Jay's Treaty failed to resolve one of the key disputes standing in the way
of rapprochement with Britain—impressment. Britain's policy of "once an
Englishman, always an Englishman" meant that even after renouncing
allegiance to the crown and becoming a duly naturalized U.S. citizen, a
British immigrant was not safe from the king's reach. If while searching an
American ship for contraband, the British spotted one of their own among
the crew, they routinely dragged him off and pressed him into the Royal
Navy. But for all this, and despite the added strain on relations with
France in the wake of Jay's Treaty, the pact did postpone the inevitable
conflict with Britain until 1812, when America was better prepared
militarily. After the Senate ratified the treaty, the House asked the
president to release all pertinent papers relating to its negotiation.
Washington refused on the constitutional ground that only the upper chamber
had approval rights over treaties. He thereby set the precedent for future
presidents to resist such congressional petitions.
Pinckney's Treaty, 1795. Under its terms, Washington normalized
relations with Spain by establishing the boundary between the United States
and Spanish Florida at the thirty-first parallel. Even more importantly for
the future of American commerce, the pact granted U.S. vessels free access
to the entire length of the Mississippi River and to the port of New
Orleans for the purpose of export.
In other acts of lasting importance, President Washington signed into
law bills creating or providing for:
1789 Oaths of allegiance to be sworn by federal and state officials
First tariffs to protect domestic manufacturers
Department of State and War and the Treasury
Office of postmaster general
Supreme Court, circuit and federal district courts, and position of
attorney general (Judiciary Act). Washington, of course,
appointed
all the first judges to these courts.
1790 First federal census
Patent and copyright protection
Removal of the capital to Philadelphia in December 1790 and to
Washington
10 years later
1791 Bank of the United States
1792 Presidential succession, which placed the president pro tempore of
the
Senate and the Speaker of the House next behind the vice
president in
line of succession to the presidency
U.S. Mint of Philadelphia
1795 Naturalization law, which lengthened residency requirement from
two to
five years
Farewell Address, 1796 President Washington announced his retirement in
his celebrated Farewell Address, a pronouncement that was printed in the
Philadelphia American Daily Advertiser on September 17, 1796, but never was
delivered orally. In it he warned against the evils of political parties
and entangling alliances abroad. Throughout his term he had tried to
prevent the rise of partisanship, but he had succeeded only in postponing
such division by serving a second term. The Federalists under Hamilton and
Adams and the Democratic-Republicans under Jefferson joined battle soon
after he announced his retirement. Washington's warning to remain aloof
from European struggles Was better heeded. "The great rule of conduct for
us in regard to foreign nations," he advised, "is, in extending our
commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as
possible. So far as we have already formed engagements let them be
fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop." Isolationism remained
the dominant feature in American foreign policy for the next 100 years.
States Admitted to the Union. Vermont (1791), Kentucky (1792),
Tennessee (1796).
Constitutional Amendments Ratified. Bill of Rights (first 10
amendments, 1791): (1) Freedom of religion, of speech, of the press, to
assemble and petition for redress of grievances. (2) Right to bear arms.
(3) Restrictions on quartering soldiers in private homes. (4) Freedom from
unreasonable search and seizure. (5)Ban on double jeopardy and self-
incrimination; guarantees due process of law. (6) Right to speedy and
public trial. (7) Right to trial by jury. (8) Ban on excessive bail or
fines or cruel and unusual punishment. (9) Natural rights unspecified in
the Constitution to remain unabridged. (10) Individual states or the people
retain all powers not specifically delegated to the federal government or
denied to states by the Constitution. Eleventh Amendment (1795): A citizen
from one state cannot sue another state.
SUPREME COURT APPOINTMENTS: (1) John Jay (1745-1829), of New York,
served as chief justice 1789-1795. As the first chief justice, he
established court procedure. While on the bench he negotiated Jay's Treaty
(see "Administration"). He resigned to serve as governor of New York. (2)
John Rutledge (1739-1800), of South Carolina, served as associate justice
1789-1791. His appointment as chief justice in 1795 was rejected by the
Senate. (3) William Gushing (1732-1810), of Massachusetts, served as
associate justice 1789-1810. He was the only Supreme Court justice to
persist in wearing the formal wig popular among British jurists. (4) James
Wilson (1742-1798), of Pennsylvania, served as associate justice 1789-1798.
A Scottish immigrant, he was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Speaking for the Court in Chisholm v. Georgia (1793), he ruled that a
citizen of one state was entitled to sue another state, a decision so
unpopular that it prompted passage of the Eleventh Amendment (1795),
specifically nullifying it. (5) John Blah- (1732-1800), of Virginia, served
as associate justice 1789-1796. A friend of Washington—they had served
together as Virginia delegates to the Constitutional Convention—he brought
to the bench many years of experience on Virginia state courts. (6) James
Iredell (1751-1799), of North Carolina, served as associate justice 1790-
1799. An English immigrant, he was at 38 the youngest member of the
original Supreme Court. His lone dissent in Chisholm v. Georgia (1793)
formed the basis of the Eleventh Amendment (1795). (7) Thomas Johnson (1732-
1819), of Maryland, served as associate justice 1791-1793. A friend of
Washington since the Revolution, he served as the first governor of
Maryland and chief judge of the state's General Court. He resigned from the
Supreme Court for health reasons. (8) William Paterson (1745-1806), of New
Jersey, served as associate justice 1793-1806. He helped draft the
Judiciary Act of 1789 creating the federal court system. In Van Home's
Lessee v. Dorrance (1795) he established the Court's authority to strike
down as unconstitutional a duly enacted state law, a precedent that
anticipated judicial review of federal laws. (9) Samuel Chase (1741-1811),
of Maryland, served as associate justice 1796-1811. Irascible and acid
tongued, his gratuitous attacks on President Jefferson in 1803 led the
House to impeach him, but the Senate fell four votes short of the two-
thirds necessary for conviction. He was the only Supreme Court justice to
be impeached. Speaking for a unanimous Court in Ware v. Hilton (1796), he
established the supremacy of national treaties over state laws. (10) Oliver
Ellsworth (1745-1807), of Connecticut, served as chief justice 1796-1800.
He was the principal architect of the Judiciary Act of 1789, creating the
federal court system. In United States v. La Vengeance (1796), he spoke for
the majority in extending federal authority to all inland rivers and lakes.
RANKING IN 1962 HISTORIANS POLL: Washington ranked second of 31
presidents and second of 5 "great" presidents. He ranked above Franklin
Roosevelt and below Lincoln.
RETIREMENT: March 4, 1797-December 14, 1799. Washington, 65, returned
to Mount Vernon to oversee much-needed repairs. He played host, often
reluctantly, to an endless parade of visitors, many longtime friends,
others perfect strangers there just to ogle the former president and his
family. Briefed on affairs of state by War Secretary McHenry and others, he
maintained a keen interest in the course of the country. With tensions
between the United States and France threatening to erupt into war in the
wake of the XYZ Affair (see "John Adams, 2d President," "Administration"),
Washington was commissioned lieutenant general and commander in chief of
American forces on July 4, 1798, the only former president to hold such a
post. He accepted the commission on the condition that he would take to the
field only in case of invasion and that he had approval rights over the
composition of the general staff. He promised the cause "all the blood that
remains in my veins." Fortunately the undeclared "Quasi-War" that followed
was limited to naval encounters and Washington's services were not
required. In his last year Washington faced a liquidity crisis: Money owed
him from the sale or rental of real estate was past due at a time when his
taxes and entertainment bills were climbing. As a result, at age 67 he was
compelled for the first time in his life to borrow money from a bank.
DEATH: December 14, 1799, after 10 P.M., Mount Vernon, Virginia. On the
morning of December 12, Washington set out on horseback around the
plantation. With temperatures hovering around freezing, it began to snow;
this turned to sleet, then rain, and back to snow by the time Washington
