On the 2d of November, 1783, Washington bade farewell to his army. On the 23d of December he resigned his commission as commander-in-chief.
There were some who suggested that Washington should make himself king of this country; and indeed this he might have done, so great was the people's love and gratitude.
But the great man spurned such suggestions. He said, "If you have any regard for your country or respect for me, banish those thoughts and never again speak of them."
* * * * *
XIV.—THE FIRST PRESIDENT.
Washington was now fifty-two years old.
The country was still in an unsettled condition. True, it was free from English control. But there was no strong government to hold the states together.
Each state was a little country of itself, making its own laws, and having its own selfish aims without much regard for its sister states. People did not think of the United States as one great undivided nation.
And so matters were in bad enough shape, and they grew worse and worse as the months went by.
Wise men saw that unless something should be done to bring about a closer union of the states, they would soon be in no better condition than when ruled by the English king.