| [103] | Kentucky was made a state in 1792; Tennessee, in 1796; Ohio, in 1803. |
The Areas of Freedom and Slavery in 1790
CHAPTER XIII.
the administrations of washington, 1789–1797.
EARLY LEGISLATION AND PARTIES.
265. Washington as a Statesman.—When Washington took the oath of office in New York City[[104]] on April 30, 1789, few people could have foreseen that the elderly, dignified man, dressed in the picturesque costume of the period, would one day rank among the greatest statesmen of the world. His experience had been rather with military than with civil affairs. He was reserved in temper, and liked forms and ceremonies to which the masses were opposed. He had few of the arts of persuasion. His mind was not trained like that of John Adams, for example, nor was it markedly original. But he had had the training of experience, and he had what is essential to statesmanship of the first order—a great character, sobriety, dignity, perfect rectitude of purpose, knowledge of men, and willingness to trust those whom he regarded as competent—in short, wisdom as opposed to mere knowledge made Washington the great statesman we now know him to have been. He held the reins of government firmly and made few or no mistakes. He saw that the new nation should show prudence and by its dignity win the respect of other nations; and in spite of criticism, and often of frantic opposition, he kept his administrations well in line with his ideals. He avoided foreign complications and appeased or put down domestic discontent. He balanced political parties and made their leaders serve the state. When he laid down his office he explained his principles in his “Farewell Address,” which has become one of the political classics of the world. And now, after the lapse of a century, the perspective of time enables us to comprehend, in part at least, the unique grandeur of his position among men.
266. Early Legislation.—The first Congress, which was organized shortly before Washington was inaugurated, contained some eminent men, chief among them perhaps being James Madison of Virginia, in the House of Representatives, and John Adams of Massachusetts, who, as Vice President, presided over the Senate. The members were residents of the districts they represented, and their salary was at first six dollars a day. The most important work they did, after determining the rules of procedure that should govern them, was to organize those portions of the administration and government that had been left vague by the Constitution. They established the three departments of State, Treasury, and War, whose Secretaries, along with the Attorney-General, formed the President’s Cabinet.[[105]] The Post-Office Department was also organized, but the Postmaster-General was not then included in the Cabinet. Congress furthermore organized the Federal judiciary along the lines of circuit and district courts that it follows at present, the Supreme Court having been authorized by the Constitution, but the number of its justices not having been settled. They also passed a tariff law giving mild protection to manufacturers, as well as a moderate system of internal duties on distilled spirits. They arranged for the payment of the foreign and domestic public debt of the United States, about fifty-four million dollars, mainly incurred to carry on the Revolution, and also, after much discussion, agreed to assume a large part, i.e. twenty-one million five hundred thousand dollars, of the debts of the individual states contracted for the same purpose. The latter measure was carried only by means of an agreement to fix the Federal capital at a point on the Potomac River (afterward Washington), in return for which concession Southern votes were secured.[[106]] Finally, Congress established a National Bank with a capital of ten million dollars and a charter running twenty years, and also laid before the states twelve amendments to the Constitution which, as we have seen (§ [254]), had been suggested during the state debates on the adoption of that instrument.[[107]]