Chapter 5
The journey went on with similar interruptions. The rule so often laid down by the Virginians afterward that that is the best government which governs least, was certainly well kept until the thirteenth of April. To this hour the adventurous cyclist, stopping at some wayside inn to refresh himself, may find upon the wall the picture of the maidens and mothers of Trenton in New Jersey. Here Washington met a deputation sent to him by Congress. A triumphal arch had been erected, and a row of young girls dressed in white, a second row of ladies, and a third of their mothers, awaited him. As he passed, the girls scattered flowers, and sang the verses which Judge Marshall has preserved:
Welcome, mighty chief, once more Welcome to this grateful shore; Now no mercenary foe Aims again the fatal blow-- Aims at thee the fatal blow.
Virgins fair and matrons grave, These thy conquering arm did save. Build for thee triumphal bowers, Strew, ye fair, his way with flowers-- Strew your Hero's way with flowers.
His progress through New Jersey was everywhere accompanied by similar festivities--"festive illuminations, the ringing of bells, and the booming of cannon." He had written to Governor Clinton, that he hoped he might enter New York without ceremony; but this was hardly to be expected. A committee of both houses met him at Elizabethtown; he embarked in a splendid barge manned by thirteen pilots, masters of vessels, and commanded by Commodore Nicholson; other barges and boats fell in in the wake; and a nautical procession swept up the Bay of New York. On board two vessels were parties of ladies and gentlemen, who sang odes as Washington appeared. The ships in the harbor were dressed in colors and fired salutes as he passed. On landing at Murray's Wharf he was welcomed by Governor Clinton and General Knox. It is of the landing at this point that the anecdote is told that an officer asked Washington's orders, announcing himself as commanding his guard. Washington, with his ready presence of mind, begged him to follow any directions he had already received in the arrangements, but said that for the future the affection of his fellow-citizens was all the guard that he required.
At the end of the day, in his diary, the sad man says:
The acclamations of the people filled my mind with sensations as painful as pleasing.
It was some days before the formal inauguration. The two houses of Congress did not know by what title they should address him, and a committee had been appointed to discuss this subject. It was finally agreed that the address should be simply, "To the President of the United States"--a form which has remained to the present day.
The inauguration finally took place on the thirtieth of April.
On the thirtieth at last all things were ready, and the inauguration went forward. The place was at what they then called Federal Hall, in New York, and Chancellor Livingstone administered the oath:
I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully administer and execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.
A salute of thirteen guns followed, amid the cheers of thousands of people. Washington then delivered his inaugural speech to both houses in the Senate Chamber. After this ceremony he walked to St. Paul's Church, where the Bishop of New York read prayers. Maclay, who was a Senator in the first Congress, says:
He was agitated and embarrassed more than he ever was by the leveled cannon or pointed musket. He trembled and several times could scarce make out to read his speech, though it must be supposed he had often read it before.
Fisher Ames says:
He addressed the two houses in the Senate Chamber. It was a very touching scene, and quite of a solemn kind. His aspect, grave almost to sadness, his modesty, actually shaking, his voice deep, a little tremulous, and so low as to call for close attention.
John Adams had taken his place as President of the Senate two days before. As he did not always in after life speak any too cordially of Washington, it is worth noting that at this critical period he said that he congratulated the people of America on "the prospect of an executive authority in the hands of one whose portrait I shall not pretend to draw.... Were I blessed with powers to do justice to his character, it would be impossible to increase the confidence, or affection of his country, or make the smallest addition to his glory. This can only be effected by a discharge of the present exalted trust on the same principles, with the same abilities and virtues which have uniformly appeared in all his former conduct, public or private. May I nevertheless be indulged to inquire, if we look over the catalogue of the first magistrates of nations, whether they have been denominated presidents or consuls, kings or princes, where shall we find one whose commanding talents and virtues, whose overruling good fortune, have so completely united all hearts and voices in his favor? who enjoyed the esteem and admiration of foreign nations and fellow-citizens with equal unanimity? Qualities so uncommon are no common blessings to the country that possesses them. By these great qualities and their benign effects has Providence marked out the head of this Nation, with a hand so distinctly visible as to have been seen by all men, and mistaken by none."
Whether on this occasion, there were too much ceremony was a question discussed at the time, in connection with the heated discussion as to the etiquette of the new Administration. There is a correspondence between Washington and an old friend, Stuart, of Virginia, who had told him that the people of that State accused him of "regal manners."
Washington's reply, with his usual good sense, answers a good many questions which are bruited to-day. Dr. Albert Shaw, in the _Review of Reviews_, once brought some of these questions forward. "How far is it right for the people of a free state to kill their magistrates by inches?" This is the question reduced to its simplest terms. It was generally understood, when the late Governor Greenhalge died in Massachusetts, that his career, invaluable to the people of that State and of the country, had been cut off untimely by a certain etiquette, which obtains in Massachusetts, that whenever there is a public dinner the Governor of the State must be present and make a speech. With reference to a somewhat similar notion, Washington says:
Before the present custom was established I was unable to attend to any business whatever. Gentlemen, consulting their own convenience rather than mine, were calling from the time I rose from breakfast, often before, until I sat down to dinner. To please everybody was impossible. I therefore adopted that line of conduct which combined public advantage with private convenience.
In another place he says:
Had I not adopted the principle of returning no visits, I should have been unable to have attended to any sort of business.
In contrast with the simple ceremonies at which a sensitive democracy took exception, we find now that a great nation considers no honors too profuse for the ceremonies which attend the inauguration of its chief magistrate.
FOOTNOTES:
[12] Reprinted from _The Independent_.
* * * * *
WASHINGTONIANA
_Extracts from the Contemporary Newspapers and other Accounts of the Inauguration of our First President in 1789_
From _The Massachusetts Sentinel_, May 6, 1789:
New York, May 1. Yesterday the great and illustrious Washington, the favorite son of liberty, and deliverer of his country, entered upon the execution of the office of First Magistrate of the United States of America; to which important station he had been unanimously called by the united voice of the people. The ceremony which took place on this occasion was truly grand and pleasing, and every heart seemed anxious to testify the joy it felt on so memorable an event. His Excellency was escorted from his house by a troop of light Dragoons, and the Legion, under the command of Colonel Lewis, attended by a committee of the Senate and House of Representatives, to Federal Hall, where he was formally received by both Houses of Congress, assembled in the Senate Chamber; after which he was conducted to the gallery in front of the hall, accompanied by all the members when the oath prescribed by the Constitution was administered to him by the Chancellor of this State, who then said--
"Long live George Washington,
"President of the United States;" which was answered by an immense concourse of citizens, assembled on the occasion, by the loudest plaudit and acclamation that love and veneration ever inspired. His Excellency then made a speech to both Houses, and then proceeded, attended by Congress, to St. Paul's Church, where Divine Service was performed by the Right Rev. Samuel Provost, after which His Excellency was conducted in form to his own house. In the evening a most magnificent and brilliant display of fireworks was exhibited at the Fort, under the direction of Colonel Beuman. The houses of the French and Spanish Ministers were illuminated in a superb and elegant manner; a number of beautiful transparent paintings were exhibited, which did infinite credit to the parties concerned in the design and execution.
* * * * *
April 30. We have had this day one of those impressive sights which dignify and adorn human nature. At nine o'clock all the churches were opened--and the people, in prodigious numbers, thronged these sacred temples--and, with one voice, put up their prayers to Almighty God for the safety of the President.
At twelve the procession moved to the Federal State House, where in the gallery fronting Broad Street, in the presence of an immense concourse, His Excellency took the oath, the book being placed on a velvet cushion. The Chancellor then proclaimed him President--and in a moment the air trembled with the shouts of the citizens, and the roar of artillery. His Excellency, with that greatness of soul--that dignity and calmness, which are his characteristics--then bowed to his "fellow-citizens"--who again huzzaed.
* * * * *
From "_History of the Arts of Design in America_," by William Dunlap:
Major L'Enfant was a native of France; he was employed to rebuild after a design of his own the old New York City Hall in Wall Street, fronting Broad Street; making therefrom the Federal Hall of that day (1789). The new building was for the accommodation of Congress; and in the balcony upon which the Senate Chamber opened, the first President of the United States was inaugurated. A ceremony which I witnessed, and which for its simplicity, the persons concerned in it, the effect produced upon my country and the world, in giving stability to the Federal Constitution, by calling Washington to administer its blessings, remains on my mind unrivaled by any scene witnessed, through a long life, either in Europe or America.
* * * * *
From Dunlap's "_School History of New York_":
In 1789, I saw Washington divested of the garb of war, place his hand on the Bible, and swear to support that Constitution under which I have since lived happily half a century. Between the pillars of the old City Hall, in Wall Street, as altered for the reception of the Federal Congress, in view of thousands who filled Broad Street as far as the eye could extend its view, and every avenue within sight of the building, the man of the people's choice was announced to them, as the first President of the United States of America.
* * * * *
Abstract of account in _New York Packet_:
New York, May 1, 1789. Yesterday at two o'clock was solemnly inaugurated into office, our Illustrious President.
The ceremony was begun by the following procession from the Federal House to the President's house, viz.:
Troop of Horse Assistants Committee of Representatives Committee of Senate Gentlemen to be admitted in the Senate Chamber Gentlemen in coaches Citizens on foot
On their arrival, the President joined the procession in his carriage and four, and the whole moved through the principal streets to the State House in the following order:
Troop of Horse Infantry Sheriff on horseback Committee of Representatives Committee of Senate President and Assistants (President's Suite) Assistants Gentlemen to be admitted in the Senate Chamber Gentlemen in coaches Citizens on foot
When the van reached the State House, the troops opening their ranks formed an avenue, through which, after alighting, the President, advancing to the door, was conducted to the Senate Chamber, where he was received by both branches of Congress, and by them accompanied to the balcony or outer gallery in front of the State House, which was decorated with a canopy and curtains of red interstreaked with white for the solemn occasion. In this public manner the oath of office required by the Constitution was administered by the Chancellor of this State, and the illustrious Washington thereupon declared by the said Chancellor, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, amidst the repeated huzzas and acclamations of a numerous and crowded audience.
After the inauguration, the President, returning to the Senate Chamber, delivered a speech to both Houses of Congress.
After this the President, accompanied by both Houses of Congress, proceeded on foot to St. Paul's Church (where divine service was performed by the Right Rev. Dr. Provost, suitable to the immediate occasion) in the following order, viz.:
Troop of Horse Infantry Door Keeper and Messenger of Representatives Clerk Representatives Speaker President and Vice-President President's Suite Senators Secretary Door Keeper and Messenger of the Senate Gentlemen admitted into the Senate Chamber Sheriff Citizens
Constables, marshals, etc., on each side of the Members of Congress at proper distances, from the front of the Representatives to the rear of the Senators.
In the evening fireworks were displayed under the direction of Colonel Bauman.--The brilliancy and excellency of them does honor to the projector.
The houses of their Excellencies the French and Spanish Ambassadors were most elegantly illuminated on this auspicious occasion.
* * * * *
Extract of a letter from a gentleman in New York to his friend in Philadelphia, dated May 1, 1789:
Yesterday the great Patriot Washington took a solemn charge of the liberties of America. The magnificence and splendor of the procession, from his house to the Federal Building, commanded the admiration of every beholder. But above all, the solemnity which appeared while he took the oath of office, was truly affecting. The silent joy which every rank of spectators exhibited in their countenances, bespoke the sincere wishes of their hearts. I could have wished you to have been a spectator.
The fireworks exhibited in the evening were truly brilliant; and the illuminations and transparent paintings of the Spanish and French Ambassadors surpassed even conception itself.
* * * * *
New York, May 2, 1789. We feel satisfied in adding to the account given in yesterday's paper of the inauguration of the President,--that His Excellency on that great day, was dressed in a complete suit of elegant broadcloth of the manufacture of his country.--_Pennsylvania Packet_, May 6, 1789.
From the _Gazette of the United States_:
THE PRESIDENT, accompanied by His Excellency the Vice-President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and both Houses of Congress, went to St. Paul's Chapel, where divine service was performed by the Right Rev. Dr. Provost, Bishop of the Episcopal Church in this State, and Chaplain to the Senate.
The religious solemnity being ended, the President was escorted to his residence.
* * * * *
Evening Celebration
The transparent paintings exhibited in various parts of the city, on Thursday evening, were equal at least to anything of the kind ever before seen in America.
That displayed before the Fort at the bottom of Broad-way did great honor to its inventors and executors, for the ingenuity of the design, and goodness of the workmanship; it was finely lighted and advantageously situated: The virtues, Fortitude,[13] Justice,[14] and Wisdom[15] were judiciously applied; of the first, all America has had the fullest evidence; and with respect to the two others, who does not entertain the most pleasing anticipations.
His Excellency Don Gardqui's residence next caught the eye--and fixed it in pleasing contemplation: The _Tout-en-semble_ here, formed a most brilliant front; the figures well fancied. The Graces suggested the best ideas; and the pleasing variety of emblems, _flowers_, shrubbery, _arches_, &c., and above all the Moving Pictures, that figured in the windows or, as it were, in the _background_, created by fixing the transparencies between the windows, afforded a new--an animated and enchanting spectacle.
The residence of his Excellency, Count Meustier, was illuminated in a stile of novel elegance; the splendid bordering of lamps round the windows, doors, &c., with the fancy pieces of each window; and above all the large designs in front, the allusions, of which we cannot at present particularly describe, did great honor to the taste and sentiment of the inventor.
The above two instances of attention to honor this great and important occasion, so highly interesting to our "dear country," evince the friendship, the delicacy, and politeness of our illustrious allies.
The portrait of "THE FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY" exhibited in Broad-Street, was extremely well executed, and had a fine effect.
There was an excellent transparency, also shown at the Theatre, and at the corner, near the Fly-Market: In short, emulation and ingenuity were alive; but perhaps were in no instance exhibited to greater advantage than in the display of fireworks, which, from one novelty to another, continued for two hours, to surprise by variety, taste, and brilliancy.
The illumination of the Federal State House was among the most agreeable of the exhibitions of the evening; and the ship Carolina formed a beautiful pyramid of stars: The evening was fine--the company innumerable--everyone appeared to enjoy the scene, and no accident casts the smallest clouds upon the retrospect.
* * * * *
May 1. Yesterday morning The President received the compliments of His Excellency the Vice-President, His Excellency the Governor of this State, the principal Officers of the different Departments; the foreign Ministers; and a great number of other persons of distinction.
We are informed that the President has assigned every Tuesday and Friday, between the hours of two and three, for receiving visits; and that visits of compliment on other days, and particularly on Sundays, will not be agreeable to him.
It seems to be a prevailing opinion that so much of The President's time will be engaged by the various and important business imposed upon him by the Constitution, that he will find himself constrained to omit returning visits, or accepting invitations to Entertainments.
FOOTNOTES:
[13] The President.
[14] The Senate.
[15] The Representatives of the United States.
* * * * *
LESSONS FROM THE WASHINGTON CENTENNIAL
BY GEORGE A. GORDON
Picture to yourselves the joy and expectation of that day which saw the establishment of our Government a century ago. As the patriots of that day in the midst of festivity and joy look back upon famine and nakedness and peril and sword, upon battlefields and garments rolled in blood, as they think of their emergence from the long struggle weary and exhausted, as they recall their precarious existence as a nation under the articles of confederation, as they behold the blessing of God upon their faith and courage and energy, can we not hear those voices, hushed so long ago, speaking to us and assuring us that they that sow in tears shall reap in joy?
We think of the founding of our Government and we recall at this moment the representatives of three generations of statesmen, Washington and Hamilton, Clay and Webster, Lincoln and Sumner. Our attention will be concentrated on the unique and commanding figure of the first President. Through the renewed study and statement of his public career many lessons, familiar indeed, but of fresh importance, will be read into the hearts of our country.
We cannot doubt in the case of Washington the fact of a divine call. Joshua was not more evidently called to command the armies of Israel than Washington to lead the forces of the united colonies. David was not more signally summoned from the sheep-folds to the throne of his people than Washington from his quiet home on the Potomac to the seat of supreme power over his countrymen. There was not a single believer in the Divine Being in the Constitutional Congress who did not hear in the voice of John Adams, when he moved the appointment of George Washington as Commander-in-Chief of all the forces raised or to be raised, the creation and appointment of God.
So, in his election and re-election to the office of President, Hamilton set forth the clearness and urgency of the call in the remark that circumstances left Washington no option. That wonderful triumphal procession from Mount Vernon to New York, through Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Trenton, is in response to the appeal and command not only of earth, but of Heaven. As the nation's first President was called of God, so is the nation itself called. The divine ideal is before it as it was before him. God had work for Washington; he had work for his nation; he had work for every one of his fellow-citizens. An ideal good is before every man, and divine power behind him. Let him consent to the control of the power.
The nation's life and each individual life within it is founded on the sense of obligation. We have in the model of Washington a definition of duty in the special sense of the term, in the saying, "I most heartily wish the choice may not fall upon me. The wish of my soul is to spend the evening of my days as a private citizen on my farm." There is the power of inclination, the pleading of personal ease and comfort, the assertion of individual good. In all this there is nothing wrong, until it comes into conflict with the national call, with the universal good. Then came the fight between the special and the general, the private and the public, the individual and the universal good.
The hope of a nation is in the choice of office of its best men. The historic peril of the republic lies in the choice of unfit men for eminent official position. This is our peril. It is well we are becoming more and more alive to it. Nevertheless it is well to remember that there have been times in our history when the voice of electors has been the voice of God. When Washington was elected, the fittest man was chosen. His was the rule of the wisest and best man. There are few living who will not confess that Abraham Lincoln was another example of the choice by the people of the best man. We turn in hope to the great future. After he had taken the oath, Washington bowed his head, kissed the Bible, and, with the deepest feeling, uttered the words, "So help me God." There was his hope. There is the hope of every man. There is the hope of the nation.
* * * * *
PRESIDENT WASHINGTON'S RECEPTIONS
BY WILLIAM SULLIVAN