THE CONSTITUTION SUBMITTED TO THE STATE LEGISLATURES--THE GREAT
CONFLICT OF OPINIONS--WASHINGTON'S LETTERS TO MRS. GRAHAM AND
LAFAYETTE ON THE SUBJECT--HAMILTON PREPARES FOR THE BATTLE--HIS
PRELIMINARY REMARKS--OPPOSITION TO THE CONSTITUTION--_THE
FEDERALIST_--STORMY DEBATES IN STATE CONVENTIONS--RATIFICATION OF
THE CONSTITUTION--MEASURES FOR ESTABLISHING THE NEW
GOVERNMENT--WASHINGTON'S THANKFULNESS FOR THE RESULT--WASHINGTON
SPONTANEOUSLY NOMINATED FOR THE PRESIDENCY--HIS GREAT RELUCTANCE TO
ENTER UPON PUBLIC LIFE AGAIN--LETTERS TO HIS FRIENDS ON THE
SUBJECT--WASHINGTON ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES--PREPARATIONS FOR LEAVING HOME--VISIT TO, AND PARTING WITH
HIS MOTHER--HIS JOURNEY TO THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT LIKE A TRIUMPHAL
PROCESSION--HONORS BY THE WAY--ARRIVAL AND RECEPTION AT NEW
YORK--HIS SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY.
The Congress, on the twenty-eighth of September, unanimously resolved to
send the constitution adopted by the convention, and the accompanying
letters, to the legislatures of the several states, and to recommend
them to call conventions within their respective jurisdictions to
consider it. And it was agreed, that when nine of the thirteen states
should ratify it, it should become the fundamental law of the republic.
And now commenced the first great and general conflict of political
opinions since the establishment of the independence of the United
States; and in each of the several commonwealths, men of the first rank
in talent, social position, and sound moral and political integrity,
became engaged in the discussion of the great question of national
government. That conflict had commenced in the general convention, but
the proceedings of that body were under the seal of secrecy. Yet the
positions assumed by the delegates in the general discussion in their
several states, revealed the fact that extreme diversity of opinion had
prevailed in the convention, and that the constitution was composed of
compromises marked with the scars of severe conflict.
Referring to these differences of opinion in the convention, Washington
remarked to Catharine Macaulay Graham, in a letter written on the
sixteenth of November, that "the various and opposite interests which
were to be conciliated, the local prejudices which were to be subdued,
the diversity of opinions and sentiments which were to be reconciled,
and, in fine, the sacrifices which were necessary to be made on all
sides for the general welfare, combined to make it a work of so
intricate and difficult a nature, that I think it is much to be wondered
at that anything could have been produced with such unanimity as the
constitution proposed.... Whether it will be adopted by the people or
not remains yet to be determined."
To Lafayette he wrote in February following: "It appears to me little
short of a miracle that the delegates from so many states, different
from each other, as you know, in their manners, circumstances, and
prejudices, should unite in forming a system of national government, so
little liable to well-founded objections." After alluding to its obvious
defects, he continued:--
"With regard to the two great points, the pivots upon which
the whole machine must move, my creed is simply: First, that
the general government is not invested with more powers than
are indispensably necessary to perform the functions of a
good government; and, consequently, that no objection ought
to be made against the quantity of power delegated to it.
Secondly, that these powers, as the appointment of all
rulers will for ever arise from, and at short stated
intervals recur to, the free suffrage of the people, are so
distributed among the legislative, executive, and judicial
branches, into which the general government is arranged,
that it can never be in danger of degenerating into a
monarchy, an oligarchy, an aristocracy, or any other
despotic or oppressive form, so long as there shall remain
any virtue in the body of the people.
"I would not be understood, my dear marquis, to speak of
consequences which may be produced, in the revolution of
ages, by corruption of morals, profligacy of manners, and
listlessness in the preservation of the natural and
inalienable rights of mankind, nor of the successful
usurpations that may be established at such an unpropitious
juncture upon the ruins of liberty, however providently
guarded and secured, as these are contingencies against
which no human prudence can effectually provide. It will at
least be a recommendation to the proposed constitution, that
it is provided with more checks and barriers against the
introduction of tyranny, and those of a nature less liable
to be surmounted, than any government hitherto instituted
among mortals. We are not to expect perfection in this
world; but mankind, in modern times, have apparently made
some progress in the science of government. Should that
which is now offered to the people of America be found an
experiment less perfect than it can be made, a constitutional
door is left open for its amelioration."
Hamilton, with his usual marvellous sagacity, clearly perceived the
shaping of the conflict to be fought, and at once assumed the panoply of
a most acute contestant in its favor. "The new constitution," he wrote
immediately after the adjournment of the convention, "has in favor of
its success these circumstances: A very great weight of influence of the
persons who framed it, particularly in the universal popularity of
General Washington. The good will of the commercial interest throughout
the states, which will give all its efforts to the establishment of a
government capable of regulating, protecting, and extending the commerce
of the Union. The good will of most men of property in the several
states, who wish a government of the Union able to protect them against
domestic violence, and the depredations which the democratic spirit is
apt to make on property; and who are, besides, anxious for the
respectability of the nation. The hopes of the creditors of the United
States that a general government, possessing the means of doing it, will
pay the debt of the Union. A strong belief, in the people at large, of
the insufficiency of the present confederation to preserve the existence
of the Union, and of the necessity of the Union to their safety and
prosperity; of course, a strong desire of change, and a predisposition
to receive well the propositions of the convention."
Very soon Hamilton, with other _federalists_, as the supporters of the
constitution were called, found it necessary to put forth all his
intellectual energies in defence of that instrument. Conventions were
speedily called in the several states to consider it, and the friends
and opponents of the constitution marshalled their respective
antagonistic forces with great skill and zeal.
In Virgina, Patrick Henry, George Mason, and Richard Henry Lee, opposed
the constitution with all their power and influence, chiefly because it
would, in a degree, annul state rights, and base the sovereignty too
absolutely upon the popular will. Mason led in the opposition, and Henry
gave him the support of his eloquence. His arguments were those of all
other opponents; and with the leaders in his own and other states, he
raised the cry, which soon became general, that the new constitution had
no bill of rights and no sufficient guaranties for personal liberty.
They cited the experience of the past to show, that of all national
governments a democratic one was the most unstable, fluctuating, and
short-lived; and that despotism, arising from a centralization of power
in the national government on one hand, and anarchy, incident to the
instability of democracy--"the levelling spirit of democracy" denounced
by Gerry as "the worst of political evils"--on the other, were the
Scylla and Charybdis between which the republic would, in the opinion of
their opponents, be placed, with almost a certainty of being destroyed.
These views were ably combated in a series of political essays written
by Hamilton and Madison, with a few numbers by John Jay, which were
published in a New York newspaper, the object being, as stated by
Hamilton in the first number, "A discussion of the utility of the Union;
the insufficiency of the confederation to preserve that Union;" and "the
necessity of a government at least equally energetic with the one
proposed, to the attainment of this object." These essays, under the
general title of _The Federalist_, were written with uncommon ability,
exerted a powerful influence, and present an admirable treatise on the
philosophy of our federal constitution.[11]
Long and stormy debates occurred in the state conventions; and it was
not until the twenty-first of June, 1788, that New Hampshire, the ninth
state in order, ratified the constitution.[12] It then became the organic
law of the republic. The Congress, when testimonials of ratification
were received from a sufficient number of states, appointed the first
Wednesday of January, 1789, for the people of the United States to
choose electors of a president in accordance with the provisions of the
constitution; the first Wednesday in February following for the electors
to meet and make a choice; and the first Wednesday in March ensuing for
the new government to meet for organization in the city of New York.
While these discussions were going on, Washington remained at Mount
Vernon, a most anxious spectator of the progress of political events,
especially in his own state, where the opposition to the constitution
was very powerful and well organized. He took no direct part in the
proceedings of his state convention. "There is not, perhaps, a man in
Virginia," he wrote to General Lincoln, "less qualified than I am to
say, from his own knowledge and observation, what will be the fate of
the constitution here; for I very seldom ride beyond the limits of my
own farms, and am wholly indebted to those gentlemen who visit me for
any information of the disposition of the people toward it; but, from
all I can collect, I have not the smallest doubt of its being accepted."
Washington's views were freely expressed in conversations at Mount
Vernon and in his letters, and they had great weight; and when, finally,
the seal of approbation of the constitution was set by New Hampshire and
his own state, and that instrument became the supreme law of the land,
his heart was filled with gratitude to the Great Disposer of events for
his manifest protection of the American people from the calamities with
which they had so long been threatened. "We may, with a kind of pious
and grateful exultation," he wrote to Governor Trumbull, "trace the
finger of Providence through those dark and mysterious events which
first induced the states to appoint a general convention, and then led
them, one after another, by such steps as were best calculated to effect
the object into an adoption of the systems recommended by that general
convention; thereby, in all human probability, laying a lasting
foundation for tranquillity and happiness, when we had too much reason
to fear that confusion and misery were coming rapidly upon us."
The people of the Union, as if governed by one impulse, now turned to
Washington as the man who, above all others, was best qualified to
become the chief magistrate of the nation. He was informally nominated
by Hamilton, almost before the members of the convention that framed and
adopted the constitution had reached their homes. In a paper from which
we have just quoted, published immediately after the adjournment of the
convention, Hamilton said: "If the government be adopted, it is probable
General Washington will be the president of the United States. This will
insure a wise choice of men to administer the government, and a good
administration. A good administration will conciliate the confidence and
affection of the people, and perhaps enable the government to acquire
more consistency than the proposed constitution seems to promise for so
great a country."
It was soon apparent to Washington that the universal sentiment of the
people was in favor of his election to the chief magistracy. Almost
every letter from his friends expressed a desire that he should accept
the office when tendered to him, as it surely would be, by the electors
chosen by the people; and before the elections were held, so general was
the presumption that Washington would be the first president of the
United States, that he received many letters soliciting appointments to
office. These annoyed him exceedingly; for the subject, he said, never
failed to embarrass and distress him beyond measure. The prospect of
again being called into public life, in an arena in which difficulties
more formidable and perplexing than those in a military sphere must be
encountered, gave him great uneasiness. He loved his home, his family,
and the quiet pursuits of agriculture; and he desired, above all earthly
boons, the privilege of reposing among these.
To Hamilton he wrote, as early as August, 1788: "You know me well
enough, my good sir, to be persuaded that I am not guilty of affectation
when I tell you, that it is my great and sole desire to live and die in
peace and retirement on my own farm."
In October he again wrote to Hamilton, saying: "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."
To Governor Trumbull he wrote in December: "May Heaven assist me in
forming a judgment; for at present I see nothing but clouds and darkness
before me. Thus much I may safely say to you in confidence; if ever I
should, from any apparent necessity, be induced to go from home in a
public character again, it will certainly be the greatest sacrifice of
feelings and happiness that ever was or ever can be made by me."
To Lafayette he had written several months before, in reply to a hint of
the marquis that he would be called to the presidency, and said: "It has
no enticing charms and no fascinating allurements for me.... At my time
of life and under my circumstances, the increasing infirmities of nature
and the growing love of retirement do not permit me to entertain a wish
beyond that of living and dying an honest man on my own farm. Let those
follow the pursuits of ambition and fame who have a keener relish for
them, or who may have more years in store for the enjoyment."
As the time approached when he should make a decision, the mind of
Washington was greatly exercised, and to all his friends he sincerely
declared that no other consideration than the solemn requirements of his
country could induce him to accept the office. These sentiments he
expressed with full freedom to his intimate friend, Colonel Henry Lee,
who had written to Washington with great warmth on the subject, and
said: "Solicitous for our common happiness as a people, and convinced 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.... 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, gave to the lot of man."
To this Washington replied: "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.... 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 uninfluenced by sinister motives, in
case any circumstance should render a deviation from the line of conduct
I had prescribed to myself indispensable.
"Should the contingency you suggest take place, and (for
argument's sake alone let me say it) 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 that
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, farther, would there not be some
apparent foundation for the two former charges? Now, justice
to myself and tranquillity 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 might 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, whensoever 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 lie 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 would be no one of
these motives, nor the hazard to which my former reputation
might be exposed, nor 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 fully as satisfactorily as myself."
To Lafayette he wrote, after the elections were held in January, 1789,
but before the electoral college met to make choice of a president: "I
can say little or nothing new, 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 multiply 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 another. 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 co-operate in
establishing those four great and essential pillars of public felicity."
These sentences, taken from Washington's letters to his most intimate
friends, show how little ambitious he was for the fame of statesmanship,
and how honestly and eagerly he yearned for the quiet and obscurity of
domestic life. At the same time, they reveal the true motives which led
the great patriot to enter upon public employment, namely, a sincere
love for his country, and a ready willingness to labor for the promotion
of its best interests.
At the prescribed time the elections took place, and the college, by
unanimous voice, made choice of Washington for president of the United
States, and John Adams for vice-president. True to his convictions of
duty, the great leader of the armies of America consented to be the
pilot of the ship of state for four years, and prepared accordingly to
leave his beloved Mount Vernon for the stormy sea of public life. These
preparations were made with sincere reluctance; and the delay of a month
in forming a quorum of Congress, so that the votes for president were
not counted officially until the beginning of April, was regarded by
Washington with heartfelt satisfaction.
"The delay," he said in a letter to General Knox on the first of April,
"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 a 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 can not deprive me."
The senate was organized on the sixth of April. The electoral votes were
counted, and Washington was declared duly chosen president of the United
States for four years from the fourth of March preceding. John Langdon,
a senator from New Hampshire, had been chosen president of the senate
_pro tempore_, and he immediately wrote an official letter to Washington
notifying him of his election. This was borne by Charles Thomson, the
secretary of the continental Congress from its first session in 1774. He
reached Mount Vernon at about noon on the fourteenth, and on the evening
of the sixteenth Washington wrote in his diary: "About ten o'clock I
bade adieu to Mount Vernon, to private life and domestic felicity; and
with a mind oppressed with more anxious and painful sensations than I
have words to express, set out for New York with Mr. Thomson and Colonel
Humphreys, with the best disposition to render service to my country in
obedience to its call, but with less hope of answering its
expectations."
Meanwhile, the illustrious soldier, who was about to assume the most
exalted civil duties that can be delegated to man, had made a quick
journey to Fredericksburg, the residence of his mother, to bid her, what
both of them considered, and what proved to be, a final adieu. She was
then about fourscore years of age, and suffering from an acute and
incurable malady. Their meeting was tender, and their parting peculiarly
touching. "The people, madam," said Washington to his mother, "have been
pleased, with the most flattering unanimity, to elect me to the chief
magistracy of these United States; but, before I can assume the
functions of my office, I have come to bid you an affectionate farewell.
So soon as the weight of public business, which must necessarily attend
the outset of a new government, can be disposed of, I shall hasten to
Virginia, and--" "You will see me no more," said the matron,
interrupting him. "My great age," she continued, "and the disease which
is fast approaching my vitals, warn me that I shall not be long in this
world; I trust in God that I may be somewhat prepared for a better. But
go, George, fulfill the high destiny which Heaven appears to have
intended you for: go, my son; and may that Heaven's and a mother's
blessing be with you always!"[13]
Washington was accompanied in his journey from Mount Vernon to New York
(the then seat of the federal government) by Secretary Thomson and
Colonel Humphreys, preceded in a stage by his private secretary, Tobias
Lear. He desired to go in as private a manner as possible; but his
wishes were thwarted by the irrepressible enthusiasm and love of his
countrymen along the route. He was met at the very threshold of his own
estate by a cavalcade of citizens of Alexandria--his neighbors and
personal friends--who invited him to partake of a public dinner. He
could not refuse; and, at the table, his feelings were most sensibly
touched by the words of the mayor, who said: "The first and best of our
citizens must leave us; our aged must lose their ornament, our youth
their model, our agriculture its improver, our infant academy its
protector, our poor their benefactor.... Farewell! Go, and make a
grateful people happy; a people who will be doubly grateful when they
contemplate this new sacrifice for their interests."
Washington's feelings allowed him to make only a short reply. "Words
fail me," he said. "Unutterable sensations must, then, be left to more
expressive silence, while from an aching heart I bid all my affectionate
friends and kind neighbors farewell!"
All the way to the city of New York, the president's journey was a
continued ovation. At every large town and village he was hailed with
the most joyous acclamations. Deputations of the most valued inhabitants
met him everywhere and formed escorts and processions. At Baltimore he
was greeted by the ringing of bells and the thunders of artillery. At
the frontier of Pennsylvania he was met by General Mifflin (then
governor of the state) and Judge Peters at the head of a large cavalcade
of citizens; and at Chester a grand procession, led by General St.
Clair, formed an escort for the president into Philadelphia. This
swelled in numbers and increased in interest as they approached the
city.
At Gray's ferry, over the Schuylkill, triumphal arches were reared; and
from one of these, as Washington passed under it, Angelica Peale (a
little daughter of the painter, Charles Willson Peale), who was
concealed in foliage, let down a civic crown upon his head, while the
multitude filled the air with long and loud huzzas. At least twenty
thousand people lined the road from the river to the city; and at every
step the president was saluted with the cries, "Long live George
Washington!" "Long live the father of his people!"
[Illustration: WASHINGTON ENTERING TRENTON]
Washington and his suite were entertained at a sumptuous banquet given
at the City Tavern, at which the leading members of the state and city
governments were present. In the evening there was a magnificent display
of fireworks, such as the Philadelphians had never before seen.
At the banquet, the mayor of the city presented to Washington an
official address, in behalf of himself and the council, in which a
complimentary reference to the president's public services was made.
"When I contemplate the interposition of Providence," said Washington in
reply, "as it was visibly manifested in guiding us through the
Revolution, in preparing us for the reception of the general government,
and in conciliating the good will of the people of America toward one
another after its adoption, I feel myself oppressed and almost
overwhelmed with a sense of Divine munificence. I feel that nothing is
due to my personal agency in all these wonderful and complicated events,
except what can be attributed to an honest zeal for the good of my
country."
The military of Philadelphia prepared to escort the president to Trenton
the next morning, but rain prevented, and Washington and suite journeyed
in a close carriage. Toward noon the clouds broke, and as they
approached the Delaware the sun beamed out brightly, and a great crowd
of people came to welcome the Father of his Country to the spot where,
many years before, he had given a blow of deliverance, the most
brilliant that was struck during the war. The contrast between the
scenes that now broke upon his vision and those at the same place in the
dark winter of 1776-'77, when hope for the republican cause had almost
expired, and the sun of liberty for his country appeared to be setting
among the clouds of utter despondency, must have created the most lively
sensations of joy in his bosom. Memory with its sombre pencil drew the
picture of the past, while present perception with its brilliant pencil
portrayed passing events, that quickened the pulse and made the heart
leap with pleasure.
Upon the very bridge over which, less than thirteen years before,
Washington had fled before the troops of Cornwallis, a triumphal arch,
made by the women of New Jersey, was now placed, bearing mementoes of
his triumphs there, and the words: "THE DEFENDER OF THE MOTHERS WILL BE
THE PROTECTOR OF THE DAUGHTERS." And as he passed under that arch, the
way was lined with mothers and daughters, all dressed in white, while
thirteen young girls in like apparel, with wreaths upon their heads, and
holding baskets of flowers in their hands, strewed blossoms in the way
and sang:--
"Welcome, mighty Chief! Once more,
Welcome to this grateful shore;
Now no mercenary foe
Aims again the fatal blow--
Aims at thee the fatal blow.
"Virgins fair and matrons grave,
Those thy conquering arm did save,
Build for thee triumphal bowers:
Strew, ye fair, his way with flowers!
Strew your hero's way with flowers!"
Before he left Trenton, the president sent a brief note to the ladies
who prepared this memorable reception, in which he said: "General
Washington can not leave this place without expressing his
acknowledgments to the matrons and young ladies who received him in so
novel and grateful a manner at the Triumphal Arch, for the exquisite
sensations he experienced in that affecting moment. The astonishing
contrast between his former and his actual situation at the same spot,
the elegant taste with which it was adorned for the present occasion,
and the innocent appearance of the white-robed choir who met him with
the gratulatory song, have made such an impression on his remembrance
as, he assures them, will never be effaced."
[Illustration: RECEPTION OF PRESIDENT WASHINGTON AT NEW YORK, APRIL 23,
1789.]
Over the same route across New Jersey along which Washington fled toward
the close of 1776, with his wasting little army, before an exulting foe,
and in the midst of secret enemies on every side, he now made his way
among a happy and peaceful people, who received him everywhere with the
open arms of love and veneration, while the air was filled with the
shouts of multitudes, the booming of cannon, and the ringing of bells.
He arrived at Elizabethtown point, a few miles from New York, on the
morning of the twenty-third of April, and there he was received by
committees of both houses of Congress, officers of the federal, state,
and municipal governments, and a large number of citizens who had
collected from all parts of the country. A splendid barge had been
constructed for the occasion, to carry the president to New York, and in
it he embarked immediately after his arrival. It was manned by thirteen
masters of vessels in white uniforms, commanded by Commodore James
Nicholson; and other beautiful barges, fancifully decorated, conveyed
the Congressional committees and the heads of departments. Other boats
joined them on the way, some of them bearing musicians; and when they
approached the city, whose shores and wharves, and every part of Fort
George and the Battery, were covered with people, there was a grand
flotilla in the procession, the oars keeping time with instrumental
music.
All the vessels in the harbor but one were gayly decked with flags, and
upon two of them parties of ladies and gentlemen sang gratulatory odes
as the barge of the president approached. The exception was the Spanish
man-of-war _Galveston_, which displayed no token of respect. A general
feeling of indignation began to prevail, when in an instant, as the
president's barge came abreast of her, her yards were manned as if by
magic; every part of her rigging displayed flags of all nations, with
the effect of an immense shrub bursting suddenly into gorgeous bloom;
and the roar of thirteen cannon, discharged in quick succession,
attested the reverence and respect of the Spanish admiral for the
illustrious Washington. The effect upon the multitude was electrical,
and over bay and city a shout, long and loud, floated upon the noontide
air.
Washington was received at the stairs of Murray's wharf by his old
friend Governor Clinton; and his loved companion-in-arms, General Knox,
was there to welcome him, with a host of others of the army of the
Revolution, who had come, some of them long distances, to look once more
upon the face of their beloved Chief, to feel the grasp of his hand, and
to hear his voice.
A carriage was in waiting to convey the president to his lodgings in
Osgood's house, in Cherry-street, and a carpet had been spread, from the
wharf to the vehicle, for him to tread upon. But he preferred to walk. A
long civic and military train followed. From the streets, windows,
balconies, and roofs, he was greeted with shouts and the waving of
handkerchiefs. All the bells in the city rang out a joyful welcome; and
from Colonel Bauman's artillery heavy peals of cannon joined the chorus.
The president and a large company dined with Governor Clinton; and in
the evening, the streets, though very wet after a warm shower, were
filled with people to witness a general illumination of the houses.
While the name of Washington was spoken with reverence by every lip;
while in the ears of senators were yet ringing the remarkable words of
Vice-President Adams--"If we look over the catalogues of the first
magistrates of nations, whether they have been denominated presidents or
consuls, kings or princes, where shall we find one whose commanding
talents and virtues, whose overruling good fortune, have so completely
united all hearts and voices in his favor; who enjoyed the esteem and
admiration of foreign nations and fellow-citizens with equal unanimity?"
while the occasion of his arrival "arrested the public attention beyond
all powers of description"--"the hand of industry was suspended, and the
pleasures of the capital were centered in a single enjoyment," that
great man, exercised by a modest estimate of his own powers in a degree
amounting almost to timidity, wrote in his diary:--
"The display of boats which attended and joined us on this
occasion, some with vocal and some with instrumental music on
board; the decorations of the ships; the roar of cannon, and the
loud acclamations of the people which rent the skies as I passed
along the wharves, filled my mind with sensations as painful
(considering the reverse of this scene, which may be the case,
after all my labors to do good) as they are pleasing."
And a few days after his inauguration he wrote to Edward Rutledge:
"Though I flatter myself the world will do me the justice to
believe that, at my time of life and in my circumstances, nothing
but a conviction of duty could have induced me to depart from my
resolution of remaining in retirement, yet I greatly apprehend that
my countrymen will expect too much from me.... So much is expected,
so many untoward circumstances may intervene, in such a new and
critical situation, that I feel an insuperable diffidence in my own
abilities. I feel, in the execution of the duties of my arduous
office, how much I shall stand in need of the countenance and aid
of every friend to myself, of every friend to the Revolution, and
of every lover of good government."
How nobly, ay, and how sadly, do these feelings of Washington--his
humiliating sense of the great responsibility laid upon him when he
assumed the office of the chief magistrate of the republic--contrast
with the eager aspirations of mere politicians to sit in the seat of
that illustrious and conscientious man! How the spectacle illustrates
the words of the poet:--
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread!"
FOOTNOTES:
[11] "The first number of the _Federalist_," says J. C. Hamilton in his
_History of the Republic of the United States_, "was written by
Hamilton, in the cabin of a sloop, as he was descending the Hudson, and
was published on the 27th of October, 1787. After the publication of the
seventh, it was announced: 'In order that the whole subject of the
papers may be as soon as possible laid before the public, it is proposed
to publish them four times a week.'" It was originally intended to
comprise the series within twenty, or at most twenty-five numbers, but
they extended to eighty-five. Of these Hamilton wrote sixty-five.
Concerning these papers, Washington wrote to Hamilton, at the close of
August, 1788: "I have read every performance which has been printed on
one side and the other of the great question lately agitated, so far as
I have been able to obtain them; and, without an unmeaning compliment, I
will say, that I have seen no other [than _the Federalist_] so well
calculated, in my judgment, to produce conviction in an unbiassed mind,
as the production of your _triumvirate_. When the transient
circumstances and fugitive performances which attended this crisis shall
have disappeared, that work will merit the notice of posterity, because
in it are candidly and ably discussed the principles of freedom and the
topics of government, which will be always interesting to mankind, so
long as they shall be connected in civil society."
[12] The several states ratified the constitution in the following
order:--
Delaware, December 7, 1787; Pennsylvania, December 12, 1787; New Jersey,
December 18, 1787; Georgia, January 2, 1788; Connecticut, January 9,
1788; Massachusetts, February 6, 1788; Maryland, April 28, 1788; South
Carolina, May 23, 1788; New Hampshire, June 21, 1788; Virginia, June 26,
1788; New York, July 26, 1788; North Carolina, November 21, 1788; Rhode
Island, May 29, 1790.
[13] Custis's _Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington_, page
145.