Introduction As spring 1789 approached George Washington was at his beloved Mount Vernon home with his wife Martha and two of their grandchildren After years of war Washington was living the quiet life of a private citizen But Washington knew this wouldn’t last long Members of the Electoral College were meeting to choose the first president of the United States and Washington’s election was virtually certain Leading his fledgling nation would be an enormous difficult job Washington was fifty-seven years old and had often said he was tired of public service On April 1 while awaiting word of the election’s outcome he wrote to his friend Henry Knox 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 A few weeks later when Washington learned that he had been unanimously elected he accepted the position despite strong reservations On April 16 he wrote this in his diary With a mind oppressed with more anxious and painful sensations than I have words to express I set out for New York More than a year earlier the Constitutional Convention had met to form a new central government for the United States One of the big questions facing the convention had been whether the country should be led by a single man or by a council of several Even as the delegates discussed this question they all knew that whichever option they chose Washington would be their leader Historians agree in fact that the entire idea of the US 6
George Washington sits with his wife Martha left step-granddaughter Nelly Custis center and step-grandson George Washington Custis right at their Mount Vernon home presidency was based on Washington’s character Pierce Butler a South Carolina delegate to the Constitutional Convention noted that the delegates had granted more powers to the president than Butler considered appropriate mainly because many of the members cast their eyes towards George Washington as President and shaped their Ideas of the Powers to be given a President by their opinions of his Virtue Washington was unanimously elected because he was widely beloved and respected by political leaders and ordinary citizens A celebrated military hero of the French and Indian War 7
1754 1763 he had solidified Americans trust as commander in chief during the American Revolution 1775 1783 When he resigned his command at the end of the war instead of seizing power as many generals throughout history had done people’s respect for him swelled He was known for his integrity his physical prowess and his calming public presence In April of 1789 the survival of the new nation depended on him once again The office Washington accepted with such unease was still an experiment as was the shaky young democracy that Washington hoped to hold together Throughout his two terms as president of the United States Washington Washington center addresses members of Congress after being elected president of the United States in April 1789 8
carefully shaped the role He saw it as one in which he should serve not rule the public He defined the boundaries between the president and Congress and established some of the office’s most crucial powers By declining to run for a third term of office he created a precedent of two-term limits that lasted into the twentieth century and eventually became law Above all he guided the United States through its rocky early years and helped lay the foundation for its future 9
