President Washington's Second Term

       During this term international affairs for a time overshadowed domestic issues. A war between France and England vastly aroused the sympathies of a group friendly to France, and there were some extremists who demanded that the nation go to its assistance. Another faction as vehemently urged neutrality or support for England. Washington, who saw clearly that the United States was too weak and insecure to be implicated in European quarrels, issued a proclamation of neutrality and refused to take sides. An unfortunate incident of this affair was the activity of Edmon, or "Citizen," Genet, a Frenchman whose defiance of the proclamation caused the government considerable anxiety. The French sympathizers were also greatly exercised over the acceptance of the Jay Treaty (1794) with England. This treaty was not so favorable to America as its sponsors wished, but it was the best that could be obtained, and it served the purpose of averting war with England, which Washington felt would be a national calamity.

       The power of the Federal government was vigorously exercised in this administration. In Pennsylvania in 1794 there occurred an insurrection in protest against the excise tax, to quell which Washington ordered out 15,000 militia. Trouble with the Indians was settled by Anthony Wayne's victory over them at Fallen Timbers in 1794, and by the negotiation of treaties. Other events include the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney; the erection of the first woolen mill in Massachusetts; the admission of Tennessee into the Union, and the development of two great political parties, by followers of Hamilton and Jefferson, respectively.

The Constitution and First Administration

       Five years after the signing of the peace treaty a new crisis called Washington again into public life. Under the Articles of Confederation affairs were steadily growing more chaotic, and in May, 1787, a convention was called to meet in Philadelphia to prepare a new form of union. To this body Washington was sent as head of the Virginia delegation; on its organization he was unanimously elected its president. In September the convention completed a new Constitution and gave it to the states for ratification. The influence that Washington exercised in the consummation of this great achievement is ably summarized in Woodrow Wilson's History of the American People:

       "It gave the convention great dignity that Washington had presided over its counsels and was heart and soul for the adoption of the measures it proposed. His name and quiet force had steadied the convention on many an anxious day when disagreement threatened hopeless breach. His fame and Influence infinitely strengthened also the measures proposed, now that they were completed. He supported them because they were thorough-going and courageous and cut to the root of the difficulties under which the country was laboring. Issue had been joined now, as he had wished to see it joined, between government or no government, and the country was to know at last where it stood in the most essential matters of its life."

       It is not surprising that when the votes of the first Electoral College were counted it was found that Washington was the unanimous choice for President of the United States, John Adams was honored with the Vice-Presidency. Washington was inaugurated in New York, - which was then the national seat of government. Standing on the balcony in front of the old Federal Hall, whose site is now occupied by the imposing Subtreasury, he took the oath of office on April 30, 1789, though the legal day for the ceremony was March 4. Difficulties in setting the new machinery in motion were responsible for the delay.

       From the first he displayed in civil affairs the same equalities of leadership and invariable good judgment which he had shown during his military career. He set about informing himself concerning all that had happened during the period of the Confederation - the relations of the new government to foreign nations, and the questions of internal administration and finance, which were soon to become pressing issues. He also chose a remarkably strong Cabinet, including Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, who, though directly opposite in their political opinions, were acknowledged leaders in the political life of the country.

       The selection of Alexander Hamilton as head of the Treasury Department was momentous in its results, for through his farseeing statesmanship the country was put on a sound financial basis. In accordance with Hamilton's program the national government assumed the debts of the states incurred during the war; a national bank and a mint were established; and a national income was provided for by duties on imports and a system of internal revenue.

       Other important events of the first four years under the Federal Constitution were the organization of the United States Supreme Court, the admission of Vermont (1791) and Kentucky (1792) as states, the adoption of a decimal system of coinage, and the incorporation into the Constitution of the first ten amendments. So profoundly impressed were the people with the results of Washington's first term that there was a spontaneous demand that he serve again. Against his personal wishes he consented, and was unanimously reelected, being inaugurated in Philadelphia on March 4, 1793. The city of Washington did not become the national capital until 1800.

The Revolutionary War

       On June 15, 1775, two months after the Battle' of Lexington, Washington was unanimously chosen by Congress to be commander in chief of the Continental forces. Addressing the assembly the following day, he modestly accepted the honor, and assured the delegates that he would expect no remuneration except for his own expenses. He then departed on horseback for Boston, and on July 3, 1775, took command of the Continental army, in Cambridge. The old elm under which this ceremony took place is still preserved as a cherished relic. 

• Under The Washington Elm, Cambridge

       The military events of the long struggle which the colonies waged for independence are told in these volumes in the article on the Revolutionary War. The personal share of Washington in the hard-won victory cannot be overestimated; from the perspective of a century and a half it seems almost incredible that he did succeed. Difficulties beset him that would have broken the courage of a weaker man. His little army of barely 14,000 was lacking in arms, supplies, discipline and organization. There was no uniform policy among the colonies on any matters essential to the prosecution of the war, and authority was vested in too many officials and organizations to bring about any semblance of unity. There were bickerings, quarrels and plots. Yet, somehow, Washington overrode all obstacles. For one thing, he was loved and trusted by his men, and because of that trust they endured terrible hardships to uphold him.

       When the army went into winter quarters at Valley Forge, in December, 1777, Washington informed Congress that he had 2,898 men unfit for duty because they were "bare- footed and otherwise naked." It is a matter of record that blood in the snow marked the path of those unshod troops as they marched into camp.

       As a military leader Washington was superior to any of the field commanders sent over by England. In fact his tactics in the movements on the Delaware River were characterized by Frederick the Great as the "most brilliant achievements recorded in military annals." Years later the old Prussian soldier sent his portrait to Washington, with this message: "From the oldest general in Europe to the greatest general in the world."

       Coupled with his genius as a soldier was an abiding faith in the justice and ultimate triumph of the American cause. Toward the close of the stiniggle a movement was started to have Washington assume the title of king, but his repudiation of such a course was voiced in language as vigorous as he could make it. His great popularity never undermined his modest sense of his own worth or his deep-rooted conviction that the American nation was destined to be a democracy in which kings could have no part. On November 2, 1783, he took final leave of his faithful army, and the following December appeared before Congress to resign the commission tendered him over seven years before. He said: 

"Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of action, and, bidding an affectionate farewell to this august body, under whose orders I have long acted, I here offer my commission, and take my leave of all employments of public life." "You retire," replied the president of Congress," from the theatre of action with the blessings of your fellow-citizens; but the glory of your virtues will not terminate with your military command: it will continue to animate remotest ages."

       On Christmas Eve Washington arrived at Mount Vernon, where, during the interval before the organization of the government under the Constitution, he enjoyed once more the life of plantation owner and private citizen. 

"The Shot Heard 'Round the World" by Liberty's Kids

At Mount Vernon

Washington's Home in Mount Vernon.

       The period between the close of the French and Indian War and the outbreak of the Revolution brought to Washington some of the happiest years of his life. In January, 1759, he married Mrs. Martha Custis, an attractive and wealthy young widow with two children, John and Martha Parke Custis. The management of his own and his wife's property provided an outlet for his business instincts, and he entered whole-heartedly into the public affairs of Virginia colony as a delegate to the House of Burgesses, to which he had been elected before his marriage. These duties, with those of a good churchman and a hospitable colonial gentleman, rounded out a life completely wholesome and happy. The Mount Vernon mansion was always filled to over- flowing during the hunting season, but none of its inmates enjoyed the pleasures of the chase more than the master himself.

       As relations grew strained between the colonies and the mother country, Washington for a long time hoped that an agreement might be reached without resort to war, and he was very guarded in his utterances. In 1769, however, he drew up a nonimportation agreement which was adopted by the House of Burgesses, and from that time on he refused to permit any of the banned articles to be brought into his house.

       As a member of the provincial convention, held in August, 1774, at Williamsburg, he vigorously upheld the right of the colonies to govern themselves, and, moved by reports about the effects of the Boston Port Bill, exclaimed in an impassioned speech, "I will raise a thousand men and march with them, at their head, for the relief of Boston." Virginia sent him as one of its six delegates to the First Continental Congress, and in this and the succeeding Congress, held in 1775, he was clearly one of the commanding figures, though he let others make the speeches.

Washington's Grave in Mount Vernon.

• President Washington's Receptions

The Early Military Career of Washington

       Not long before he died Lawrence Washington had used his influence to have his brother appointed an adjutant-general over one of the several military districts into which Virginia colony was divided. This division was rendered necessary by the threatened encroachments of the Indians and of the French, who were establishing posts along the Ohio. Washington's eager pursuit of the study of military tactics was interrupted by the trip to the West Indies, but he resumed his duties as adjutant general after his return, and late in 1753 was requested by Governor Dinwiddle to carry a message of warning to the French forces in the Ohio Valley. It was a hazardous mission for a young man of twenty-one, and the selection reflects favorably upon Washington's reputation for reliability and good judgment. In November, accompanied by an experienced frontiersman, he started on his 600-mile journey After many narrow escapes from the Indians and the perils of the wilderness, he completed his mission and reported to Governor Dinwiddle on January 16, 1754, at Williamsburg, the capital of Virginia. Shortly afterwards he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Virginia regiment.

       A skirmish with the French in the summer of 1754, which was not decisive, was followed by a reorganization of the Virginia, troops and Washington's temporary retirement from things military. Early in 1755, however. General Braddock arrived from England with two regiments of British regulars, and offered the young colonial a place on his staff, with the rank of colonel. Promptly accepting, Washington entered eagerly into the preparation of the campaign, and on July 9 took part in the disastrous fight at Fort Duquesne. How the English regulars were mowed down by bullets fired from behind trees, and how the Virginians under Washington saved the little army from annihilation by fighting under cover, as did the French and Indians, is known to every American school boy. The troops succeeded in withdrawing from the field, but Braddock was fatally wounded, and died four days later. Washington later reorganized the colonial troops and was their chief commander until 1758, when he retired to Mount Vernon to rest. It was with great satisfaction, however, that, in November, 1758, he accompanied the British forces to the smoking ruins of Fort Duquesne, which was renamed Fort Pitt in honor of England's great Prime Minister.