menaced by some

of the States which had acceded to it, as well as by those who had

refused to adopt it. In some of the States a disposition to acquiesce

in the decision which had been made, and to await the issue of a fair

experiment of the constitution was avowed by the minority. In others

the chagrin of defeat seemed to increase the original hostility to the

instrument, and serious fears were entertained by its friends that a

second general convention might pluck from it the most essential of

its powers before their value and the safety with which they might be

confided where they were placed could be ascertained by experience.

From the same cause exerting itself in a different direction the friends

of the new system had been still more alarmed. In all those States where

the opposition was sufficiently formidable to inspire a hope of success,

the effort was made to fill the Legislature with the declared enemies of

the government and thus to commit it, in its infancy, to the custody of

its foes. Their fears were quieted for the present. In both branches

of the Legislature the Federalists, an appellation at that time

distinguishing those who had supported the constitution, formed the

majority, and it soon appeared that a new convention was too bold an

experiment to be applied for by the requisite number of States. But two

States, Rhode Island and North Carolina, still remained out of the pale

of the Union, and a great deal of ill humor existed among those who were

included within it, which increased the necessity of circumspection in

those who administered the government.

To the western parts of the continent the attention of the Executive was

attracted by discontents which were displayed with some violence, and

which originated in circumstances and in interests peculiar to that

country.

Spain, in possession of the mouth of the Mississippi, had refused to

permit the citizens of the United States to follow its waters into the

ocean, and had occasionally tolerated or interdicted their commerce to

New Orleans, as had been suggested by the supposed interest or caprice

of the Spanish government or of its representatives in America. The eyes

of the inhabitants adjacent to the waters which emptied into that

river were turned down it as the only channel through which the surplus

produce of their luxuriant soil could be conveyed to the markets of the

world. Believing that the future wealth and prosperity of their

country depended on the use of that river they gave some evidence of a

disposition to drop from the Confederacy, if this valuable acquisition

could not otherwise be made. This temper could not fail to be viewed

with interest by the neighboring powers, who had been encouraged by it

and by the imbecility of the government, to enter into intrigues of an

alarming nature.

Previous to his departure from Mount Vernon, Washington had received

intelligence, too authentic to be disregarded, of private machinations,

by real or pretended agents both of Spain and Great Britain, which were

extremely hostile to the peace and to the integrity of the Union.

Spain had intimated that the navigation of the Mississippi could never

be conceded while the inhabitants of the western country remained

connected with the Atlantic States, but might be freely granted to them

if they should form an independent empire.

On the other hand a gentleman from Canada, whose ostensible business was

to repossess himself of some lands on the Ohio which had been formerly

granted to him, frequently discussed the vital importance of the

navigation of the Mississippi, and privately assured several individuals

of great influence that if they were disposed to assert their rights he

was authorized by Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Canada, to say that

they might rely confidently on his assistance. With the aid it was in

his power to give they might seize New Orleans, fortify the Balize at

the mouth of the Mississippi, and maintain themselves in that place

against the utmost efforts of Spain. [4]

The probability of failing in any attempt to hold the mouth of the

Mississippi by force, and the resentments against Great Britain which

prevailed generally throughout the western country, diminished the

danger to be apprehended from any machinations of that power, but

against those of Spain the same security did not exist.

In contemplating the situation of the United States in their relations

not purely domestic the object demanding most immediate consideration

was the hostility of several tribes of Indians. The military strength

of the nations who inhabited the country between the lakes, the

Mississippi, and the Ohio was computed at 5,000 men, of whom about 1,500

were at open war with the United States. Treaties had been concluded

with the residue, but the warlike disposition of the Indians, and the

provocations they had received, furnished reasons for apprehending that

these treaties would soon be broken.

In the South the Creeks, who could bring into the field 6,000 fighting

men, were at war with Georgia. In the mind of their leader, M'Gillivray,

the son of a white man, some irritation had been produced by the

confiscation of the lands of his father who had resided in that State,

and several other refugees, whose property had also been confiscated,

contributed still further to exasperate the nation. But the immediate

point in contest between them was a tract of land on the Oconee, which

the State of Georgia claimed under a purchase, the validity of which was

denied by the Indians.

The regular force of the United States was less than 600 men.

Not only the policy of accommodating differences by negotiation which

the government was in no condition to terminate by the sword, but a real

respect for the rights of the natives and a regard for the claims of

justice and humanity, disposed Washington to endeavor, in the first

instance, to remove every cause of quarrel by a treaty, and his

message to Congress on this subject evidenced his preference of pacific

measures.

Possessing many valuable articles of commerce for which the best market

was often found on the coast of the Mediterranean, struggling to export

them in their own bottoms, and unable to afford a single gun for their

protection, the Americans could not view with unconcern the dispositions

which were manifested toward them by the Barbary powers. A treaty had

been formed with the Emperor of Morocco, but from Algiers, Tunis, and

Tripoli peace had not been purchased, and those regencies considered all

as enemies to whom they had not sold their friendship. The unprotected

vessels of America presented a tempting object to their rapacity, and

their hostility was the more terrible, because by their public law

prisoners became slaves.

The United States were at peace with all the powers of Europe, but

controversies of a delicate nature existed with some of them, the

adjustment of which required a degree of moderation and firmness which

there was reason to fear might not, in every instance, be exhibited.

The apprehensions with which Spain had contemplated the future strength

of the United States, and the consequent disposition to restrict them

to narrow limits, have been already noticed. After the conclusion of the

war the attempt to form a treaty with that power had been repeated, but

no advance toward an agreement on the points Of difference between the

two governments had been made.

Circumstances attending the points of difference with Great Britain were

still more serious, because, in their progress, a temper unfavorable to

accommodation had been uniformly displayed.

The resentments produced by the various calamities war had occasioned

were not terminated with their cause. The idea that Great Britain

was the natural enemy of America had become habitual. Believing it

impossible for that nation to have relinquished its views of conquest,

many found it difficult to bury their animosities and to act upon the

sentiment contained in the Declaration of Independence, "to hold them as

the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends." In addition to

the complaints respecting the violation of the treaty of peace

events were continually supplying this temper with fresh aliment.

The disinclination which the cabinet of London had discovered to a

commercial treaty with the United States was not attributed exclusively

to the cause which had been assigned for it. It was in part ascribed to

that jealousy with which Britain was supposed to view the growing trade

of America.

The general restrictions on commerce by which every maritime power

sought to promote its own navigation, and that part of the European

system in particular by which each aimed at a monopoly of the trade of

its Colonies, were felt with peculiar keenness when enforced by England.

In this suspicious temper almost every unfavorable event which occurred

was traced up to British hostility.

That an attempt to form a commercial treaty with Portugal had failed,

was attributed to the influence of the cabinet of London, and to the

machinations of the same power were also ascribed the danger from

the corsairs of Barbary and the bloody incursions of the Indians. The

resentment excited by these causes was felt by a large proportion of the

American people, and the expression of it was common and public. That

correspondent dispositions existed in England is by no means improbable,

and the necessary effect of this temper was to increase the difficulty

of adjusting the differences between the two nations.

With France the most perfect harmony subsisted. Those attachments which

originated in the signal services received from the King of France

during the war of the Revolution had sustained no diminution. Yet,

from causes which it was found difficult to counteract, the commercial

intercourse between the two nations was not so extensive as had been

expected. It was the interest and, of consequence, the policy of France,

to avail herself of the misunderstandings between the United States and

Great Britain, in order to obtain such regulations as might gradually

divert the increasing trade of the American continent from those

channels in which it had been accustomed to flow, and a disposition was

felt throughout the United States to cooperate with her in enabling her

merchants, by legislative encouragements, to rival those of Britain in

the American market.

A great revolution had commenced in that country, the first stage of

which was completed by limiting the powers of the monarch, and by the

establishment of a popular assembly. In no part of the globe was this

revolution hailed with more joy than in America. The influence it would

have on the affairs of the world was not then distinctly foreseen, and

the philanthropist, without becoming a political partisan, rejoiced in

the event. On this subject, therefore, but one sentiment existed.

The relations of the United States with the other powers of Europe

did not require particular attention. Their dispositions were rather

friendly than otherwise, and an inclination was generally manifested

to participate in the advantages which the erection of an independent

empire on the western shores of the Atlantic held forth to the

commercial world.

By the ministers of foreign powers in America it would readily be

supposed that the first steps taken by the new government would not

only be indicative of its present system, but would probably affect its

foreign relations permanently, and that the influence of the President

would be felt in the Legislature. Scarcely was the exercise of his

executive functions commenced when Washington received an application

from the Count de Moustiers, the minister of France, requesting a

private conference. On being told that the Department of Foreign Affairs

was the channel through which all official business should pass, the

count replied that the interview he requested was not for the purpose of

actual business, but rather as preparatory to its future transaction.

The next day, at 1 in the afternoon, was named for the interview. The

count commenced the conversation with declarations of his personal

regard for America, the manifestations of which, he said, had been early

and uniform. His nation, too, was well disposed to be upon terms of

amity with the United States, but at his public reception there were

occurrences which he thought indicative of coolness in the Secretary

of Foreign Affairs, who had, he feared, while in Europe, imbibed

prejudices, not only against Spain, but against France also. If this

conjecture should be right the present head of that department could not

be an agreeable organ of intercourse with the President. He then took

a view of the modern usages of European courts, which, he said, favored

the practice he recommended, of permitting foreign ministers to make

their communications directly to the chief of the executive. "He then

presented a letter," says Washington in his private journal, "which

he termed confidential, and to be considered as addressed to me in my

private character, which was too strongly marked with an intention, as

well as a wish, to have no person between the minister and President in

the transaction of business between the two nations."

In reply to these observations Washington assured him that, judging from

his own feelings and from the public sentiment, there existed in America

a reciprocal disposition to be on the best terms with France. That

whatever former difficulties might have occurred he was persuaded the

Secretary of Foreign Affairs had offered no intentional disrespect

either to the minister or to his nation. Without undertaking to know

the private opinions of Mr. Jay he would declare that he had never heard

that officer express, directly or indirectly, any sentiment unfavorable

to either.

Reason and usage, he added, must direct the mode of treating national

and official business. If rules had been established they must be

conformed to. If they were yet to be framed it was hoped that they would

be convenient and proper. So far as case could be made to comport with

regularity and with necessary forms, it ought to be consulted, but

custom, and the dignity of office, were not to be disregarded. The

conversation continued upward of an hour, but no change was made in the

resolution of the President.

During its first session the national Legislature was principally

occupied in providing revenues for the long-exhausted treasury, in

establishing a judiciary, in organizing the executive departments in

detail, and in framing amendments to the constitution, agreeably to the

suggestion of the President. The members immediately entered upon

the exercise of those powers so long refused under the articles of

confederation. They imposed a tonnage duty, as well as duties on various

imported articles, steadily keeping in sight, however, the navigating

interest of the country, which had hitherto been almost wholly at the

mercy of other nations. Higher tonnage duties were imposed on foreign

than on American bottoms, and goods imported in vessels belonging to

citizens of the United States paid 10 per cent less duty than the same

goods brought in those owned by foreigners. These discriminating duties

were intended to counteract the commercial regulations of foreign

nations and to encourage American shipping. To aid in the management of

the affairs of government three executive departments were established,

styled Departments of War, Foreign Affairs, and of the Treasury, with a

secretary at the head of each.

The heads of these departments, in addition to the duties specially

assigned them, were intended to constitute a council, to be consulted

by the President whenever he thought proper, and the Executive was

authorized by the constitution to require the opinion, in writing,

of the principal officers in the executive departments, on subjects

relating to the duties of their offices. In framing the acts

constituting these offices and defining their duties, it became an

important subject of inquiry in what manner or by whom these important

officers could be removed from office. This was a question as new as

it was momentous and was applicable to all officers of executive

appointment. In the long and learned debates on the subject in Congress,

there arose a very animated opposition to such a construction of the

constitution as to give this power to any one individual. Whatever

confidence might be placed in the chief magistrate then at the head

of the government, equal confidence could not be expected in his

successors, and it was contended that a concurrence of the Senate was

as necessary and proper in the removal of a person from office as in his

appointment. Some of the members of the House of Representatives were

of opinion that they could not be removed without impeachment. The

principal question, however, on which Congress was divided, was, whether

they were removable by the President alone, or by the President in

concurrence with the Senate. A majority, however, in both houses,

decided that this power was in the President alone. In the House, the

majority in favor of this construction was twelve. This decision of

a great constitutional question has been acquiesced in, and in its

consequences has been of greater importance than almost any other since

the establishment of the new government. From the manner in which this

power has been exercised, it has given a tone and character to the

executive branch of the government not contemplated, it is believed, by

the framers of the constitution or by those who constituted the first

Congress under it. It has greatly increased the influence and patronage

of the President and in no small degree made him the center around which

the other branches of the government revolve. [4]

In a free country, where the private citizen has both the right and the

inclination to take an interest in the public concerns, it is natural

that political parties and civil contentions should arise. These will be

more or less violent, angry, and hostile, according as a sense of common

security from external dangers leaves no cause for united action, and

little anxiety for the common peace. A natural consequence of this

strife of parties is the exercise of the passions--pride, interest,

vanity, resentment, gratitude--each contributing its share in irritating

and prolonging the controversy. In the beginning of the Revolution,

the people of the United States divided themselves into the two great

classes of Whigs and Tories; then they again separated upon the question

of absolute independence. Other questions arose during the war, relative

to its conduct, and the qualifications of the leaders of the army.

Independence achieved, the minds of the people were agitated about the

nature of the government, which all saw to be necessary for their own

happiness, and for the better enabling them to prosecute with foreign

countries peaceful negotiations or the operations of war. Many saw, in

too close a union, dangers as great and consequences as distasteful as

in their entire separation. It was believed by many that the extent

of the country, the great diversity of character, habits, and pursuits

among the several States, presented insuperable obstacles to a closer

union than that afforded by the articles of confederation. Some were

almost exclusively commercial, others agricultural; some were disposed

to engage in manufacturing pursuits; some had domestic slavery firmly

connected with their domestic relations and were disposed to look

favorably on the extension of the institution; others regarded

involuntary servitude as a curse, and desired its abolition.

It was not to be wondered at, that with such points of diversity, many

should suppose that a single government could not administer the affairs

of all, except by a greater delegation of power than would be submitted

to by the American people. While some looked wholly to these apprehended

consequences of a close union and a single government, others chiefly

regarded the dangers arising from disunion, domestic dissensions,

and even war. One party dreaded consolidation; the other, anarchy and

separation. Each saw, in the object of its dread, the destruction

of good government, though one party looked too exclusively to its

characteristic of order, the other to that of civil liberty. These were

the thoughts of the people, widely different, but all equally honest.

But the politicians addressed themselves to these prejudices, often with

unworthy motives. Local prejudices, self-interest, fears, in some cases

from an anticipated loss of consequence, in the event of a transfer of

sovereignty from the individual States to the general government, all

combined to make many violent in their expressions of opposition to the

plan. Apprehensions of violence and disorder, and fears from

individual popularity in a circumscribed sphere, led others to desire

consolidation. With these, ranked others who were fond of the pomp and

show of authority which would attend a powerful government; and still

others, who, having claims upon the country, supposed that they would

have much stronger hopes of being paid themselves and of seeing the

debts due abroad liquidated if a system of government were established

which could be certain to raise a revenue for these objects. On the

formation of the constitution, the community settled down into two

great parties, Federalists and Anti-Federalists, or Democrats; the first

believing that the most imminent danger to our peace and prosperity was

in disunion, and that popular jealousy, always active, would withhold

the power which was essential to good order and national safety; the

other party believing that the danger most to be apprehended was in

too close a union, and that their most powerful opponents wished a

consolidated and even a monarchial government.

There were many who had been accustomed to reflect upon government and

political relations previously to the war of independence, when the

constitution of Great Britain being by far the best that had ever

existed, they may naturally be supposed to have conceived for it

a degree of homage and respect which it could not now inspire. The

speculations on political rights, to which the contest with Great

Britain and the debates on the question of independence gave rise,

greatly favored the doctrines of political equality and the hatred of

power in any form that could control the public will. There are, in the

heart of every man, principles which readily prepare him for republican

doctrines, and after a few years some of the speculative politicians

began to think that the free, simple, and equal government which was

suited to the tastes and habits of our people, was also the best

in theory. The great body of the people were partial to the form of

government to which they had been accustomed and wished for none other,

though the leading statesmen differed upon this point. Some preferred

the republican form in theory and believed that no other would be

tolerated in practice, and others regretted that they were obliged to

yield so far to popular prejudice as to forego the form they deemed

best, but determined to avail themselves of every opportunity of

improving the existing government into that form. Nor were they without

hopes that by siding with the general government in every question of

power between that and the separate States, and with the Executive

in all questions between that and the Legislature, and by continually

increasing the patronage of the executive by means of an army, a navy,

and the multiplication of civil officers, they would ultimately obtain

their object. [5]

It was in the midst of this society, so agitated and disturbed, that

Washington, without ambition, without any false show, from a sense of

duty rather than inclination and rather trusting in truth than confident

of success, undertook actually to found the government decreed by the

new-born constitution. He rose to his high office invested with an

immense influence, which was acknowledged and received even by his

enemies.

Washington's natural inclination, says Guizot, [7] was rather to a

democratic social state than to any other. Of a mind just rather than

expansive, of a temper wise and calm, full of dignity, but free from

all selfish and arrogant pretensions--coveting rather respect than

power--the impartiality of democratic principles and the simplicity

of democratic manners, far from offending or annoying him, suited his

tastes and satisfied his judgment. He did not trouble himself with

inquiring whether more elaborate combinations, a division into ranks,

privileges, and artificial barriers, were necessary to the preservation

of society. He lived tranquilly in the midst of an equal and sovereign

people, finding its authority to be lawful and submitting to it without

effort.

But when the question was one of political and not social order, when

the discussion turned upon the organization of the government, he was

strongly federal, opposed to local and popular pretensions and the

declared advocate of the unity and force of the central power.

He placed himself under this standard and did so to insure its triumph.

But still his elevation was not the victory of a party and awakened in

no one either exultation or regret. In the eyes, not only of the public,

but of his enemies, he was not included in any party and was above them

all: "the only man in the United States," said Jefferson, "who possessed

the confidence of all;--there was no other one who was considered as

anything more than a party leader."

It was his constant effort to maintain this honorable privilege. "It is

really my wish to have my mind and my actions, which are the result

of reflection, as free and independent as the air. If it should be my

inevitable fate to administer the government, I will go to chair under

no pre-engagement of any kind or nature whatsoever. Should anything

tending to give me anxiety present itself in this or any other

publication, I shall never undertake the painful task of recrimination,

nor do I know that I should ever enter upon my justification. All else

is but food for declamation. Men's minds are as various as their faces,

and, where the motives of their actions are pure, the operations of the

former are no more to be imputed to them as a crime than the appearance

of the latter. Differences in political opinions are as unavoidable, as,

to a certain point, they may, perhaps, be necessary." [8]

A stranger also to all personal disputes, to the passions and prejudices

of his friends, as well as his enemies, the purpose of his whole policy

was to maintain this position and to this policy he gave the true name,

"the just medium!"

It is much, continues the great statesman of France, to have the wish to

preserve a just medium; but the wish, though accompanied with firmness

and ability, is not always enough to secure it. Washington succeeded in

this as much by the natural turn of his mind and character as by making

it his peculiar aim; he was, indeed, really of no party, and his country

in esteeming him so, did no more than pay homage to truth.

A man of experience and a man of action, he had an admirable wisdom, and

made no pretension to systematic theories. He took no side beforehand;

he made no show of the principles that were to govern him. Thus, there

was nothing like a logical harshness in his conduct, no committal of

self-love, no struggle of rival talent. When he obtained the victory,

his success was not to his adversaries either a stake lost or a sweeping

sentence of condemnation. It was not on the ground of the superiority

of his own mind that he triumphed, but on the ground of the nature of

things and of the inevitable necessity that accompanied them. Still, his

success was not an event without a moral character, the simple result of

skill, strength, or fortune. Uninfluenced by any theory he had faith in

truth and adopted it as the guide of his conduct. He did not pursue the

victory of one opinion against the partisans of another; neither did

he act from interest in the event alone, or merely for success. He did

nothing which he did not think to be reasonable and just; so that his

conduct, which had no systematic character that might be humbling to his

adversary, had still a moral character which commanded respect.

Men had, moreover, the most thorough conviction of his

disinterestedness, that great light to which men so willingly trust

their fate; that vast power which draws after it their hearts, while at

the same time it gives them confidence that their interests will not be

surrendered, either as a sacrifice or as instruments to selfishness

and ambition. A striking proof of his impartiality was afforded in the

choice of the persons who were to form his cabinet under the law for the

formation of the executive departments.

The government being completely organized and a system of revenue

established, the important duty of filling the offices which had been

created remained to be performed. In the execution of this delicate

trust the purest virtue and the most impartial judgment were exercised

by Washington in selecting the best talents and the greatest weight

of character which the United States could furnish. The unmingled

patriotism of the motives by which he was actuated, receives its

clearest demonstration from a view of all his private letters on this

subject, and the success of his endeavors is attested by the abilities

and reputation which he drew into the public service.