After the peace was signed in September, 1783, all the British
soldiers left America, and Washington felt that his work was done.
So he resolved to give up his post as commander-in-chief, and go
back to his pleasant Virginian home.
He was glad at the thought of going back to the home he loved, yet
sad at the thought of saying farewell to his officers. For eight
years they had worked for him faithfully, together they had faced
dark days, together they had been through deep waters. And now
that victory was won, Washington's heart was filled with love and
gratitude.
It was at Faunces's Tavern in New York that Washington met his
officers for the last time. When he came into the long, low room
where they were all gathered, he was so moved that he could not
speak. Silently he went to the table and filled a glass with wine.
Raising it, he turned to the men who stood as silently about him,
and with an effort, commanding his voice he spoke.
"With a heart full of love and gratitude," he said, "I now take
leave of you, most devoutly wishing that your latter days may be
as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and
honourable."
Then having drunk to the toast he set the glass down.
"I cannot come to each of you to take my leave," he said brokenly,
"but shall be obliged if each of you will come and take me by the
hand."
The General who was nearest to Washington then turned to him and
silently grasped his hand.
With tears in his eyes, Washington put his arms about him and
kissed him. And thus one after the other his officers silently said
good-bye, no one of them trusting himself to speak.
Then still in silence, they followed him to the boat which was to
carry him on the first part of his way to Annapolis where Congress
was assembled, and where he was to lay down his sword.
His journey was like a royal progress. In every town and village
through which he passed the people gathered to cheer and bless
him. So he reached Annapolis. There before Congress he resigned
his commission. Then with a sigh of relief, a simple citizen once
more, he mounted his horse and rode homewards.
But now the colonies which had wrung themselves free from the rule
of Britain were not altogether happy. They called themselves the
United States, but there was little union. Before the Revolution
there had been much jealousy between the various states. For
a time, indeed, in the heat of the struggle, they had forgotten
these differences. But now that the struggle was over, and peace
had come, these jealousies appeared again. Each state had its
own government, its own taxes, its own money. So there was great
confusion. But no state wanted to give up any of its privileges,
and it seemed hopeless to institute one Central Government, for each
state thought only of itself, and each one was afraid of giving
Congress too much power lest it should usurp the power of the state
government.
The states quarreled with each other about their boundaries, some
of them made absurd claims to vast territory on the strength of
their royal charters, quite forgetting that these charters were
now done away with. There were riots everywhere, indeed, never was
the State in such danger of shipwreck as now at its very beginning.
Washington from his quiet retreat at first watched the struggle
anxiously, but not despairingly. "Everything will come right,
at last," he said. "My only fear is that we shall lose a little
reputation first."
As time went on, however, he grew more anxious. "I think we have
opposed Great Britain," he said, "and have arrived at the present
state of peace and independency, to very little purpose, if we
cannot conquer our own prejudices."
But Washington had no real need to fear. The men who had fought for
their freedom proved themselves worthy of it, and in May, 1787, a
meeting of all the states was called at Philadelphia.
Of this Convention, as it was called, Washington was chosen President.
It was no easy post, nor was the business for which the members of
the Convention were called together a simple business. They had,
indeed, a very great task to perform, the task of forming a new
constitution or mode of government, which all states would accept.
It was not easy to please every one, and also do thoroughly good
work. So for four months the Convention sat, discussing this and
that, listening now to one side, now to another, weighing, judging
and deciding.
But at length the thing was done. In the same hall where the Declaration
of Independence had been signed the Constitution had been framed.
Then the delegates went home and a copy of the Constitution was
sent to each state.
It had been agreed that nine states must accept the Constitution
before it could become law. The question now was whether nine
would accept it or not. Many hesitated a long time. For it seemed
to them that this new Constitution which was going to unite all
the states into one was going also to give far too much power into
the hands of a few people. It would be a case of tyranny over again,
many feared. And, having suffered so much to free themselves from
one tyranny, they were not ready to place themselves under a second.
But others at once saw the need of a strong central government and
accepted the new Constitution whole-heartedly and almost at once.
Delaware had the honour of coming first early in December, 1787,
but before the month was gone two more states, Pennsylvania and New
Jersey, followed the good example. A week or so later came Georgia
and then Connecticut. After a good deal of hesitation Massachusetts
also came into line; then Maryland and South Carolina.
Only one more state was now needed to make the union safe. Would
that one state come in, the friends of union asked themselves, and
they worked their hardest to make people think as they did.
At length their efforts were rewarded and New Hampshire made the
ninth, and just four days later the great State of Virginia also
came in. New York soon followed and only North Carolina and Rhode
Island remained out of the Union. But in time they, too, came in,
Rhode Island last of all, and not for fully a year after the first
President had been chosen, and the government organised.
The new government required that there should be a Congress to look
after the affairs of the nation, with two houses, something after
the fashion of the British Parliament. It also required that there
should be a President at the head of everything.
There was little doubt as to who should fill that place. George
Washington, the man who had led the army to victory, was the man
chosen to be first President of the United States.
Other people were indeed voted for, but Washington had more than
twice as many votes as John Adams, who came next to him. The others
were simply nowhere. So Washington was made President and Adams
vice-president.
But Washington had no wish to be President. He was too old, he said
(he was only fifty-seven) and besides he was not even a statesman
but a soldier. The people, however, would not listen to him. "We
cannot do without you," they said. "There is no use framing a new
government if the best man is to be left out of it."
So to the entreaties of his friends Washington yielded. But it was
with a heavy heart, for he greatly doubted his own powers.
"In confidence I tell you," he wrote to an old friend, "that my
movement 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."
But whatever he felt, his journey to New York was not like that of
a criminal, but rather like that of a king. From far and near the
people crowded to see him pass. They raised triumphal arches, they
scattered flowers at his feet, they sang chants and hymns in his
honour. From first to last it was one long triumph. When he reached
New York bells rang and cannon boomed, the streets were gay with
flags, and crowded with people, and as he passed along cheer upon
cheer thundered and echoed over the city.
Next day, the 30th of April, 1789, Washington took his place as
President of the United States.
At nine o'clock in the morning the churches were thronged with
people praying for the welfare of their President. By twelve these
same people were all crowding to the Federal Hall eager to be
present at the great ceremony. Soon the space in front of the hall
was one closely packed mass of people; every window and balcony
was crowded also, and people were even to be seen on the roofs.
A little after noon Washington reached the hall, and as he stepped
out on to the balcony a cheer of welcome burst from the gathered
thousands. Again and again they cheered, again and again Washington
bowed in acknowledgement. He was greatly touched; tears stood in
his eyes, and at length utterly overcome he sat down.
Suddenly a deep hush fell upon the swaying crowd and after a slight
pause Washington rose again. Then in the grave silence the voice
of Robert R. Livingston, the Chancellor of New York, could clearly
be heard.
"Do you," he asked, "solemnly swear that you will faithfully execute
the office of President of the United States, and will to the best
of your ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of
the United States?"
With his hand upon the Bible which the Secretary of the Senate held
beside him Washington replied.
"I do solemnly swear," he said, "that I will faithfully execute the
office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of
my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the
United States."
Then bowing his head he kissed the Bible help before him. "So help
me God," he murmured.
The Chancellor then stepped forward and in a ringing voice he shouted,
"Long live George Washington, President of the United States."
A great answering shout went up from the people, the flag was
broken to the breeze, and cannon boomed forth a salute to the first
President of the United States.
Again and again Washington bowed his thanks to the cheering people.
Then, shaken with emotion, the shouts still sounding in his ears,
he turned away and entered the hall to read his address.
Thus the Story of the United States under the Constitution was
begun.
Washington was a thorough aristocrat and now that he had been chosen
head of the State he felt that he must surround himself with a
certain amount of ceremony. Now he no longer walked or rode abroad,
but drove about in a fine coach drawn by six white horses. He no
longer went to see people, but they came to him on certain days
and at appointed times. When he held receptions he dressed himself
splendidly in black velvet with silk stockings. He wore a jeweled
sword at his side and buckles both at the knee and on his shoes.
Instead of shaking hands with people he merely bowed.
All this ceremony and state came easily to Washington. Even as a
simple Virginian gentleman he had been used to a certain amount of
it. For in those days plain gentleman folk were much more ceremonious
than they are today. Besides, kings always surrounded themselves
with a great deal of state, and it seemed to Washington that a
ruler must do so to keep up the high dignity of his office.
The first President's post was no easy one. The whole machinery of
government had to be invented and set going, and first and foremost
the money matters had to be set straight.
They were in a great muddle. The war had cost a great deal, so the
new government began in debt and nearly every separate state was
also in debt. But a clever man named Alexander Hamilton took hold
of the money matters and soon put them right.
Among other things he said that the government must take over the
war debts of all the states. At once the states made an outcry. "If
we allow the government to pay our debts," they said, "we become
slaves to the government. If we give up control of our own money
matters the government will have too much power over us. We put
too much power in the hands of a few." Then they talked of tyranny.
You see many of the people of the United States rightly or wrongly
had come to look upon any government as certain to be tyrannous.
However, Hamilton got his way in the end. The money matters of the
nation were settled satisfactorily, and the separate states bound
more securely together.
And now another state joined the union, that of Vermont. Vermont,
as you can see if you look on the map, lies between New Hampshire
and New York, and there had been bitter disputes between the two
over the land which both claimed. In 1765, however, King George III
had decided that the land belonged to New York, and must be under
the rule of that colony. The people, however, rebelled. And when
in 1777 the Governor of New York threatened to drive them all into
the Green Mountains if they did not yield peaceably they raised
an army of volunteers to whom they gave the name of Green Mountain
Boys. They took this name from the word Vermont which meant Green
Mountain.
The Green Mountain Boys fought the New York Governor and declared
Vermont a separate colony. Now these old quarrels were forgotten.
New York no longer claimed the land, and Vermont joined the Union
as the fourteenth state.
In the following year another state was added to the Union. This
was the State of Kentucky. It was, like several other states, an
offshoot of Virginia, and carved out of the territory which Virginia
claimed by right of her old charter which gave her all the land
between the Atlantic and the Pacific.
Among the early settlers of Kentucky was a famous hunter named
Daniel Boone. He was a gentle, kindly man who loved the forest and
the loneliness of the wilderness. All the lore of the forest was
his, he knew the haunts and habits of every living thing that moved
within the woods. He could imitate the gobble of the turkey, or the
chatter of a squirrel, and follow a trail better than any Indian.
It was with no idea of helping to found a state, but rather from
a wish to get far from the haunts of his fellowmen that he moved
away into the beautiful wilds of Kentucky.
In those days Kentucky was not inhabited by any tribe of Indians,
but it was their hunting ground, and they were very angry when
they saw white men come to settle there and spoil their hunting. So
Boone had many fierce fights with Indians, and was more than once
taken prisoner by them.
Many other settlers followed Boone, and after the Revolution many
Virginians moved to Kentucky. These people soon became clamorous
for separation from Virginia, and at last in 1792 Kentucky was
received into the Union as a separate state.
And now the question of a suitable capital for the United States
began to be thought of. The first Congress had met at New York, but
it only remained there a short time. Then the seat of government
was moved to Philadelphia. Philadelphia, however, was not considered
a good place. So it was decided to build a new capital. The Northern
States wanted it in the north, the Southern States wanted it in
the south, but finally it was agreed upon to have it on the Potomac
River almost in the middle, Virginia and Maryland offering the
territory. Splendid plans were made, and the building was begun,
but for the next ten years Philadelphia still remained the seat of
government.
So four busy years went past, and the time of Washington's presidency
drew to an end. He rejoiced to think that after his hard work for
his country he could now go back to his peaceful home at Mount
Vernon, and be at rest. But his friends would not let him go. The
government of the United States was not yet firmly on its feet.
Only he could make it firm, they said. The people loved him, and
would be guided by him when they would not follow any one else,
therefore he must stay.
At length Washington yielded to the entreaties of his friends and
allowed himself to be elected President a second time.
And now there arose difficulties between the United States and
their old friends, the French. For, while the Americans had been
hammering away at their Constitution, and making a new nation out
of raw material, the French had risen against the tyranny of their
king, and had declared France a Republic. And when many of the
European countries joined together to fight France, and force them
to take back their king, the French people looked to the sister
Republic across the Atlantic for help. They had helped the Americans
in their struggle, surely now the Americans would help them. But
the French went too far. They seemed to lose all sense of right
and wrong, they put hundreds of people to death without cause and
drowned France in blood.
So, many people who had wished them well at the beginning, turned
from them, and although many people in America were ready to fight
for the French, Washington determined to keep peace. He was not
ungrateful to the French for their help in the American Revolution.
But he felt that their wild orgy of blood was wrong, and he saw
too, that America was too young a nation to plunge again into war.
So he proclaimed the United States to be neutral, that is, that
they would take part on neither side in the European War.
When the French heard that America refused to help them, they were
greatly hurt. But worse was yet to follow, for Washington, besides
refusing to fight for the French, made a treaty with the British,
with whom the French were at war.
The War of Independence had left some bitterness between the old
country and the new. And as time went on that bitterness increased
rather than lessened. The United States felt that Britain hardly
treated them with the respect due to an independent nation, and
indeed some of Britain's actions were fairly high handed.
During the war a great many Negroes had been carried off into
Canada, and Britain would not pay for them. The boundaries between
the United States and Canada were still in dispute. Britain made
no effort to settle them, but kept possession of such forts as
Oswego, Detroit, Niagara, and others. Then, because they were at
war with France, the British interfered with, and almost ruined,
American trade with the French West Indies. And lastly, what
seemed to Americans the worst insult of all, they claimed the right
of search. That is, they claimed the right of searching neutral
vessels for British seamen and of taking them by force to serve in
the British navy. In those early days it was difficult to distinguish
an Englishmen from an American by his speech, and thus Americans
were often seized and made to serve in the British navy. There were
other grievances, but these were chief.
Taken altogether they made the Americans so angry that Washington
feared another war, for which he knew the nation was not ready.
He decided therefore to make a bid for peace, and sent John Jay to
London to arrange matters between the two countries.
Jay did not find British statesmen in any yielding mood, and so
the treaty which he arranged, and which goes by his name, was not
altogether favourable to the Americans. There was, for instance,
nothing in the treaty about paying for the slaves, nor about the
right of search. But seeing that he could get no better terms Jay
accepted those offered him. Undoubtedly America asked more than
Britain could well give. Equally undoubtedly Britain gave less than
America had a right to expect.
Washington was not satisfied with the treaty, but he felt that Jay
had done his best. He felt, too, that it was either the treaty or
war. So rather than have war he signed it.
When, however, the terms of it became known a cry of rage rang
through the country. Those who had supported it were hooted at and
stoned in the streets, John Jay was burned in effigy, the treaty
itself was publicly burned. Even Washington, beloved as he was, did
not escape. Taunts and insults were flung at him. He was called a
tyrant and a traitor, but in spite of all the opposition Washington
stood firm. He held to the treaty, and peace with the old country
was kept.
The storm was bitter while it lasted, but at length it died down
and the men who had flung insults at Washington saw in time that
he had been right. He had kept peace; and as a young nation America
stood in need of peace more than anything else.
Washington's second term of office now came to an end. He was
utterly weary of public life, and he resolutely refused to stand
for President again. It was nearly forty years, now, since he had
first begun to work for his country. He felt that his work was
done, and all he wanted now was to spend his last days quietly in
his beloved home, Mount Vernon.
This time Washington had his way and laid down his office. Then,
as second President, the people chose John Adams, who had already
been Vice-President.
__________