1From George Washington to Robert Dick, 1 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
In acknowledging the receipt of your obliging favor of the 28 ult. I pray you to be assured that no improper use shall be made of the important disclosure it contains, and of the sense I have of the confidence reposed in me by the communication. Your sentiments with respect to the policy which ought to be observed towards the Settlers of the Western Country appear to be exceeding just; and, as...
2From George Washington to William Hartshorne, 1 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
As it seems that it will be my unavoidable lot to be again brought into publick life, however contrary to my inclinations, I must prepare myself to meet with many occurrences which will be painful and embarrassing; but I can truly say that few events would distress me more than the realizing of the apprehensions of so respectable a body of my fellow Citizens as the Quakers of Philadelphia; as...
3From George Washington to Henry Knox, 1 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
The Mail of the 30th brought me your favor of the 23d—For which, & the regular information you have had the goodness to transmit of the state of things in New York, I feel myself very much obliged, and thank you accordingly. I feel for those Members of the new Congress, who, hitherto, have given an unavailing attendance at the theatre of business. For myself, the delay may be compared to a...
4From George Washington to James McHenry, 1 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
With a heart duly impressed with a sense of the kind invitation you have been pleased to give me to your House I receivd your favor of the 29th ult., and pray you to accept my thanks for this farther testimony of your polite attention to me; but at the same time I offer you this tribute of my gratitude, I must beg your excuse for not complying with the request. For, however pleasing it might...
5From George Washington to William Milnor, 1 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
I have been duly favored with yr Letter of the 26th Ult. —and had before seen a letter from you to Mr Lund Washington on the same subject. In answer to them both I can say no more to you at present than what I have already invariably said to many—very many others—that if it should be my lot to administer the Government, I am resolved to enter upon my office totally free from every engagement...
6From George Washington to James Mercer, 4 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
I have received your letter of the 25th Ulto and likewise one from your Brother Colo. J.F. Mercer of the 29th As nothing can be more disagreeable to me than to put the securities which I have against the Estate of your deceased father John Mercer Esqr. in suit, I have provided he shall fulfill the terms of payment, which he has proposed himself—Namely £200 by the 20th of May—half the remainder...
7From George Washington to John Marshall, 5 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
I have duly received your letter of the 26 Ulto and am sorry to inform you that it is not in my power to furnish the proof which you require of Mr Armsteads executors having had regular notice of the protest. The only person (Colo. Fielding Lewis) who could have been adduced to prove that fact, is dead. Upon my going to Congress in 1774 I left that among other debts, with him to collect for...
8From George Washington to John Francis Mercer, 5 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
The letter with which you was pleased to favor me, dated the 29th Ulto came to hand. For proof of my unwillingness to put the securities I have for the debt due to me for your fathers estate, in suit, I need only appeal to the length of time the money has been due—to the frank and friendly manner in whh I have, from time to time, exposed my want of it; and to the returns which have been made...
9From George Washington to John Brown, 6 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
I would thank you for informing me, when it is convenient to you, whether a Deed of Conveyance from George Muse to me for 3323 Acres part of a large tract of 7276 Acres lying on the Great Kanhawa is fully proved, and admitted to record. and if not, what steps are necessary for me to pursue to effectuate it. In the first case I should be glad to receive the Deed—In the Second your advice will...
10From George Washington to James Dunlop, 6 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
Your letter of the 3d has been duly received—The Bond of Messrs Montgomerie, Willson, Stewart &ca is in the possession of Mr Keith of Alexandria, along with other papers belonging to the Estate of the decd Colo. Colvil—and the £600 which you propose to pay, towards the discharge of it, may go into the hands of Colo. Robert T. Hoe (The attorney of Lord Tankerville and his brother Mr Bennett, to...
11From George Washington to Bryan Fairfax, 6 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
Sometime ago Mr Muse informed me by letter—that he expected an order for the delivery to him of the Papers belonging to the Estate in my possession —I answered they were subject to, and ready for that order whenever presented but as a friend I would advise him to let them remain in your hands and draw out such only as he might want. To this he seems perfectly agreeable and I mention the matter...
12From George Washington to Thomas Montgomerie, 6 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
Your favor of the 29th Ulto came duly to hand, since which I have received a letter from Mr Dunlop informing me that he had about £600 Sterling which he was ready to pay on account of the Bond of Messrs Montgomerie, Stewart[,] Wilson &ca but that he had been instructed to do this in Current Money at the par of Exchange. The meaning of which I know not unless there is an act of Assembly...
13From George Washington to Battaile Muse, 6 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
In an overhaul, and arrangement of my papers, I have found an agreement (and Bond for the performance of it) with your father; by which he was to convey all the right, title, and interest which he had in a tract of 7276 acres of Land on the Great Kanhawa, to me. This, I beleive, was accordingly done; but it runs in my mind (though Colo. Pendleton undertook to see to the recording of it) that...
14From George Washington to Richard Curson, 7 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
I have just received a letter from Mr Shotwell of New York, surviving partner of the House of Embree and Shotwell—informing me that he had shipped a quantity of Clover and Timothy seed to Baltimore for me (no vessel offering for Alexandria) and had directed it to you —As soon as it may arrive I will thank you to have it sent round here in any manner that will be most expeditious, for it is...
15From George Washington to William Shotwell, 7 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
To promise what one does not perform is at all times wrong but in the delay of the Grass-seeds with which you undertook to supply me, I have sustained an irrepairable injury in as much as that my whole system of husbandry is deranged by it. £500 would be no compensation for this disappointment—My spring grain with which these seeds were to be sown, are now almost entirely in the ground and a...
16From George Washington to Daniel Hinsdale, 8 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
I have received you[r] letter of the 23d Ulto accompanied with the Cloth whh the Directors of the Woollen Manufacture of the City of Hartford were so polite as to send me. I must beg you to accept of my best thanks for your agency in forwarding the Cloth to me—and likewise make my warmest acknowledgments acceptable to the Directors for this mark of their politness and attention. I am extremely...
17From George Washington to Crèvecoeur, 10 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
I had the honor to receive, by the last post, your very polite letter; and must beg you to accept of my warmest acknowledgments for the felicitations and good wishes which were contained in it. A combination of circumstances, and events, seems to have rendered my embarking again on the ocean of publick affairs, inevitable. How opposite this is to my own desires and inclinations, I need not...
18From George Washington to Henry Knox, 10 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
The cloth & Buttons which accompanied your favor of the 30th Ult., came safe by Colo. Hanson; and really do credit to the Manufactures of this Country. As it requires Six more of the large (engraved) button to trim the Coat in the manner I wish it to be, I would thank you, my good Sir, for procuring that number and retaining them in your hands until my arrival at New York. Not to contemplate...
19From George Washington to John Dandridge, 11 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
I have duly received your letter of the 2d Instt—and in replying to it, again assure you, with great sincerity, that whatever my own wants of money may be if you think more than £800 can (by waiting till times get a little better) be had for your Land in Gloucester County it will be perfectly agreeable to me to let the debt due to me from your fathers Estate remain on its present footing. For...
20From George Washington to John Marshall, 11 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
I have duly received your letter of the 8 Instt —From a bad memory, I can recollect nothing of the circumstances relating to the payment of the money by Colo. Pendleton more than what is stated in my books. The Acct with the Executors of Mr Armstead was transmitted to you—and I find the entry of the Cash paid by Colo. Pendleton to stand thus on my Cash Acct—1765 May 10th To Cash of Mr Edmd...
21From George Washington to Daniel Brodhead, 12 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
Your letter of the 4th instant came duly to hand—It would be an arduous, if not an impracticable, task for me to travel over the ground of services rendered by all the Officers of the American Army (for no line of determination, when the business was once begun, could be drawn) in order to form certificates that would apply to every character, and do equal justice to merit on the one hand, and...
22From George Washington to Archibald Moncrief, 13 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
I have in my possession a bill of Exchange f[or] 333 24/72 Dollars drawn upon you by Mr Donald of Richmond in favor of David Stuart Esqr. payable five days after Sight—and will thank you to have the money ready for me to receive when I pass through Baltimore. I am Sir your Most Obedt Servant LB , DLC:GW . Archibald Moncrief was a Baltimore merchant. This sum was paid by David Stuart to GW in...
23From George Washington to John Langdon, 14 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
I had the honor to receive your Official Communication, by the hand of Mr Secretary Thompson, about one o’clock this day. Having concluded to obey the important & flattering call of my Country, and having been impressed with an idea of the expediency of my being with Congress at as early a period as possible; I propose to commence my journey on thursday morning which will be the day after to...
24Address to Charles Thomson, 14 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
Sir, I have been long accustomed to entertain so great a respect for the opinion of my fellow citizens, that the knowledge of their unanimous suffrages having been given in my favour scarcely leaves me the alternative for an Option. Whatever may have been my private feelings and sentiments, I believe I cannot give a greater evidence of my sensibility for the honor they have done me than by...
25From George Washington to the Mayor, Corporation, and Citizens of Alexandria, 16 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
Although I ought not to conceal, yet I cannot describe, the painful emotions which I felt in being called upon to determine whether I would accept or refuse the Presidency of the United States. The unanimity in the choice, the opinion of my friends, communicated from different parts of Europe, as well as of America, the apparent wish of those, who were not altogether satisfied with the...
26From George Washington to the Citizens of Baltimore, 17 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
The tokens of regard and affection, which I have often received from the Citizens of this Town, were always acceptable; because, I believed them, always sincere. Be pleased to receive my best acknowledgments for the renewal of them, on the present occasion. If the affectionate partiality of my fellow Citizens has prompted them to ascribe greater effects to my conduct & character, than were...
27From George Washington to the Officials of Wilmington, Delaware, 19–20 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
In the respectful address of the Burgesses and common council of the Borough of Wilmington, I recognise the friendly dispositions towards myself, and the patriotic sentiments for the Community at large which have always distinguished the Citizens of Delaware. When on a former occasion you intimated to me your expectation, that, if any event should again render my services necessary, I would...
28From George Washington to the Delaware Society for Promoting Domestic Manufacturers, 19–20 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
I return you my sincere thanks for your congratulations and good wishes on my appointment to the Presidency of the United States. Convinced that the happy effects which may be derived from our government, must depend, in a considerable degree, on the determinations of the people to support the person entrusted with the administration; I shall rejoice to find that my acceptance has met with...
29From George Washington to the Committee of Congress, 20 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
Upon my alighting in this City I received your communication of the 17th with the resolutions of the two Houses which accompanied it and in answer thereto beg leave to inform you that knowing how anxious both houses must be to proceed to business I shall continue my journey with as much dispatch as possible. Tomorrow evening I propose to be at Trenton—the night following at Brunswick and hope...
30From George Washington to the Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati, 20 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
The Congratulations of my fellow Soldiers & faithful followers in the Military line of this State, on my Election to the Chief Magistracy of the Union, cannot but be exceedingly flattering and pleasing to me; For my mind has been so deeply affected with a grateful sense of the attachment and aid which I have experienced from them, during the Course of our arduous Struggle for Liberty, that the...
31From George Washington to the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen, and Common Council of Philadelphia, 20 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
I consider myself particularly obliged to you, Gentlemen, for your congratulatory address on my appointment to the Station of President of the United States. Accustomed as I have been to pay a respectful regard to the Opinion of my Countrymen, I did not think myself at liberty to decline the Acceptance of the high Office, to which I had been called by their United suffrage—When I contemplate...
32From George Washington to the Judges of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, 20 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
It affords me the most sensible pleasure to be informed that my accession to the chief Magistracy of the United States has met the approbation of my fellow-citizens in general, and particularly that of the Judges of the supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Your recapitulation of the deliverance in which almighty God hath been pleased, in some sort, to make use of me as his instrument, ought only to...
33From George Washington to the President and Faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, 20 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
I accept with peculiar pleasure the address of the university of the State of Pennsylvania upon my appointment to the first office in the union. Notwithstanding I had most seriously determined never more to take any part in transactions of a public nature; yet a conviction of duty would not suffer me, on the present occasion, to refuse a compliance with the unanimous call of my country—nor...
34From George Washington to Thomas Mifflin, 21 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
General Washington presents his compliments to the President of the State, and requests his Excellency to communicate the General’s best thanks to the Officers and Gentlemen of the several Corps who did him the honor to form his escort to Philadelphia —General Washington having made his arrangements to be at the place of embarkation for New York, at a particular hour, will find himself under...
35From George Washington to the Pennsylvania Legislature, 21 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
I receive with great satisfaction the affectionate congratulations of the President and Supreme Executive council of Pennsylvania on my appointment to the Presidency of the United States. If under favor of the divine Providence, and with the assistance of my fellow-citizens it was my fortune to have been in any degree instrumental in vindicating the liberty and confirming the independence of...
36From George Washington to the Ladies of Trenton, 21 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
General Washington cannot leave this place without expressing his acknowledgments, to the Matrons and Young Ladies who received him in so novel & grateful a manner at the Triumphal Arch in Trenton, for the exquisite sensation he experienced in that affecting moment. The astonishing contrast between his former and actual situation at the same spot—The elegant taste with which it was adorned for...
37From George Washington to the President and Faculty of Princeton College and the Inhabitants of Princeton, 21–22 April … (Washington Papers)
As your truly affectionate and solemn address to me on my late appointment merits, so it receives, the genuine acknowledgements of a grateful heart. Upon perceiving the unanimous voice of my countrymen had called me to occupy the first office in confederated America, I could not hesitate to determine that it was my duty to obey that call: notwithstanding I had at the close of the war, most...
38Undelivered First Inaugural Address: Fragments, 30 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
In the fragments of the discarded inaugural address, page numbers without brackets appear on the fragment; those page numbers enclosed in brackets are conjectural. [1] We are this day assembled on a solemn and important occasion—[owned (1974) by Mr. Nathaniel E. Stein, New York] [1–3] not as a ceremony without meaning, but with a single reference to our dependence [recto, privately owned...
39First Inaugural Address: Final Version, 30 April 1789 (Washington Papers)
Among the vicissitudes incident to life, no event could have filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order, and received on the fourteenth day of the present month. On the one hand, I was summoned by my Country, whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love, from a retreat which I had chosen with the fondest predilection, and, in...
40From George Washington to the German Lutherans of Philadelphia, April–May 1789 (Washington Papers)
While I request you to accept my thanks for your kind address, I must profess myself highly gratified by the sentiments of esteem and consideration contained in it. The approbation my past conduct has received from so worthy a body of citizens as that whose joy for my appointmt you announce, is a proof of the indulgence with which my future transactions will be judged by them. I could not...
41From George Washington to Thomas Randall, 2 May 1789 (Washington Papers)
Desirous of being more particular in expressing my acknowledgments for the elegant Barge which was presented to me on my arrival in this City, than I could be at that moment; I must now request that you will be pleased to offer my best thanks to the Gentlemen who were Owners of it, and assure them in my name that I consider myself much honored by their polite attention. I am, Sir, Your Most...
42From George Washington to Annis Boudinot Stockton, 4 May 1789 (Washington Papers)
I can only acknowledge with thankfulness the receipt of your repeated favors —were I Master of my own time, nothing could give me greater pleasure than to have frequent occasions of assuring you, more at large, with how great esteem and consideration, I am dear Madam, Your most obedient and most humble Servant LB , DLC:GW . Annis Stockton sent one of her poems to GW on 1 May 1789 .
43From George Washington to Anthony Wayne, 4 May 1789 (Washington Papers)
I feel myself much indebted to you for the congratulatory letter you forwarded to me by Genl Jackson, and for the favour you did me in bringing me acquainted with that Gentleman. Your reflections on the arduous nature of the Station in which I am placed correspond exactly with my own. If the Crisis has demanded my services, I hope the countenance of my fellow Citizens will assist me in...
44From George Washington to Alexander Hamilton, 5 May 1789 (Washington Papers)
I beg you to accept my unfeigned thanks for your friendly communications of this date—and that you will permit me to entreat a continuation of them as occasions may arise. The manner chosen for doing it, is most agreeable to me. It is my wish to act right; if I err, the head & not the heart, shall, with justice, be chargeable. With sentiments of sincere esteem & regard I am Dear Sir Your Obedt...
45From George Washington to James Madison, 5 May 1789 (Washington Papers)
Notwithstanding the conviction I am under of the labour which is imposed upon you by Public Individuals as well as public bodies—yet, as you have begun, so I could wish you to finish, the good work in a short reply to the Address of the House of Representatives (which I now enclose) that there may be an accordance in this business. Thursday 12 Oclock, I have appointed to receive the Address....
46From George Washington to Edward Rutledge, 5 May 1789 (Washington Papers)
I cannot fail of being much pleased with the friendly part you take in every thing which concerns me; and particularly with the just scale on which you estimate this last great sacrafice which I consider myself ⟨as having⟩ made for the good of my Country. ⟨When I ha⟩d judged⟨, u⟩pon the best appreciation I was ab⟨le to form⟩ of the circumstances which related ⟨to my-⟩self, ⟨that⟩ it was my...
47From George Washington to Abraham Baldwin, 7 May 1789 (Washington Papers)
I have duly received your letter of the 30th of April, containing the resignation of your seat at the general Board of Commissioners for finally adjusting all accounts between the United States and the individual States; and shall cause it to be filed in the proper office as soon as the necessary arrangemt of departments shall have been made. I am, with great esteem, Sir, Your most Obedt Servt...
48From George Washington to William Shippen, 7 May 1789 (Washington Papers)
The new and busy scenes in which I have been occupied since I received your favor of the 6th of last month, containing an extract of a letter from your son, will plead my excuse for not having acknowledged the receipt of it at an earlier day. I have now to express my satisfaction for this mark of your attention, and to thank you for the interest you take in the honor which has lately been done...
49From George Washington to the United States House of Representatives, 8 May 1789 (Washington Papers)
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...
50From George Washington to James Bowdoin, 9 May 1789 (Washington Papers)
Since my arrival in this place I have been honored with your letters of the 18th of Feby and 24th of April. To meet the congratulations and assurances of support from those Characters whose opinions I revere, will be of no small service in enabling me to overcome the diffidence which I have in my own abilities, to execute properly the important and untried task which my Country has assigned...