George Washington Papers
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From George Washington to Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., 3 March 1797

V
To Jonathan Trumbull, Jr.

Philadelphia 3d March 1797

My dear Sir,

Before the curtain drops on my political life, which it will do this evening1—I expect for ever—I shall acknowledge, although it be in a few hasty lines only; the receipt of your kind & affectionate letter of the 23d of January last.2

When I add, that according to custom, all the Acts of the Session, except two or three very unimportant Bills, have been presented to me within the last four days, you will not be surprised at the pressure under which I write at present;3 but it must astonish others who know that the Constitution allows the President ten days to deliberate on each Bill that is brought before him that he should be allowed by the Legislature less than half that time to consider all the business of the Session; and in some instances, scarcely an hour to revolve the most important.4 But as the scene is closing, with me, it is of little avail now to let it be with murmers.

I should be very unhappy if I thought my relinquishing the Reins of government wd produce any of the consequences which your fears forebode. In all free governments, contention in elections will take place; and whilst it is confined to our own citizens it is not to be regreted; but severely indeed ought it to be reprobated when occasioned by foreign machinations. I trust however, that the good sense of our Countrymen will guard the public weal against this, and every other innovation; and that, altho we may be a little wrong, now & then, we shall return to the right path, with more avidity. I can never believe that Providence, which has guided us so long, and through such a labirinth, will withdraw its protection at this Crisis.5

Although I shall resign the chair of government without a single regret, or any desire to intermeddle in politics again, yet there are many of my compatriots (among whom be assured I place you) from whom I shall part sorrowing; because, unless I meet with them at Mount Vernon it is not likely I shall ever see them more, as I do not expect I shall ever be twenty miles from it after I am tranquilly settled there.6 To tell you how glad I should be to see you at that place is unnecessary; but this I will add, that it would not only give me pleasure, but pleasure also to Mrs Washington, and others of the family with whom you are acquainted;7 and who all unite in every good wish for you, and yours, with Dear Sir—Your sincere friend and Affectionate Servant

Go: Washington

ALS, CtNhHi; ALS (letterpress copy), DLC:GW; LB, DLC:GW.

1The following day, 4 March, John Adams became the second president of the United States. For more on the inauguration and that day’s celebration in honor of GW, see GW to Henry Knox, 2 March, and n.7 to that document.

2See Document I.

3For the laws passed during the second session of the Fourth Congress, which lasted from 5 Dec. 1796 to 3 March 1797, see 1 Stat. description begins Richard Peters, ed. The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845 . . .. 8 vols. Boston, 1845-67. description ends 496–519. Many of those laws were passed on 2 and 3 March. In late February, GW reviewed the House’s proposed bill to amend the 1796 “Act to ascertain and fix the Military Establishment of the United States” (GW to James McHenry, 28 Feb., and n.6 to that document; and GW to the U.S. House of Representatives, same date). In the last weeks of his presidency, GW also kept abreast of the progress of a proposed bill “to incorporate the commissioners of Washington” (GW to the Commissioners for the District of Columbia, 17 Feb., and n.4 to that document).

4Article I, section 7, of the U.S. Constitution stipulated: “Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United States. … If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days, (Sundays excepted,) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law” (1 Stat. description begins Richard Peters, ed. The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845 . . .. 8 vols. Boston, 1845-67. description ends 12).

5GW refers to the contentious 1796 presidential election, in which Adams won a narrow victory. The election had been tarnished by French attempts to influence its outcome in favor of Republicans (see Document I).

6Though GW spent most of his retirement at or near Mount Vernon, he traveled to Philadelphia in November and December 1798 after he had been appointed to command land forces during the so-called Quasi-War with France (see Document I).

7GW’s extant diaries record no visit to Mount Vernon by Trumbull during the period of GW’s retirement.

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