Washington, George, as first President

Autograph letter signed ("Go: Washington"), possibly a retained draft, 1 page (9 1/2 x 7 7/8 in.; 243 x 202 mm), [New York], 9 May 1789, to the United States House of Representatives ("Gentlemen"), docketed on verso by Washington, "Answer to the Address from the House of Represents. May 9th 1789"; several short fold separations, chiefly marginal and most repaired verso. Tipped to a mat board.

Lady Beatrice Gosford, bequeathed, 1967, among the contents of "Topping Tavern" to — The Bennington Museum, Bennington, Vermont

The Papers of George Washington: Presidential Series, ed. Abbot, 2:232

"I feel that my past endeavours in the Service of Country are far overpaid by its goodness. ..." At the dawn of his—and his country's—presidency, George Washington succinctly expresses his conception of public service as an obligatory responsibility, mutually beneficial to himself and to the country, and possible only with the cooperation of other public servants, as well as divine support.

On 14 April 1789, George Washington received official notification that he had been unanimously elected as the first president of the United States—an outcome that had been widely anticipated from the time that New Hampshire's ratification of the federal Constitution, 21 June 1788, provided the ninth-state approval necessary to make the new compact the law of the land. Washington's ambivalence about becoming the chief executive is well known: on 1 April 1789 he famously wrote to Henry Knox, Acting Secretary of War and his old comrade in arms, that "my movements to the chair of Government will be accompanied with feelings not unlike those of a culprit who is going to his place of execution: so unwilling am I, in the evening of a life nearly consumed by public cares, to quit a peaceful abode for an Ocean of difficulties, without that competency of political skills—abilities & inclination which is necessary to manage the helm" (Papers, Presidential Series 2:2; sold, Sotheby's, 1 November 1993, lot 232).

Washington's modesty—false or not—was belied by his willingness to serve. Indeed, the very office of the presidency owes much to the character of Washington. His fame as the steady hero of the Revolution, his manifest lack of personal ambition, and his determination not to profit from public service won him a reputation unapproached by any other American of his—or any subsequent—day. Despite his strong desire to live in the "peaceful abode" of Mount Vernon, he felt compelled to give active support to the Federal cause, agreeing to serve as president of the Constitutional Convention. Even before the delegates gathered in Philadelphia, there was a widespread belief that however the office of chief executive was ultimately defined, Washington was its only possible candidate.

Washington accepted the inevitability of his election, and as early as January 1789 he had begun work on an Inaugural Address, which he read at his inauguration at Federal Hall, New York, 30 April 1789. Five days later, the House of Representatives sent the President a formal address of congratulations, acknowledging "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 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 cannot 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" (Papers, Presidential Series 2:215).

Washington carefully considered his response, reminding James Madison, whose assistance he sought, that "As the first of everything, in our situation will serve to establish a Precedent, it is devoutly wished on my part, that these precedents may be fixed on true principles" (Papers, Presidential Series 2:216–17). And while this letter is the first correspondence sent by a President to another branch of government, its substance and spirit have never been equalled—and seldom has the sincerity of Washington's characteristic self-effacement been more evident:

"Your very affectionate address produces emotions which I know not how to express.—I feel that my past endeavours in the Service of Country are far overpaid by its goodness: and I fear much that my future ones may not fulfil 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 co-operate, and a continuance of the blessings of Heaven on our beloved Country."