The Life of George Washington, Vol. 4 (of 5)

J >> John Marshall >> The Life of George Washington, Vol. 4 (of 5)

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In a letter detailing those arrangements which were making for the
introduction of the new government, Colonel Lee proceeded thus to
speak of the presidency of the United States. "The solemnity of the
moment, and its application to yourself, have fixed my mind in
contemplations of a public and a personal nature, and I feel an
involuntary impulse which I can not resist, to communicate without
reserve to you some of the reflections which the hour has produced.
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. It may be wrong, but I can not suppress, in my wishes for
national felicity, a due regard for your personal fame and content.

"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 before gave to
the lot of one man. It is my anxious hope, it is my belief, that this
will be the case; but all things are uncertain, and perhaps nothing
more so than political events." He then proceeded to state his
apprehensions, that the government might sink under the active
hostility of its foes, and in particular, the fears which he
entertained from the circular letter of New York, around which the
minorities in the several states might be expected to rally.

To counteract its baneful influence with the legislature of Virginia,
he expressed his earnest wish, that Mr. Madison might be prevailed on
to take a seat in that assembly, and then added,

"It would certainly be unpleasant to you, and obnoxious to all who
feel for your just fame, to see you at the head of a trembling system.
It is a sacrifice on your part unjustifiable in any point of view. But
on the other hand no alternative seems to be presented.

"Without you, the government can have but little chance of success;
and the people, of that happiness which its prosperity must yield."

{1789}

[Sidenote: Letters from Gen. Washington respecting the chief
magistracy of the new government.]

In reply to this letter General Washington said, "Your observations on
the solemnity of the crisis, and its application to myself, bring
before me subjects of the most momentous and interesting nature. In
our endeavours to establish a new general government, the contest,
nationally considered, seems not to have been so much for glory, as
existence. It was for a long time doubtful whether we were to survive
as an independent republic, or decline from our federal dignity into
insignificant and wretched fragments of empire. The adoption of the
constitution so extensively, and with so liberal an acquiescence on
the part of the minorities in general, promised the former; but
lately, the circular letter of New York has manifested, in my
apprehension, an unfavourable, if not an insidious tendency to a
contrary policy. I still hope for the best; but before you mentioned
it, I could not help fearing it would serve as a standard to which the
disaffected might resort. It is now evidently the part of all honest
men, who are friends to the new constitution, to endeavour to give it
a chance to disclose its merits and defects, by carrying it fairly
into effect, in the first instance.

"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. In the first place, the event to which you
allude may never happen, among other reasons, because, if the
partiality of my fellow citizens conceive it to be a mean by which the
sinews of the new government would be strengthened, it will of
consequence be obnoxious to those who are in opposition to it, many of
whom, unquestionably, will be placed among the electors.

"This consideration alone would supersede the expediency of announcing
any definitive and irrevocable resolution. 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 to be
uninfluenced by sinister motives, in case any circumstance should
render a deviation from the line of conduct I had prescribed for
myself indispensable. Should the contingency you suggest take place,
and (for argument sake alone, let me say) 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 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 even 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 clamour and unjust censure which must 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 risque,
regard for my own fame will not come in competition with an object of
so much magnitude.

"If I declined the task, it would be 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 will be no one of these motives, nor the hazard to
which my former reputation might be exposed, or 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
pretence and less inclination to be excused, could execute all the
duties full as satisfactorily as myself. To say more would be
indiscreet; as a disclosure of a refusal before hand might incur the
application of the fable, in which the fox is represented as
undervaluing the grapes he could not reach. You will perceive, my dear
sir, by what is here observed (and which you will be pleased to
consider in the light of a confidential communication), that my
inclinations will dispose and decide me to remain as I am, unless a
clear and insurmountable conviction should be impressed on my mind,
that some very disagreeable consequences must in all human probability
result from the indulgence of my wishes."

About the same time, Colonel Hamilton concluded a letter on
miscellaneous subjects with the following observations. "I take it for
granted, sir, you have concluded to comply with what will, no doubt,
be the general call of your country in relation to the new government.
You will permit me to say that it is indispensable you should lend
yourself to its first operations. It is to little purpose to have
introduced a system, if the weightiest influence is not given to its
firm establishment in the outset."

"On the delicate subject," said General Washington in reply, "with
which you conclude your letter, I can say nothing; because the event
alluded to may never happen; and because in case it should occur, it
would be a point of prudence to defer forming one's ultimate and
irrevocable decision, so long as new data might be afforded for one to
act with the greater wisdom and propriety. I would not wish to conceal
my prevailing sentiment from you. For you know me well enough, my good
sir, to be persuaded that I am not guilty of affectation, when I tell
you it is my great and sole desire to live and die in peace and
retirement on my own farm. Were it even indispensable a different line
of conduct should be adopted, while you and some others who are
acquainted with my heart would _acquit_, the world and posterity might
probably _accuse_ me of _inconsistency_ and _ambition_. Still I hope,
I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain (what I
consider the most enviable of all titles) the character of _an honest
man_."

This answer drew from Colonel Hamilton the following reply: "I should
be deeply pained, my dear sir, if your scruples in regard to a certain
station should be matured into a resolution to decline it; though I am
neither surprised at their existence, nor can I but agree in opinion
that the caution you observe in deferring the ultimate determination
is prudent. I have, however, reflected maturely on the subject, and
have come to a conclusion (in which I feel no hesitation) that every
public and personal consideration will demand from you an acquiescence
in what will _certainly_ be the unanimous wish of your country.

"The absolute retreat which you meditated at the close of the late war
was natural and proper. Had the government produced by the revolution
gone on in a _tolerable_ train, it would have been most adviseable to
have persisted in that retreat. But I am clearly of opinion that the
crisis which brought you again into public view left you no
alternative but to comply; and I am equally clear in the opinion that
you are by that act _pledged_ to take a part in the execution of the
government. I am not less convinced that the impression of the
necessity of your filling the station in question is so universal,
that you run no risk of any uncandid imputation by submitting to it.
But even if this were not the case, a regard to your own reputation,
as well as to the public good, calls upon you in the strongest manner
to run that risk.

"It can not be considered as a compliment to say, that on your
acceptance of the office of president, the success of the new
government in its commencement may materially depend. Your agency and
influence will be not less important in preserving it from the future
attacks of its enemies, than they have been in recommending it in the
first instance to the adoption of the people. Independent of all
considerations drawn from this source, the point of light in which you
stand at home and abroad, will make an infinite difference in the
respectability with which the government will begin its operations, in
the alternative of your being or not being at the head of it. I
forbear to mention considerations which might have a more personal
application. What I have said will suffice for the inferences I mean
to draw.

"First. In a matter so essential to the well being of society as the
prosperity of a newly instituted government, a citizen of so much
consequence as yourself to its success, has no option but to lend his
services if called for. Permit me to say, it would be inglorious, in
such a situation, not to hazard the glory, however great, which he
might have previously acquired.

"Secondly. Your signature to the proposed system, pledges your
judgment for its being such an one as upon the whole was worthy of the
public approbation. If it should miscarry, (as men commonly decide
from success or the want of it) the blame will in all probability be
laid on the system itself. And the framers of it will have to
encounter the disrepute of having brought about a revolution in
government, without substituting any thing that was worthy of the
effort; they pulled down one Utopia, it will be said, to build up
another. This view of the subject, if I mistake not, my dear sir, will
suggest to your mind greater hazard to that fame, which must be, and
ought to be dear to you, in refusing your future aid to the system,
than in affording it. I will only add, that in my estimate of the
matter, that aid is indispensable.

"I have taken the liberty to express these sentiments, and to lay
before you my view of the subject. I doubt not the considerations
mentioned have fully occurred to you, and I trust, they will finally
produce in your mind the same result which exists in mine. I flatter
myself the frankness with which I have delivered myself, will not be
displeasing to you. It has been prompted by motives which you would
not disapprove."

In answer to this letter General Washington opened himself without
reserve. "In acknowledging," said he, "the receipt of your candid and
kind letter by the last post, little more is incumbent on me than to
thank you sincerely for the frankness with which you communicated your
sentiments, and to assure you that the same manly tone of intercourse
will always be more than barely welcome,--indeed it will be highly
acceptable to me.

"I am particularly glad, in the present instance, that you have dealt
thus freely and like a friend. Although I could not help observing
from several publications and letters that my name had been sometimes
spoken of, and that it was possible the _contingency_ which is the
subject of your letter might happen, yet I thought it best to maintain
a guarded silence, and to lack the counsel of my best friends (which I
certainly hold in the highest estimation) rather than to hazard an
imputation unfriendly to the delicacy of my feelings. For, situated as
I am, I could hardly bring the question into the slightest discussion,
or ask an opinion even in the most confidential manner, without
betraying, in my judgment, some impropriety of conduct, or without
feeling an apprehension that a premature display of anxiety, might be
construed into a vain glorious desire of pushing myself into notice as
a candidate. Now; if I am not grossly deceived in myself, I should
unfeignedly rejoice, in case the electors, by giving their votes in
favour of some other person, would save me from the dreadful dilemma
of being forced to accept or refuse. If that may not be, I am in the
next place, earnestly desirous of searching out the truth, and of
knowing whether there does not exist a probability that the government
would be just as happily and effectually carried into execution
without my aid, as with it. I am _truly_ solicitous to obtain all the
previous information which the circumstances will afford, and to
determine (when the determination can with propriety be no longer
postponed) according to the principles of right reason, and the
dictates of a clear conscience; without too great a reference to the
unforeseen consequences which may affect my person or reputation.
Until that period, I may fairly hold myself open to conviction, though
I allow your sentiments to have weight in them; and I shall not pass
by your arguments without giving them as dispassionate a consideration
as I can possibly bestow upon them.

"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. You will, I am well assured, believe the
assertion (though I have little expectation it would gain credit from
those who are less acquainted with me) that if I should receive the
appointment, and should be prevailed upon to accept it; the acceptance
would be attended with more diffidence and reluctance, than ever I
experienced before in my life. It would be, however, with a fixed and
sole determination of lending whatever assistance might be in my power
to promote the public weal, in hopes that at a convenient and an early
period, my services might be dispensed with; and that I might be
permitted once more to retire--to pass an unclouded evening after the
stormy day of life, in the bosom of domestic tranquillity."

This correspondence was thus closed by Colonel Hamilton. "I feel a
conviction that you will finally see your acceptance to be
indispensable. It is no compliment to say that no other man can
sufficiently unite the public opinion, or can give the requisite
weight to the office, in the commencement of the government. These
considerations appear to me of themselves decisive. I am not sure that
your refusal would not throw every thing into confusion. I am sure
that it would have the worst effect imaginable.

"Indeed, as I hinted in a former letter, I think circumstances leave
no option."

Although this correspondence does not appear to have absolutely
decided General Washington on the part he should embrace, it could not
have been without its influence on his judgment, nor have failed to
dispose him to yield to the wish of his country. "I would willingly,"
said he to his estimable friend General Lincoln, who had also pressed
the subject on him, "pass over in silence that part of your letter, in
which you mention the persons who are candidates for the two first
offices in the executive, if I did not fear the omission might seem to
betray a want of confidence. Motives of delicacy have prevented me
hitherto from conversing or writing on this subject, whenever I could
avoid it with decency. I may, however, with great sincerity, and I
believe without offending against modesty or propriety, _say_ to
_you_, that I most heartily wish the choice to which you allude might
not fall upon me: and that if it should, I must reserve to myself the
right of making up my final decision, at the last moment, when it can
be brought into one view, and when the expediency or inexpediency of a
refusal can be more judiciously determined than at present. But be
assured, my dear sir, if from any inducement I shall be persuaded
ultimately to accept, it will not be (so far as I know my own heart)
from any of a private or personal nature. Every personal consideration
conspires, to rivet me (if I may use the expression) to retirement. At
my time of life, and under my circumstances, nothing in this world can
ever draw me from it, unless it be a _conviction_ that the partiality
of my countrymen had made my services absolutely necessary, joined to
a _fear_ that my refusal might induce a belief that I preferred the
conservation of my own reputation and private ease, to the good of my
country. After all, if I should conceive myself in a manner
constrained to accept, I call heaven to witness, that this very act
would be the greatest sacrifice of my personal feelings and wishes,
that ever I have been called upon to make. It would be to forego
repose and domestic enjoyment for trouble, perhaps for public obloquy:
for I should consider myself as entering upon an unexplored field,
enveloped on every side with clouds and darkness.

"From this embarrassing situation I had naturally supposed that my
declarations at the close of the war would have saved me; and that my
sincere intentions, then publicly made known, would have effectually
precluded me forever afterwards from being looked upon as a candidate
for any office. This hope, as a last anchor of worldly happiness in
old age, I had still carefully preserved; until the public papers and
private letters from my correspondents in almost every quarter, taught
me to apprehend that I might soon be obliged to answer the question,
whether I would go again into public life or not?"

"I can say little or nothing new," said he in a letter to the Marquis
de Lafayette, "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 ether friends, than with my own feelings. In truth, my difficulties
increase and magnify as I draw towards the period, when, according to
the common belief, it will be necessary for me to give a definitive
answer in one way or other. 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 endeavours 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 ensure 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."

[Illustration: The Room in Which the First Constitutional Convention
Met in Philadelphia

_Delegates from twelve of the thirteen States (Rhode Island alone
being unrepresented) assembled at Philadelphia, where the opening
sessions of the first Constitutional Convention were held in this room
in Independence Hall, May 14, 1787. George Washington presided during
the four months taken to draft the Constitution of the United States.
When it was completed on September 17th, it is said that many of the
delegates seemed awe-struck and that Washington himself sat with his
head bowed in deep meditation. As the Convention adjourned, Franklin,
who was then over eighty-one years of age, arose and pointing to the
President's quaint armchair on the back of which was emblazoned a half
sun, brilliant with gilded rays, observed: "As I have been sitting
here all these weeks, I have often wondered whether yonder sun is
rising or setting, but now I know that it is a rising sun."_]

[Sidenote: He is unanimously elected president.]

After the elections had taken place, a general persuasion prevailed
that the public will, respecting the chief magistrate of the union,
had been too unequivocally manifested not to be certainly obeyed; and
several applications were made to General Washington for those offices
in the respective states, which would be in the gift of the president
of the United States.

As marking the frame of mind with which he came into the government,
the following extract is given from one of the many letters written to
persons whose pretensions he was disposed to favour. "Should it become
absolutely necessary for me to occupy the station in which your letter
presupposes me, I have determined to go into it, perfectly free from
all engagements of every nature whatsoever.--A conduct in conformity
to this resolution, would enable me, in balancing the various
pretensions of different candidates for appointments, to act with a
sole reference to justice and the public good. This is, in substance,
the answer that I have given to all applications (and they are not
few) which have already been made. Among the places sought after in
these applications, I must not conceal that the office to which you
particularly allude is comprehended. This fact I tell you merely as
matter of information. My general manner of thinking, as to the
propriety of holding myself totally disengaged, will apologize for my
not enlarging farther on the subject.

"Though I am sensible that the public suffrage which places a man in
office, should prevent him from being swayed, in the execution of it,
by his private inclinations, yet he may assuredly, without violating
his duty, be indulged in the continuance of his former attachments."

[Sidenote: Meeting of the first congress.]

The impotence of the late government, added to the dilatoriness
inseparable from its perplexed mode of proceeding on the public
business, and to its continued session, had produced among the members
of congress such an habitual disregard of punctuality in their
attendance on that body, that, although the new government was to
commence its operations on the 4th of March, 1789, a house of
representatives was not formed until the first, nor a senate until the
6th day of April.

At length, the votes for the president and vice president of the
United States were opened and counted in the senate. Neither the
animosity of parties, nor the preponderance of the enemies of the new
government in some of the states, could deprive General Washington of
a single vote. By the unanimous voice of an immense continent, he was
called to the chief magistracy of the nation. The second number of
votes was given to Mr. John Adams. George Washington and John Adams
were therefore declared to be duly elected president and vice
president of the United States, to serve for four years from the 4th
of March, 1789.[41]

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