In that retirement, which is his voluntary choice, may he long live to enjoy the delicious recollection of his services-the gratitude of mankind; the happy fruits of them to himself and the world, which are daily increasing, and that splendid prospect of the future fortunes of his country, which is opening from year to year. His name may be still a rampart, and the knowledge that he lives, a bulwark against all open or secret enemies of his country's peace. This example has been recommended to the imitation of his successors, by both Houses of Congress, and by the voice of the legislatures and the people, throughout the nation. more pleasing, more noble, majestic, or august, | tions, and secured immortal glory with posthan an assembly like that which has so often terity. been seen in this and the other chamber of Congress of a government in which the executive authority, as well as that of all the branches of the legislature, are exercised by citizens, selected at regular periods by their neighbors, to make and execute laws for the general good. Can any thing essential, any thing more than mere ornament and decoration, be added to this by robes or diamonds? Can authority be more amiable or respectable, when it descends from acciderts or institutions established in remote antiquity, than when it springs fresh from the hearts and judgments of an honest and enlightened people? For it is the people only that are represented; it is their power and majesty that is reflected, and only On this subject it might become me better to for their good, in every legitimate government, be silent, or to speak with diffidence; but as under whatever form it may appear. The something may be expected, the occasion, I existence of such a government as ours for any hope, will be admitted as an apology, if I venlength of time, is a full proof of a general dis- ture to say, that if a preference, upon principle, semination of knowledge and virtue throughout of a free Republican government, formed upon the whole body of the people. And what ob- long and serious reflection, after a diligent and ject of consideration, more pleasing than this, impartial inquiry after truth; if an attachment can be presented to the human mind? If na- to the constitution of the United States, and a tional pride is ever justifiable or excusable, it is conscientious determination to support it, until when it springs, not from power or riches, it shall be altered by the judgments and wishes grandeur or glory, but from conviction of na- of the people, expressed in the mode prescribed tional innocence, information, and benevolence. in it; if a respectful attention to the constituIn the midst of these pleasing ideas, we tions of the individual States, and a constant should be unfaithful to ourselves if we should caution and delicacy towards the State governever lose sight of the danger to our liberties-ments; if an equal and impartial regard to the if any thing partial or extraneous should infect rights, interests, honor, and happiness of all the the purity of our free, fair, virtuous, and inde- States in the Union, without preference or rependent elections. If an election is to be deter-gard to a northern or southern, eastern or mined by a majority of a single vote, and that can be procured by a party through artifice or corruption, the government may be the choice of a party, for its own ends, not of the nation for the national good. If that solitary suffrage can be obtained by foreign nations, by flattery or menaces, by fraud or violence, by terror, intrigue, or venality, the government may not be the choice of the American people, but of foreign nations. It may be foreign nations who govern us, and not we, the people, who govern ourselves; and candid men will acknowledge that, in such cases, choice would have little advantage to boast of over lot or chance. western position, their various political opinions on essential points, or their personal attachments; if a love of virtuous men, of all parties and denominations; if a love of science and letters, and a wish to patronize every rational effort to encourage schools, colleges, universities, academies, and every institution for propagating knowledge, virtue, and religion among all classes of the people, not only for their benign influence on the happiness of life, in all its stages and classes, and of society in all its forms, but as the only means of preserving our constitution from its natural enemies, the spirit of sophistry the spirit of party, the spirit of intrigue, profligacy, and corruption, and the pesSuch is the amiable and interesting system of tilence of foreign influence, which is the angel government (and such are some of the abuses of destruction to elective governments; if a to which it may be exposed) which the people love of equal laws, of justice and humanity, in of America have exhibited to the admiration the interior administration; if an inclination to and anxiety of the wise and virtuous of all na- improve agriculture, commerce, and manufactions for eight years, under the administration tures for necessity, convenience, and defence; of a citizen, who, by a long course of great ac- if a spirit of equity and humanity towards the tions, regulated by prudence, justice, temper-aboriginal nations of America, and a disposition ance, and fortitude, conducting a people in- to ameliorate their condition, by inclining them spired with the same virtues, and animated to be more friendly to us, and our citizens to with the same ardent patriotism and love of be more friendly to them; if an inflexible deterliberty, to independence and peace, to in-mination to maintain peace and inviolable faith creasing wealth and unexampled prosperity, has merited the gratitude of his fellow-citizens, commanded the highest praises of foreign na with all nations, and that system of neutrality and impartiality among the belligerent powers of Europe which has been adopted by the gov I feel it my duty to add, if a veneration for the ernment, and so solemnly sanctioned by both | towards it, founded on a knowledge of the With this great example before me-with the sense and spirit, the faith and honor, the duty and interest of the same American people, pledged to support the constitution of the United States, I entertain no doubt of its continuance in all its energy; and my mind is prepared, without hesitation, to lay myself under the most solemn obligations to support it to the utmost of my power. And may that Being who is supreme over all, the patron of order, the fountain of justice, and the protector, in all ages of the world, of virtuous liberty, continue his blessing upon this nation and its government, and give it all possible success and duration, consistent with the ends of his providence. 1 GEORGE WASHINGTON. THE ancestors of Washington emigrated from England to Virginia in the year 1657, and settled in the district lying between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers. Augustine, the father of Washington, was born in 1694. He was twice married, and died in 1743, leaving several sons. George, the subject of this sketch, was the eldest by his second wife, the beautiful Mary Ball, and was born at Bridge Creek, on the twenty-second of February (eleventh, old style), 1732. At an early age he manifested a disposition for a military life, and expressed an ardent desire to enter the service of the British crown. A midshipman's warrant was procured for him, but he was prevented from assuming its duties by the objections of his affectionate mother, who could not reconcile herself to the idea that "her eldest born" should be so completely severed from her and exposed to the hardships and perils of a boisterous profession. He was returned to school, and continued in the study of mathematics and other branches, which should prepare him either for civil or military life. On the completion of his sixteenth year we find him passing over the mountains of his native State upon a surveying expedition, acquiring information respecting the vacant lands, and opinions of their prospective value. This portion of his life, so eloquently described by Mr. Irving, needs no notice here. At the age of nineteen years he was appointed one of the Adjutants-general of Virginia, with the rank of Major. The duties of this office he performed but a short time. In 1753 he was deputized, at his own desire, to visit the French military posts in the valley of the Ohio and the parts adjacent, to request the withdrawal of the French soldiers from the tract of country then deemed to be within the province and jurisdiction of the colony of Virginia. The fortitude, sagacity, and great judgment with which he perfected this hazardous enterprise, excited the applause and admiration of the royal governor, Dinwiddie, as well as that of his fellowcountrymen. The unwillingness of the French commandant to evacuate the posts prompted the Virginia Assembly to raise a regiment of troops to proceed to the frontier, for the purpose of maintaining their rights. A body of three hundred troops was raised. Washington was placed in command, and having obtained permission from Colonel Fry, the commander of the regiment, marched in charge of two companies, in advance of the other troops, towards the Great Meadows. This was in April, 1754. On his march he surprised and captured a body of the enemy, and, after his arrival at the Great Meadows, erected Fort Necessity, the scene of one of Washington's most brilliant and boldest successes. In the year 1755 the unfortunate Braddock, with an army of two thousand troops, was sent on an expedition against Fort Du Quesne. That general, aware of the extraordinary merit of Washington, urged him to become a member of his military family, and to accept the position as his aide-de-camp. This invitation was accepted, and on the tenth of May (1755), he joined Braddock at Fredericktown, in Maryland, where he had arrived, on his way to the frontier. The disastrous termination of this expedition is well known. In the battle of the Monongahela, Braddock and nearly one half of his army was slain, and Washington was exposed to the most imminent danger. Two horses were shot under him, and four balls passed through his garments. Soon after these occurrences he returned to his home, and was appointed "Commander-in-chiet of all the forces raised and to be raised in Virginia." He accepted this appointment, and devoted the greater part of the following three years in organizing the troops for the defence of the colony. In 1758 he commanded an expedition to Fort Du Quesne, and drove the French from the western frontier. On the termination of this campaign he left the army. Soon after he married Mrs. Martha Custis, and retired to the enjoyment of domestic life and the cultivation of his estate on the banks of the Potomac. Here he remained until the difficulties with the mother country began to assume a threatening aspect, in 1774, occasionally leaving the quiet of his home to discharge the duties of a county magistrate or a member of the colonial legislature. On the meeting of the Congress at Philadelphia, in the autumn of 1774, Washington appeared as a delegate to that body from the colony of Virginia. The following year he was chosen Commander-in-chief of the American army, and proceeded to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the main army then lay. To detail his eminent services during the period that followed until the declaration of peace, in 1783, would be to repeat the history of the American Revolution. On the conclusion of the war he resigned his commission, and retired to his home at Mount Vernon. But he was not long allowed to remain in retirement. On the organization of the Convention at Philadelphia in 1787, for the formation of the Federal Constitution, he was elected president, and after the completion of that instrument he used all his influence to effect its adoption by the States. In 1789 he was elected President of the United States, and remained in office eight years. His conduct in this position was, as it had been throughout his life, a model of firm and dignified moderation. Previous to the expiration of his second term, he issued a farewell address to the people of the United States, which will be found in the subsequent pages of this volume-a permanent legacy to his countrymen, filled with sentiments of patriotism and sound maxims of political sagacity. After the inauguration of John Adams, his successor, he returned to Mount Vernon, where he passed the remainder of his days amidst the pleasures of his peaceful home. In 1798, at the time of the troubles with France, he consented to act as Lieutenant-general of the American army, but never took the field. On Saturday, the fourteenth of December, 1799, he died, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. The most sincere and respectful demonstrations of the national loss in his death were every where shown. Throughout the United States the ablest orators eulogized his character, but so exalted was the sentiment of respect and affection, that few of them did or could equal the demand. There have been popular men, who were great in their day and generation, but whose fame soon passed away. It is not so with the fame of Washington: it grows brighter and brighter with succeeding years. INAUGURAL ADDRESS. the thirtieth of April, he was inaugurated. General Washington was officially notified | all, at the head of the American Republic. On of his election as President of the United States on the fourteenth of April, 1789. He immediately left Mount Vernon, and on the twentythird of the same month arrived at New York, where he was received by the Governor of the State and conducted under an escort of military, through an immense throng of people, to the FELLOW-CITIZENS OF THE SENATE, AND OF THE apartments provided for him. Here he received HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: Among the vicisthe salutations of foreign ministers, public bod-situdes incident to life, no event could have ies, political characters, and private citizens of distinction, who pressed around him to offer their congratulations, and to express their joy at seeing the man who had the confidence of filled me with greater anxieties, than that of 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 unpractised 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 misled me, and its consequences be judged by my country, with some share of the partiality in which they originated. 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, farther 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 feeлngs 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 founSuch being the impressions under which I dations of our national policy will be laid in the have, in obedience to the public summons, re-pure and immutable principles of private moralpaired to the present station, it would be pecu-ity; and the pre-eminence of free government liarly improper to omit in this first official act, be exemplified by all the attributes which can my fervent supplications to that Almighty win the affections of its citizens, and command Being who rules over the universe-who pre- the respect of the world. I dwell on this prossides in the councils of nations-and whose pect with every satisfaction which an ardent ⚫ providential aids can supply every human de- love for my country can inspire: since there is fect, that his benediction may consecrate to the no truth more thoroughly established, than liberties and happiness of the people of the that there exists in the economy and course of United States, a government instituted by them- nature, an indissoluble union between virtue selves for these essential purposes; and may and happiness, between duty and advantage, enable every instrument, employed in its ad- between the genuine maxims of an honest and ministration, to execute with success the func- magnanimous policy and the solid rewards of tions allotted to his charge. In tendering this public prosperity and felicity: since we ought homage to the great Author of every public to be no less persuaded, that the propitious and private good, I assure myself that it ex- smiles of heaven can never be expected on a presses your sentiments not less than my own, nation that disregards the eternal rules of order nor those of my fellow-citizens at large, less than and right, which heaven itself has ordained: either. No people can be bound to acknowl- and since the preservation of the sacred fire of edge and adore the invisible hand, which con- liberty, and the destiny of the republican model ducts the affairs of men, more than the people of government, are justly considered as deeply, of the United States. Every step, by which perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment they have advanced to the character of an in- intrusted to the hands of the American people. dependent nation, seems to have been distin- Besides the ordinary objects submitted to guished by some token of providential agency; your care, it will remain with your judgment and in the important revolution just accom- to decide, how far an exercise of the occasional plished in the system of their united govern-power delegated by the fifth article of the conment, the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities, from which the event has resulted, cannot be compared with the means, by which most govern stitution 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 |