11th of March, 1789, delegates from the eleven states, which had then rendered the constitution effectual by their acceptance and ratification of it, met at New York, in the Federal-hall, a new and elegant building, prepared for their reception. Though great difference of opinion had lately existed relative to the new form of government, there was but one sentiment as to the individual who should be elected its supreme magistrate. All men, of whatever party, fixed their attention upon the late commander of their armies, as the fittest person to fill the important station of president. Upon opening and counting the votes, it was found that George Washington was unanimously elected president, and John Adams vice-president, by a great majority. The intelligence of his election having been communicated to general Washington, while on his farm, in Virginia, to which he had retired, unambitious of farther honours, he set out soon after for New York. On his way thither, the road was crowded with countless numbers, anxious to enjoy a sight of the "man of the people." Large escorts of militia, and many gentlemen of the first character and station, attended him from town to town, and he was every where received with the highest honours which a grateful and admiring people could confer. Addresses of congratulation were presented to him by the inabitants of every place of consequence through which he passed; to all of which he returned such modest, unassuming answers, as were in every respect suited to his situation. So great were the honours with which he was loaded, that they could scarcely have failedto produce haughtiness in the mind of any ordinary man; but nothing of the kind was ever discovered in this extraordinary personage. On all occasions, he behaved to all men with the affability of one citizen to another. He was truly great in deserving the applause of his country, but much greater in not being elated by it. When he arrived at the river Schuylkill, the bridge over which he had to pass was highly decorated with laurels and evergreens. At each end of it were erected magnificent arches composed of laurels, and on each side of the bridge was a laurel shrubbery. As he passed the bridge, a youth ornamented with sprigs of laurel, assisted by machinery, let drop above his head (unperceived by bin) a civic crown of laurel. Upwards of 20,000 citi. zens lined the fences, fields, and avenues, between the Schuylkill and Philadelphia. Through these he was conducted to the city, by a very numerous and respectable body of the citizens, where he partook of a sumptuous entertainment provided for the occasion. The pleasures of the day were succeeded by an elegant display of fire-works. On crossing the river Delaware, and landing on the Jersey shore, he was saluted with repeated cheering by the inhabitants of the vicinity; and when he came to the brow of the hill, on his way to Trenton, a triumphal arch was erected on the bridge, by the direction of the ladies of the place. The crown of the arch was highly ornamented with imperial laurels and flowers, and on it was displayed, in large characters, "DECEMBER 26, 1776;" in allusion to general Washington's victory over the Hessians on that day, in the neighbourhood of Trenton. On the sweep of the arch beneath was this inscription, "The defender of the mothers will also protect their daughters." On the north-side were ranged a number of young girls dressed in white, with garlands of flowers on their heads, and baskets of flowers on their arms; in the second row stood the young ladies, and behind them the married ladies of the town. The instant he passed the arch, the young girls began to sing the following ode: "Welcome, mighty chief, once more, Aims again the fatal blow Aims at thee the fatal blow. Strew your hero's way with flow'rs." As they sung the last lines, they strewed the flowers on the road before their beloved deliverer. His situation on this occasion, contrasted with what he had in December, 1776, felt on the same spot, when the affairs of America were at the lowest ebb of depression, filled him with sensations that cannot be described. He was rowed across the bay from Elizabeth-town to New York in an elegant barge by thirteen pilots, while all the vessels in the harbour hoisted their flags.. Stairs had been erected and decorated for his reception, and upon his landing, universal joy diffused itself through every order of the people; and he was received and congratulated by the governor of the state, and the officers of the corporation. He was con ducted from the landing-place to the house which had been fitted up for his reception, and was followed by a procession of militia in elegant uniforms, and by great numbers of citizens. In the evening the houses of the inhabitants were brilliantly illuminated, and fire-works displayed in many places. Soon after his arrival, a day was appointed for his taking the oath of office; and on this occasion he was wholly clothed in American manufactures. In the morning of the day fixed for this purpose, the clergy of different denominations assembled their congregations in their respective places of worship, and offered up public prayers for the president and people of the United States. About noon a procession, followed by a multitude of citizens, moved from the president's house to the federal hall. When they came within a short distance of the hall, the troops formed a line on both sides of the way, through which general Washington, accompanied by the vice-president, Mr. Adams, passed into the senate chamber. Immediately after, accompanied by both houses of congress, he went into the gallery fronting Broad-street, and before them,* and an immense concourse of people, took the oath prescribed by the constitution, which was administered by Mr. Livingston, chancellor of the state of New York, and was in the following words: "I do solemnly swear, that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my abilities, preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States." An awful silence prevailed among the spectators during this part of the ceremony: it was a minute of the most sublime political joy. The chaucellor then proclaimed him president of the United States, which was followed by a salute from thirteen pieces of cannon, and by the voices of the surrounding spectators, who rent the air with their acclamations. The president bowed most respectfully to the people, and the air again resounded with shouts of exultation. He then retired to the senate chamber, where he made an animated speech to both houses; in which his language not only expressed his own feelings on this solemn occasion, but likewise discovered his anxiety and concern för the welfare and happiness of the people in whose cause he had so often ventured his life. Several circumstances concurred to render the scene of his inauguration unusually solemn and impressive: the presence of the beloved father and deliverer of his coun try; the impressions of gratitude for his past services; the vast concourse of spectators; the devout fervency with which he repeated the oath, and the reverential manner in which he bowed to kiss the sacred volume-these circumstances, together with that of his being chosen to the most dignified office in his country, and perhaps in the world, by the unanimous voice of more than 3,000,000 of enlight. ened freemen, all conspired to place this among the most august and interesting scenes which have ever been exhi bited on the face of the globe.* The measures of the first congress, after the adoption of the federal constitution, was marked with wisdom, and produc tive of great national prosperity. Among other important objects, the wise appointments of proper persons to fill the different offices of government; the establishment of a reve nue, a judiciary system, and a national bank; the assumption of the debts of the individual states, (see page 119,) and the encouragement given to manufactures, commerce, literature, and useful inventions, opened the fairest pros pect for peace, union, and happiness to the United States. But besides these objects of great national interest, the attention of the legislature was likewise engaged with associating into the general union, the new states of Vermont and Kentucky, and establishing temporary governments in the territories south and north-west of the river Ohio; the planning and building of a new metropolis, upon a grand scale, to be the seat of government, named after their heroic general and first president, Washington; the taking a general census of the population of the United States; the negociating a loan with Holland; the regulation of their militia; the making of new roads and bridges; the establishing of regular post-offices, of a mint, &c. and what may appear more surprising, the institution of an excise! But while these important matters occupied the congress, the peace and prosperity of the country were considerably interrupted by an Indian war, which began in 1790, and was carried on with various success on the part of the United States, and with the usual barbarities on that of the • "It seemed from the number of witnesses," said an intelligent spectator of this sablinie scene," to be a solemn appeal to heaven and earth at once. Upon the subject of this great and good man, I may, perhaps, be an enthusiast; but I confess, I was under an awful and religious persuasion, that the gracious Ruler of the universe was looking down at that moment with peculiar complacency on an act which, to a part of his creatures, was so highly important. Under this impression, when the chancellor, pronounced, in a very feeling manner, Long live George Washington,' my sensibility was wound up to such a pitch, that I could do no more than wave my hat with the rest, without the power of joining in the repeated aéclamations which rent the air.” Indians. The origin of it is said to have been occasioned by some of the Indian tribes laying claim to part of the ground occupied by the new settlers on the banks of the Ohio. Owing to the wandering habits of the Indians, it is often a very precarious tenure to purchase land from any one tribe, while others, who may have formerly occupied it, remain unsatisfied; as, unless they also are recompensed, they are apt to return and dispossess the new inhabitants; who, on the other hand, are but too ready to adopt violent, instead of pacific measures. From such causes originated a war, wherein the Indians had evidently more than usual conduct, both by combining in more numerous bodies, and by displaying more mili tary skill than formerly; not only defeating a detachment of 1,400 men, under general Sinclair, but on different occasions, successfully contending with equal numbers under other American generals. They even captured fort Jeffer son, in the present state of Ohio, fort Franklin, in Pennsylvania, and other places belonging to the United States. It is much to be regretted, that in a country, the far greater part of which is uninhabited, any misunderstanding should occur to excite the new and old inhabitants to slaughter each other. The American government, however, was prudent enough to observe a strict neutrality with regard to European politics, which at that period began to convulse the whole world. In the year 1791, the French revolution had been sometime commenced. From the beginning of that revolution, many of the leading men in, America, and amongst them the president, had no confidence in its beneficial consequences. But it was necessary for congress to preserve a good understanding with France, under whatever rulers, so long as she abstained from committing any acts of hostility against the United States. In the beginning of 1792, when the people of every country were divided into contending parties, much animosity prevailed in America upon the subject of French politics; and while a number of men in the higher ranks of society, and several holding, official situations, supported the cause of Great Britain, the great mass of the American people were decidedly in favour of France. During this period, general Washington was a second time chosen president of the United States, but by no means unanimously, as he had been the first time. The disposition which he had evinced to take no part in support of the French revolutionists, had been the means of creating him many enemies; particularly among those who considered all mankind as deeply interested in |