Chapter IV: Section 2: The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by (1)

appropriate legislation--

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George Washington

April 30, 1789, to March 4, 1797

George Washington

George Washington was born at Bridges Creek, on the Potomac River, in Westmoreland County, Va., on the 22d day of February (or 11th, old style), 1732. Augustine Washington, his father, was a son of Lawrence Washington, whose father, John Washington, came to Virginia from England in 1657, and settled at Bridges Creek. Augustine Washington died in 1743, leaving several children, George being the eldest by his second wife, Mary Ball. At the early age of 19 years he was appointed adjutant-general of one of the districts of Virginia, with the rank of major. In November, 1753, he was sent by Lieutenant-Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, to visit the French army in the Ohio Valley on important business. War followed, and in 1754 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and engaged in the war. In 1755 he acted as aid-de-camp to General Braddock. Soon after this he was appointed by the legislature commander in chief of all the forces of the Colony, and for three years devoted himself to recruiting and organizing troops for her defense. In 1758 he commanded a successful expedition to Fort Du Quesne. He then left the Army, and was married to Mrs. Martha Custis, a widow lady of Virginia. For sixteen years he resided at Mount Vernon, occasionally acting as a magistrate or as a member of the legislature. He was a delegate to the Williamsburg convention, August, 1773, which resolved that taxation and representation were inseparable. In 1774 he was sent to the Continental Congress as a delegate from Virginia. The following year he was unanimously chosen commander in chief, and assumed the command of the Continental Army July 2, 1775. He commanded the armies throughout the War for Independence. At the close he resigned his commission, December 23, 1783, and retired to private life. He was a delegate to, and president of, the National Convention which met in Philadelphia, Pa., in May, 1787, and adopted a new Constitution, that greatly increased the power of the Federal Government. He was unanimously elected the first President of the United States, and was inaugurated on the 30th of April, 1789, in New York City, and at the end of his first term was unanimously reelected. He retired March 4, 1797, having declined a third term. In September, 1796, he issued his Farewell Address to the people. July 3, 1798, he was again appointed to the command of the armies of the United States, with the rank of lieutenant-general. He was a Freemason, and served as master of his lodge. He died at Mount Vernon, Va., after a short illness, December 14, 1799, and was buried there.

PROCEEDINGS INITIATORY TO THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION.

[From the Washington Papers (Executive Proceedings, vol. 17), Department of State.]

Charles Thomson, esq., Secretary of the late Congress, being appointed by the Senate of the United States to carry to General Washington the official information of his unanimous election to the office of President of the United States of America, arrived at Mount Vernon on the 14th day of April, A.D. 1789, when he communicated to General Washington the purport of his mission in the following words:

Sir: The President of the Senate chosen for the special purpose, having opened and counted the votes of the electors in presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, I was honored with the commands of the Senate to wait upon Your Excellency with the information of your being elected to the office of President of the United States of America. This commission was intrusted to me on account of my having been long in the confidence of the late Congress, and charged with the duties of one of the principal civil departments of Government.

I have now, sir, to inform you that the proofs you have given of your patriotism, and of your readiness to sacrifice domestic ease and private enjoyments to preserve the happiness of your country, did not permit the two Houses to harbor a doubt of your undertaking this great and important office, to which you are called, not only by the unanimous vote of the electors, but by the voice of America.

I have it, therefore, in command to accompany you to New York, where the Senate and House of Representatives are convened for the dispatch of public business.

To which General Washington replied:

SIR: I have been accustomed to pay so much respect to the opinion of my fellow-citizens that the knowledge of their having given their unanimous suffrages in my favor scarcely leaves me the alternative for an option. I can not, I believe, give a greater evidence of my sensibility of the honor which they have done me than by accepting the appointment.

I am so much affected by this fresh proof of my country's esteem and confidence that silence can best explain my gratitude. While I realize the arduous nature of the task which is imposed upon me, and feel my own inability to perform it, I wish, however, that there may not be reason for regretting the choice, for, indeed, all I can promise is only to accomplish that which can be done by an honest zeal.

Upon considering how long time some of the gentlemen of both Houses of Congress have been at New York, how anxiously desirous they must be to proceed to business, and how deeply the public mind appears to be impressed with the necessity of doing it speedily, I can not find myself at liberty to delay my journey. I shall therefore be in readiness to set out the day after to-morrow, and shall be happy in the pleasure of your company, for you will permit me to say that it is a peculiar gratification to have received the communication from you.

OFFICIAL INFORMATION OF THE ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, APRIL 6, 1789.

Be it known that the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, being convened in the city and State of New York, this 6th day of April, A.D. 1789, the underwritten, appointed President of the Senate for the sole purpose of receiving, opening, and counting the votes of the electors, did, in the presence of the said Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and count all the votes of the electors for a President and Vice-President, by which it appears that His Excellency George Washington, esq., was unanimously elected, agreeably to the Constitution, to the office of President of the said United States of America.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

JOHN LANGDON.

MOUNT VERNON, _April 14, 1789_.

To the Honorable JOHN LANGDON,

_President pro tempore of the Senate of the United States_.

SIR: I had the honor to receive your official communication, by the hand of Mr. Secretary Thomson, about 1 o'clock this day. Having concluded to obey the important and flattering call of my country, and having been impressed with an idea of the expediency of my being with Congress at as early a period as possible, I propose to commence my journey on Thursday morning, which will be the day after to-morrow.

I have the honor to be, with sentiments of esteem, sir, your most obedient servant,

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

RESOLVE OF THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES RESPECTING MR. OSGOOD'S PREPARING HIS HOUSE FOR THE RECEPTION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

_In Senate, April 15, 1789_.

The committee to whom it was referred to consider of and report to the House respecting the ceremonial of receiving the President, and to whom also was referred a letter from the chairman of a committee of the Senate to the Speaker, communicating an instruction from that House to a committee thereof to report if any and what arrangements are necessary for the reception of the Vice-President, have agreed to the following report:

That Mr. Osgood, the proprietor of the house lately occupied by the President of Congress, be requested to put the same and the furniture thereof in proper condition for the residence and use of the President of the United States, and otherwise, at the expense of the United States, to provide for his temporary accommodation.

That it will be more eligible, in the first instance, that a committee of three members from the Senate and five members from the House of Representatives, to be appointed by the two Houses respectively, attend to receive the President at such place as he shall embark from New Jersey for this city, and conduct him without form to the house lately occupied by the President of Congress, and at such time thereafter as the President shall signify it will be most convenient for him, he be formally received by both Houses.

Read and accepted.

IN SENATE, _April 16, 1789_.

The Senate proceeded by ballot to the choice of a committee, agreeably to the report of the committee of both Houses agreed to the 15th instant, when the Honorable Mr. Langdon, the Honorable Mr. Carroll, and the Honorable Mr. Johnson were chosen.

A true copy from the Journals of the Senate.

Attest:

SAM. A. OTIS, _Secretary_.

RESOLVE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES RESPECTING MR. OSGOOD'S PREPARING HIS HOUSE FOR THE RECEPTION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES

_Wednesday, April 15, 1789_.

Mr. Benson reported from the committee to whom it was referred to consider of and report to the House respecting the ceremonial of receiving the President, and to whom was also referred a letter from the chairman of a committee of the Senate to the Speaker, communicating an instruction from that House to a committee thereof to report if any and what arrangements are necessary for the reception of the Vice-President, that the committee had, according to order, considered of the same, and had agreed to a report thereupon, which he delivered in at the Clerk's table, and where the same was thrice read, and the question put thereupon agreed to by the House as followeth:

That Mr. Osgood, the proprietor of the house lately occupied by the President of Congress, be requested to put the same and the furniture therein in proper order for the residence and use of the President of the United States, and otherwise, at the expense of the United States, to provide for his temporary accommodation.

That it will be most eligible, in the first instance, that a committee of three members from the Senate and five members from the House of Representatives, to be appointed by the Houses respectively, attend to receive the President at such place as he shall embark from New Jersey for this city, and conduct him without form to the house lately occupied by the President of Congress, and that at such time thereafter as the President shall signify it will be most convenient for him, he be formally received by both Houses.

Extract from the Journal.

JOHN BECKLEY, _Clerk_.

RESOLVE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES RESPECTING A COMMITTEE TO MEET THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES,

_Wednesday, April_ 15, _1789_.

_Resolved_, That it will be most eligible, in the first instance, that a committee of three members from the Senate and five members from the House of Representatives, to be appointed by the Houses respectively, attend to receive the President at such place as he shall embark from New Jersey for this city, and conduct him without form to the house lately occupied by the President of Congress, and that at such time thereafter as the President shall signify, he be formally received by both Houses.

THURSDAY, _April 16, 1789_.

The committee elected on the part of this House, Mr. Boudinot, Mr. Bland, Mr. Tucker, Mr. Benson, and Mr. Lawrance.

Extract from the Journal.

JOHN BECKLEY, _Clerk_.

REQUEST OF THE COMMITTEE APPOINTED BY CONGRESS TO KNOW WHEN THEY SHOULD MEET THE PRESIDENT.

The committee appointed in consequence of the resolutions of both Houses of Congress, and which accompany this note, most respectfully communicate their appointment to the President of the United States, with a request that he will please to have it signified to them when they shall attend, with a barge which has been prepared for that purpose, to receive him at Elizabeth Town, or at such other place as he shall choose to embark from New Jersey for this city.

NEW YORK, _April 17, 1789_.

JOHN LANGDON.
CHARGES CARROLL, of Carrollton.
WM. SAMUEL JOHNSON.
ELIAS BOUDINOT.
THEODORICK BLAND.
THOS. TUDR. TUCKER.
EGBT. BENSON.
JOHN LAWRANCE.

TO THE COMMITTEE OF CONGRESS RESPECTING THE TIME OF THE PRESIDENT MEETING THEM AT ELIZABETH TOWN.

PHILADELPHIA, _April 20, 1789_.

GENTLEMEN: Upon my arrival in this city I received your note, with the resolutions of the two Houses which accompanied it, and in answer thereto beg leave to inform you that, knowing how anxious both Houses must be to proceed to business, I shall continue my journey dispatch as possible. To-morrow evening I purpose to be at Trenton, the night following at Brunswick, and hope to have the pleasure of meeting you at Elizabeth Town point on Thursday at 12 o'clock.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

LETTER FROM THE HONORABLE ELIAS BOUDINOT.

NEW YORK, _April 21, 1789_.

His Excellency GEORGE WASHINGTON, Esq.

SIR: The committee have just received Your Excellency's letter of the 20th, and will be at Elizabeth Town on Thursday morning.

I must beg Your Excellency will alight at my house, where the committee will attend, and where it will give me (in a particular manner) the utmost pleasure to receive you.

I have the honor to be, with the most profound respect, sir, your most obedient and very humble servant,

ELIAS BOUDINOT.

LETTER FROM THE HONORABLE ELIAS BOUDINOT, APRIL 23, 1789.

ELIZABETH TOWN, _Wednesday Evening_.

His Excellency GEORGE WASHINGTON, Esq.

SIR: I have the honor of informing Your Excellency that the committees of both Houses arrived here this afternoon, and will be ready to receive Your Excellency at my house as soon as you can arrive here to-morrow morning.

If you, sir, will honor us with your company at breakfast, it will give us great pleasure. We shall wait Your Excellency's arrival in hopes of that gratification. You can have a room to dress in, if you should think it necessary, as convenient as you can have it in town.

I have the honor to be Your Excellency's most obedient humble servant,

ELIAS BOUDINOT.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF CONGRESS RESPECTING THE TIME OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE PRESIDENT.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES

_Saturday, April 25, 1789_.

Mr. Benson, from the committee appointed to consider of the time, place, and manner in which, and of the person by whom, the oath prescribed by the Constitution shall be administered to the President of the United States, and to confer with a committee of the Senate, appointed for the purpose, reported as followeth:

That the President hath been pleased to signify to them that any time or place which both Houses may think proper to appoint and any manner which shall appear most eligible to them will be convenient and acceptable to him.

That requisite preparations can not probably be made before Thursday next; that the President be on that day formally received in the Senate Chamber; that the Representatives' Chamber being capable of receiving the greater number of persons, that therefore the President do take the oath in that place and in the presence of both Houses; that after the formal reception of the President in the Senate Chamber he be attended by both Houses to the Representatives' Chamber, and that the oath be administered by the chancellor of this State.

The committee further report it as their opinion that it will be proper that a committee of both Houses be appointed to take order for further conducting the ceremonial.

The said report was twice read, and on the question put thereupon was agreed to by the House.

_Ordered_, That Mr. Benson, Mr. Ames, and Mr. Carroll be a committee on the part of this House pursuant to the said report.

Extract from the Journal.

JOHN BECKLEY, _Clerk_.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF CONGRESS TO THE SENATE RESPECTING THE TIME OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE PRESIDENT.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

_In Senate_, _April 25, 1789_.

The committee appointed to consider of the time, place, and manner in which and of the person by whom the oath prescribed by the Constitution shall be administered to the President of the United States, and to confer with a committee of the House appointed for that purpose, report:

That the President hath been pleased to signify to them that any time or place which both Houses may think proper to appoint and any manner which shall appear most eligible to them will be convenient and acceptable to him; that requisite preparations can not probably be made before Thursday next; that the President be on that day formally received in the Senate Chamber by both Houses; that the Representatives' Chamber being capable of receiving the greater number of persons, that therefore the President do take the oath in that place in presence of both Houses; that after the formal reception of the President in the Senate Chamber he be attended by both Houses to the Representatives' Chamber, and that the oath be administered by the chancellor of this State.

The committee further report it as their opinion that it will be proper that a committee of both Houses be appointed to take order for conducting the ceremonial.

Read and accepted.

And Mr. Lee, Mr. Izard, and Mr. Dalton, on the part of the Senate, together with the committee that may be appointed on the part of the House, are empowered to take order for conducting the business.

A true copy from the Journals of Senate.

IN SENATE, _April 27_, _1789_

The committees appointed to take order for conducting the ceremonial of the formal reception, etc., of the President report that it appears to them more eligible that the oath should be administered to the President in the outer gallery adjoining the Senate Chamber than in the Representatives' Chamber, and therefore submit to the respective Houses the propriety of authorizing their committees to take order as to the place where the oath shall be administered to the President, the resolutions of Saturday assigning the Representatives' Chamber as the place notwithstanding.

Read and accepted.

A true copy from the Journals of the Senate.

SAM. A. OTIS, _Secretary_.

ORDER FOR CONDUCTING THE CEREMONIAL FOR THE INAUGURATION OF THE PRESIDENT.

The committees of both Houses of Congress appointed to take order for conducting the ceremonial for the formal reception, etc., of the President of the United States on Thursday next have agreed to the following order thereon, viz:

That General Webb, Colonel Smith, Lieutenant-Colonel Fish, Major Franks, Major L'Enfant, Major Bleeker, and Mr. John R. Livingston be requested to serve as assistants on the occasion.

That a chair be placed in the Senate Chamber for the President.

That a chair be placed in the Senate Chamber for the Vice-President, to the right of the President's chair, and that the Senators take their seats on that side of the Chamber on which the Vice-President's chair shall be placed. That a chair be placed in the Senate Chamber for the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the left of the President's chair, and that the Representatives take their seats on that side of the Chamber on which the Speaker's chair shall be placed.

That seats be provided in the Senate Chamber sufficient to accommodate the late President of Congress, the governor of the Western Territory, the five persons being the heads of the great Departments, the minister plenipotentiary of France, the encargado de negocios of Spain, the chaplains of Congress, the persons in the suite of the President, and also to accommodate the following public officers of the State, viz: The governor, lieutenant-governor, the chancellor, the chief justice of the supreme court and other judges thereof, and the mayor of the city.

That one of the assistants wait on these gentlemen and inform them that seats are provided for their accommodation, and also to signify to them that no precedence of seats is intended, and that no salutation is expected from them on their entrance into or their departure from the Senate Chamber.

That the members of both Houses assemble in their respective chambers precisely at 12 o'clock, and that the Representatives, preceded by their Speaker and attended by their Clerk and other officers, proceed to the Senate Chamber, there to be received by the Vice-President and Senators rising.

That the committees attend the President from his residence to the Senate Chamber, and that he be there received by the Vice-President, the Senators and Representatives rising, and by the Vice-President conducted to his chair.

That after the President shall be seated in his chair and the Vice-President, Senators, and Representatives shall be again seated, the Vice-President shall announce to the President that the members of both Houses will attend him to be present at his taking the oath of office required by the Constitution.

To the end that the oath of office may be administered to the President in the most public manner and that the greatest number of the people of the United States, and without distinction, may be witnesses to the solemnity, that therefore the oath be administered in the outer gallery adjoining to the Senate Chamber.

That when the President shall proceed to the gallery to take the oath he be attended by the Vice-President, and be followed by the chancellor of the State, and pass through the middle door; that the Senators pass through the door on the right, and the Representatives pass through the door on the left, and such of the persons who may have been admitted into the Senate Chamber and may be desirous to go into the gallery are then also to pass through the door on the right.

That when the President shall have taken the oath and returned into the Senate Chamber, attended by the Vice-President, and shall be seated in his chair, that Senators and Representatives also return into the Senate Chamber, and that the Vice-President and they resume their respective seats.

That when the President retire from the Senate Chamber he be conducted by the Vice-President to the door, the members of both Houses rising, and that he be there received by the committees and attended to his residence.

That immediately as the President shall retire the Representatives do also return from the Senate Chamber to their own.

That it be intrusted to the assistants to take proper precautions for keeping the avenues to the hall open, and for that purpose they wait on his excellency the governor of this State, and in the name of the committees request his aid by an order or recommendation to the civil officers or militia of the city to attend and serve on the occasion as he shall judge most proper,

RESOLVE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES UPON THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE RESPECTING THE INAUGURATION OF THE PRESIDENT.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES

_Monday, April 27, 1789_.

Mr. Benson, from the committee of both Houses appointed to take order for conducting the ceremonial of the formal reception of the President of the United States, reported as followeth:

That it appears to the committee more eligible that the oath should be administered to the President in the outer gallery adjoining the Senate Chamber than in the Representatives' Chamber, and therefore submits to the respective Houses the propriety of authorizing their committees to take order as to the place where the oath shall be administered to the President, the resolutions of Saturday assigning the Representatives' Chamber as the place notwithstanding.

The said report being twice read,

_Resolved_, That this House doth concur in the said report and authorize the committee to take order for the change of place thereby proposed.

Extract from the Journal.

JOHN BECKLEY, _Clerk_.

FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK.

APRIL 30, 1789.

_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:

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 affected. All I dare hope is that if, in executing 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 mislead 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 would 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 those 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 can not 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.

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 foundation of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality, and the preeminence 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, perhaps, as _deeply_, as _finally_, staked on the experiment intrusted 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 an 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 impregnably fortified or the latter be safely and advantageously promoted.

To the foregoing 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 tranquillity, 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 this Government must depend.

ADDRESS OF THE SENATE TO GEORGE WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

SIR: We, the Senate of the United States, return you our sincere thanks for your excellent speech delivered to both Houses of Congress, congratulate you on the complete organization of the Federal Government, and felicitate ourselves and our fellow-citizens on your elevation to the office of President, an office highly important by the powers constitutionally annexed to it and extremely honorable from the manner in which the appointment is made. The unanimous suffrage of the elective body in your favor is peculiarly expressive of the gratitude, confidence, and affection of the citizens of America, and is the highest testimonial at once of your merit and their esteem. We are sensible, sir, that nothing but the voice of your fellow-citizens could have called you from a retreat chosen with the fondest predilection, endeared by habit, and consecrated to the repose of declining years. We rejoice, and with us all America, that in obedience to the call of our common country you have returned once more to public life. In you all parties confide; in you all interests unite; and we have no doubt that your past services, great as they have been, will be equaled by your future exertions, and that your prudence and sagacity as a statesman will tend to avert the dangers to which we were exposed, to give stability to the present Government and dignity and splendor to that country which your skill and valor as a soldier so eminently contributed to raise to independence and empire.

When we contemplate the coincidence of circumstances and wonderful combination of causes which gradually prepared the people of this country for independence; when we contemplate the rise, progress, and termination of the late war, which gave them a name among the nations of the earth, we are with you unavoidably led to acknowledge and adore the Great Arbiter of the Universe, by whom empires rise and fall. A review of the many signal instances of divine interposition in favor of this country claims our most pious gratitude; and permit us, sir, to observe that among the great events which have led to the formation and establishment of a Federal Government we esteem your acceptance of the office of President as one of the most propitious and important.

In the execution of the trust reposed in us we shall endeavor to pursue that enlarged and liberal policy to which your speech so happily directs. We are conscious that the prosperity of each State is inseparably connected with the welfare of all, and that in promoting the latter we shall effectually advance the former. In full persuasion of this truth, it shall be our invariable aim to divest ourselves of local prejudices and attachments, and to view the great assemblage of communities and interests committed to our charge with an equal eye. We feel, sir, the force and acknowledge the justness of the observation that the foundation of our national policy should be laid in private morality. If individuals be not influenced by moral principles, it is in vain to look for public virtue. It is therefore the duty of legislators to enforce, both by precept and example, the utility as well as the necessity of a strict adherence to the rules of distributive justice. We beg you to be assured that the Senate will at all times cheerfully cooperate in every measure which may strengthen the Union, conduce to the happiness or secure and perpetuate the liberties of this great confederated Republic.

We commend you, sir, to the protection of Almighty God, earnestly beseeching Him long to preserve a life so valuable and dear to the people of the United States, and that your Administration may be prosperous to the nation and glorious to yourself.

MAY 7, 1789.

REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT.

GENTLEMEN: I thank you for your address, in which the most affectionate sentiments are expressed in the most obliging terms. The coincidence of circumstances which led to this auspicious crisis, the confidence reposed in me by my fellow-citizens, and the assistance I may expect from counsels which will be dictated by an enlarged and liberal policy seem to presage a more prosperous issue to my Administration than a diffidence of my abilities had taught me to anticipate. I now feel myself inexpressibly happy in a belief that Heaven, which has done so much for our infant nation, will not withdraw its providential influence before our political felicity shall have been completed, and in a conviction that the Senate will at all times cooperate in every measure which may tend to promote the welfare of this confederated Republic. Thus supported by a firm trust in the Great Arbiter of the Universe, aided by the collected wisdom of the Union, and imploring the divine benediction on our joint exertions in the service of our country, I readily engage with you in the arduous but pleasing task of attempting to make a nation happy.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

MAY 18, 1789.

ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO GEORGE WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

SIR: The Representatives of the people of the United States present their congratulations on the event by which your fellow-citizens have attested the preeminence of your merit. You have long held the first place in their esteem. You have often received tokens of their affection. You now possess the only proof that remained of their gratitude for your services, of their reverence for your wisdom, and of their confidence in your virtues. You enjoy the highest, because the truest, honor of being the first Magistrate by the unanimous choice of the freest people on the face of the earth.

We well know the anxieties with which you must have obeyed a summons from the repose reserved for your declining years into public scenes, of which you had taken your leave forever. But the obedience was due to the occasion. It is already applauded by the universal joy which welcomes you to your station. And we can not doubt that it will be rewarded with all the satisfaction with which an ardent love for your fellow-citizens must review successful efforts to promote their happiness.

This anticipation is not justified merely by the past experience of your signal services. It is particularly suggested by the pious impressions under which you commence your Administration and the enlightened maxims by which you mean to conduct it. We feel with you the strongest obligations to adore the Invisible Hand which has led the American people through so many difficulties, to cherish a conscious responsibility for the destiny of republican liberty, and to seek the only sure means of preserving and recommending the precious deposit in a system of legislation founded on the principles of an honest policy and directed by the spirit of a diffusive patriotism.

The question arising out of the fifth article of the Constitution will receive all the attention demanded by its importance, and will, we trust, be decided under the influence of all the considerations to which you allude.

In forming the pecuniary provisions for the executive department we shall not lose sight of a wish resulting from motives which give it a peculiar claim to our regard. Your resolution, in a moment critical to the liberties of your country, to renounce all personal emolument, was among the many presages of your patriotic services which have been amply fulfilled; and your scrupulous adherence now to the law then imposed on yourself can not fail to demonstrate the purity, whilst it increases the luster, of a character which has so many titles to admiration.

Such are the sentiments which we have thought fit to address to you. They flow from our own hearts, and we verily believe that among the millions we represent there is not a virtuous citizen whose heart will disown them.

All that remains is that we join in our fervent supplications for the blessings of Heaven on our country, and that we add our own for the choicest of these blessings on the most beloved of her citizens.

MAY 5, 1789.

REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT.

GENTLEMEN: Your very affectionate address produces emotions which I know not how to express. I feel that my past endeavors in the service of my country are far overpaid by its goodness, and I fear much that my future ones may not fulfill your kind anticipation. All that I can promise is that they will be invariably directed by an honest and an ardent zeal. Of this resource my heart assures me. For all beyond I rely on the wisdom and patriotism of those with whom I am to cooperate and a continuance of the blessings of Heaven on our beloved country.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

MAY 8, 1789.

SPECIAL MESSAGES.

NEW YORK, _May 25, 1789_.

_Gentlemen of the Senate_:

In pursuance of the order of the late Congress, treaties between the United States and several nations of Indians have been negotiated and signed. These treaties, with sundry papers respecting them, I now lay before you, for your consideration and advice, by the hands of General Knox, under whose official superintendence the business was transacted, and who will be ready to communicate to you any information on such points as may appear to require it,

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

NEW YORK, _June 11, 1789_.

_Gentlemen of the Senate_:

A convention between His Most Christian Majesty and the United States, for the purposes of determining and fixing the functions and prerogatives of their respective consuls, vice-consuls, agents, and commissaries, was signed by their respective plenipotentiaries on the 29th of July, 1784.

It appearing to the late Congress that certain alterations in that convention ought to be made, they instructed their minister at the Court of France to endeavor to obtain them.

It has accordingly been altered in several respects, and as amended was signed by the plenipotentiaries of the contracting powers on the 14th of November, 1788.

The sixteenth article provides that it shall be in force during the term of twelve years, to be counted from the day of the exchange _of ratifications, which shall be given in proper form_, and exchanged on both sides within the space of one year, or sooner if possible.

I now lay before you the original by the hands of Mr. Jay for your consideration and advice. The papers relative to this negotiation are in his custody, and he has my orders to communicate to you whatever official papers and information on the subject he may possess and you may require.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

NEW YORK, _June 15, 1789_.

_Gentlemen of the Senate_:

Mr. Jefferson, the present minister of the United States at the Court of France, having applied for permission to return home for a few months, and it appearing to me proper to comply with his request, it becomes necessary that some person be appointed _to take charge_ of our affairs at that Court during his absence.

For this purpose I nominate William Short, esq., and request your advice on the propriety of appointing him.

There are in the Office for Foreign Affairs papers which will acquaint you with his character, and which Mr. Jay has my directions to lay before you at such time as you may think proper to assign.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

NEW YORK, _August 6, 1789_.

_Gentlemen of the Senate_:

My nomination of Benjamin Fishbourn for the place of naval officer of the port of Savannah not having met with your concurrence, I now nominate Lachlan McIntosh for that office.

Whatever may have been the reasons which induced your dissent, I am persuaded they were such as you deemed sufficient. Permit me to submit to your consideration whether on occasions where the propriety of nominations appear questionable to you it would not be expedient to communicate that circumstance to me, and thereby avail yourselves of the information which led me to make them, and which I would with pleasure lay before you. Probably my reasons for nominating Mr. Fishbourn may tend to show that such a mode of proceeding in such cases might be useful. I will therefore detail them.

First. While Colonel Fishbourn was an officer in actual service and chiefly under my own eye, his conduct appeared to me irreproachable; nor did I ever hear anything injurious to his reputation as an officer or a gentleman. At the storm of Stony Point his behavior was represented to have been active and brave, and he was charged by his general to bring the account of that success to the headquarters of the Army.

Secondly. Since his residence in Georgia he has been repeatedly elected to the assembly as a representative of the county of Chatham, in which the port of Savannah is situated, and sometimes of the counties of Glynn and Camden; he has been chosen a member of the executive council of the State and has lately been president of the same; he has been elected by the officers of the militia in the county of Chatham lieutenant-colonel of the militia in that district, and on a very recent occasion, to wit, in the month of May last, he has been appointed by the council (on the suspension of the late collector) to an office in the port of Savannah nearly similar to that for which I nominated him, which office he actually holds at this time. To these reasons for nominating Mr. Fishbourn I might add that I received private letters of recommendation and oral testimonials in his favor from some of the most respectable characters in that State; but as they were secondary considerations with me, I do not think it necessary to communicate them to you.

It appeared, therefore, to me that Mr. Fishbourn must have enjoyed the _confidence_ of the militia officers in order to have been elected to a military rank; the _confidence_ of the freemen to have been elected to the assembly; the _confidence_ of the assembly to have been selected for the council, and the _confidence_ of the council to have been appointed collector of the port of Savannah.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

NEW YORK, _August 7, 1789_.

_Gentlemen of the Senate_:

The business which has hitherto been under the consideration of Congress has been of so much importance that I was unwilling to draw their attention from it to any other subject; but the disputes which exist between some of the United States and several powerful tribes of Indians within the limits of the Union, and the hostilities which have in several instances been committed on the frontiers, seem to require the immediate interposition of the General Government.

I have therefore directed the several statements and papers which have been submitted to me on this subject by General Knox to be laid before you for your information.

While the measures of Government ought to be calculated to protect its citizens from all injury and violence, a due regard should be extended to those Indian tribes whose happiness in the course of events so materially depends on the national justice and humanity of the United States.

If it should be the judgment of Congress that it would be most expedient to terminate all differences in the Southern district, and to lay the foundation for future confidence by an amicable treaty with the Indian tribes in that quarter, I think proper to suggest the consideration of the expediency of instituting a temporary commission for that purpose, to consist of three persons, whose authority should expire with the occasion. How far such a measure, unassisted by posts, would be competent to the establishment and preservation of peace and tranquillity on the frontiers is also a matter which merits your serious consideration.

Along with this object I am induced to suggest another, with the national importance and necessity of which I am deeply impressed; I mean some uniform and effective system for the militia of the United States. It is unnecessary to offer arguments in recommendation of a measure on which the honor, safety, and well-being of our country so evidently and so essentially depend; but it may not be amiss to observe that I am particularly anxious it should receive as early attention as circumstances will admit, because it is now in our power to avail ourselves of the military knowledge disseminated throughout the several States by means of the many well-instructed officers and soldiers of the late Army, a resource which is daily diminishing by death and other causes. To suffer this peculiar advantage to pass away unimproved would be to neglect an opportunity which will never again occur, unless, unfortunately, we should again be involved in a long and arduous war.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

NEW YORK, _August 10, 1789_.

_Gentlemen of the Senate_:

I have directed a statement of the troops in the service of the United States to be laid before you for your information.

These troops were raised by virtue of the resolves of Congress of the 20th October, 1786, and the 3d of October, 1787, in order to protect the frontiers from the depredations of the hostile Indians, to prevent all intrusions on the public lands, and to facilitate the surveying and selling of the same for the purpose of reducing the public debt.

As these important objects continue to require the aid of the troops, it is necessary that the establishment thereof should in all respects be conformed by law to the Constitution of the United States.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

NEW YORK, _August 20, 1789_.

_Gentlemen of the Senate_

In consequence of an act providing for the expenses which may attend negotiations or treaties with the Indian tribes and the appointment of commissioners for managing the same, I nominate Benjamin Lincoln as one of three commissioners whom I shall propose to be employed to negotiate a treaty with the Southern Indians. My reason for nominating him at this early moment is that it will not be possible for the public to avail itself of his services on this occasion unless his appointment can be forwarded to him by the mail which will leave this place to-morrow morning.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

NEW YORK, _August 21, 1789_.

_Gentlemen of the Senate_:

The President of the United States will meet the Senate in the Senate Chamber at half past 11 o'clock to-morrow, to advise with them on the terms of the treaty to be negotiated with the Southern Indians.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

SEPTEMBER 16, 1789.

_Gentlemen of the Senate_:

The governor of the Western territory has made a statement to me of the reciprocal hostilities of the Wabash Indians and the people inhabiting the frontiers bordering on the river Ohio, which I herewith lay before Congress.

The United States in Congress assembled, by their acts of the 21st day of July, 1787, and of the 12th August, 1788, made a provisional arrangement for calling forth the militia of Virginia and Pennsylvania in the proportions therein specified.

As the circumstances which occasioned the said arrangement continue nearly the same, I think proper to suggest to your consideration the expediency of making some temporary provision for calling forth the militia of the United States for the purposes stated in the Constitution, which would embrace the cases apprehended by the governor of the Western territory.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

SEPTEMBER 17, 1789.

_Gentlemen of the Senate_:

It doubtless is important that all treaties and compacts formed by the United States with other nations, whether civilized or not, should be made with caution and executed with fidelity.

It is said to be the general understanding and practice of nations, as a check on the mistakes and indiscretions of ministers or commissioners, not to consider any treaty negotiated and signed by such officers as final and conclusive until ratified by the sovereign or government from whom they derive their powers. This practice has been adopted by the United States respecting their treaties with European nations, and I am inclined to think it would be advisable to observe it in the conduct of our treaties with the Indians; for though such treaties, being on their part made by their chiefs or rulers, need not be ratified by them, yet, being formed on our part by the agency of subordinate officers, it seems to be both prudent and reasonable that their acts should not be binding on the nation until approved and ratified by the Government. It strikes me that this point should be well considered and settled, so that our national proceedings in this respect may become uniform and be directed by fixed and stable principles.

The treaties with certain Indian nations, which were laid before you with my message of the 25th May last, suggested two questions to my mind, viz: First, whether those treaties were to be considered as perfected and consequently as obligatory without being ratified. If not, then secondly, whether both or either, and which, of them ought to be ratified. On these questions I request your opinion and advice.