taste for ceremony or patience with adulation. few knew how reluctant washington was to accept the presidency. in the months preceding his inaugural, he had but one wish, quote, to live and die in my own plantation. it is said every man has his portion of ambition. he explained to his earliest biographers david humfries, i may have mine as well as the rest but if i know my own heart, my ambition would not lead me into public life. to henry knox, he went further likening himself to quote, a culprit who is going to the place of his execution. washington found consolation in the possibility of resigning halfway through his term after having went the new regime the legitimacy that only he could bestow, could you imagine if he followed through on that

fantasy. how you would have transformed not only the presidency which might very well become a prime ministerial position at which the government is nominally the head. this fantasy does nothing to elevate his mood on inauguration day. i fear i must bid adieu to happiness on the eve of his presidential oath taking, for i see nothing but clouds and darkness before me and i call god to witness the day which you'll carry me again into public life will be a more distressing one than anyone i may ever know. sound familiar? it should. washington used language almost as dour to denigrate, even as he downed his regimental uniform to advertise his availability. his humility was enough and so was his youthful desire for recognition and in later years

the favorable notice of posterity. of course, i have to say washington and those around him had a great advantage denied to today's leaders. when they worried about appearances, they could in fact afford to take the long view, which is another way of saying they didn't worry about brian williams. let alone howard stern. it is difficult by contrast to imagine today's pretenders to the throne conducting the same anguished interior dialogue that is so revealing of george washington and his character. for washington so self-conscious about the figure he cut, it was not enough to be virtuous. he must be seen to be virtuous. after the war, he turned down grants of land and rejected out of hand an effort by pennsylvania officials to petition the continental congress for money on his behalf.

he agonized over whether to accept a gift of 150 shares in a virginia canal company voted him about a grateful virginia assembly. how would this mat every be viewed by the eyes of the world, he asked. to pocket the prize might smack of a public pension, compromising his self-less position. at the same time he was a passionate advocate of canals who did not wish to offend the assembly by making himself look in his words, austentatiously disinterested.

he sought advice in the matter from jefferson and lafayette. his anxiety was real. so was his relief. when he finally decided to donate the shares to a fledgling economy in western virginia, today's washington and lee college. he was equally torn over attending the constitutional convention in the summer of 1787. in returning his commission at the end of the revolution, he had pledged himself to retire from public life. moreover, he already declined an invitation to lend his presence to a simultaneous meeting in that city in the order of the cincinnati, the war time officers from which he maintained an somewhat uneasy distance. on the other hand, washington was more passionate about the success of republican government, than he was about the usefulness of canals and not happy with the feeble regime under the articles of

confederation, the self-proclaimed league of friendship under which a patch word puzzle of squabbling former colonies had done little to refute old world skepticism about the public and its pro inspects. it appears to be little more than a shadow without a substance, he complained. we're either a united people or we are not. he told james madison in 1785, if we are not, let us no longer act afarce by pretending to be it. subsequent events confirmed his worst fears, the pitchfork uprising in western massachusetts left washington mortified beyond expression. so did congress' anemic response to the rebel on, symptomatic of the confederation's inability to raise troops or levy taxes or provide for the common defense. the united states it appeared were sadly misnamed. a daily rebuke to the commanding general who's citizen armies suffered unimaginably to fulfill the promise of self-government.

he was holding to such crew views, conspicuous among them, saw in washington the key to american unity and political self-respect. with so much hanging in the balance, would this reluctant retireee risk his prestige in a long shot attempt to establish a government worthy of the name? washington had personal as well as political reasons to hold back. the washingtons were a short lived breed and in his mid-50s the general regarded himself as living on borrowed time. life at mount vernon was good. freed from the public employment and responsibilities of office he told lafayette, i am now enjoying domestic ease under the shadow of my own vine and my own fig tree. in a small villa with the

husbandry and lamkins around me, i expect to glide gently down the stream of life until i'm entombed of the dreary mansions of my fathers. in public protocol forced him to walk the line between aloofness and sensibility. at mount vernon he could relax his guard without lowering his standards. format dress gave way to buckskin breaches and boots. manner of living is plain, he wrote, soon after the revolution, when the house became in the words of its owner, a well resorted tavern. a glass of wine and butt of mutton are always welcome, those that expect more are disappointed. here washington gave free reign to his talent for innovation.

rotating 60 different crops in place of soil depleting tobacco, automating his grist mill and speaking mud from the potomac to fertilize his fields. wouldn't you love to be a fly on wall with the argument over the comparative virtues, the fehr fertilizing virtues of cleansing mud versus seaweed. washington mixed sand with fresh paint to make his wooden house look like stone. and then as lover of gadgets, delighted in a continue shower bath that doubled as a card table and chair that petals let him shoe away flies. still it was with considerable reluctance that washington consented to join 50 other delegates summoned to philadelphia in the summer of 1987. he arrived fully aware of his importance to a nation that was more conceptual than real. his mere presence at the pennsylvania statehouse elevated

a gathering whose product might otherwise have gone out to the world a political orphan. nor was it lost on his colleagues that their presiding officer, having already exercising administrative, diplomatic and political sovereignty throughout eight years of war would almost certainly fill the as yet undefined role of executive. if he could again be persuaded to hazard a jealously guarded reputation. there was never the slightest doubt that he would be chosen to preside over the convention, nor did washington disappoint in his role as democratic demi god. one day someone handed him a mislaid copy of an early draft constitution. washington waited until the end of the day's business before introducing the subject of the carelessly misplaced document. what happened next is to be

found in max fairen's convention records as washington rose from his seat at the front of the assembly room, he expressed frosty disappoint, quote, that some one member of this body has been sew neglectful of the secrets of the convention as to drop in the statehouse a copy of their proceedings. i must retreat the gentleman to be more more careful about premature speculations, pause for effect. i know not whose paper it is, said washington with magnificent disdain, but there it is. let him who owns it, take it.

with that, he tossed the offending paper on the top of his desk and bowed silently and picked up his hat and quit the room. can you imagine? no surprise that no one ever did claim -- the misplace d document. this was the washington steeped in the theater of leadership. a gifted performer who had popular government once by standing down a military coup as his post war hq in newberg, new york. yet appearances could be deceiving, washington had the power to inspire wordless terror, it is more stage effect than character trait. the latter found expression in his repeated assertions of personal and professional inadequacy. to modern ears suspicious if not cynical about such disclaimers, washington's protestations may sound less than convincing. for the fact remains he did accept command of the continental army and did agree to serve as the nation's first president.

but that is exactly my point. real or fain and i believe it was much more authentic than otherwise, it was washington's very ambivalence towards power that led other men to entrust him with it. grasp this and you'll begin to understand not only the presidency, but the nation whose character he did so much to form. consider the heated debate at the convention over the role of the executive. roger sherman of connecticut would concentrate all authority in congress. what sherman called the executive magistracy, an institution for carrying the will of the legislature into effect. other delegates proposed a leadership representing the nation's three distinct regions, a three-headed executive. benjamin franklin opposed an executive veto and argued that

the president should draw no salary. charls pickny insisted that no one should be considered for the presidency unless he owned at least $100,000 in property. a trial balloon franklin gleefully shot down by suggesting that some of the richest people he knew were among the biggest rogues. who then should elect the chief executive? congress or the people? if the former, how should take the lead? the office should be energetic but not too energetic. memories of royal tyranny were still fresh. george mason thought the presidency as it evolved was entirely too powerful especially where war making was concerned. at his insistence the grounds for presidential impeachment were brought to include the

deliberately vague phrase, high crimes and misdemeanors. mason had plenty of company in his objections, from paris, thomas jefferson scorned the provision for unlimited re-election as quote a bad addition of a polish king. james monroe took exception to the electoral college. after washington and his fellow delegates affix signatures to the final parchment. the battle brings us back to the dichotomy between the controlling washington and the reluctant executive. it may seem inconsistent but it explains as much as anything can, why americans distrustful of centralized rule were willing to take a chance on nationhood under the constitution. and it hopefully explains why i have spent so much time this evening grounding washington's performance as president in events leading up to april 1789.

for the character of the office is a direct reflection of washington's values and the unique credibility he enjoyed even among those who feared the loss of state and local sovereignty in the new federal structure. character counts. washington said as much in his first inaugural address with the elegant tribute to the sacred fire of liberty, first on the revolutionary battle fields, there is no truth more thoroughly established than that there exists an indissolvable union between virtue and happiness and between duty and advantage. the united states washington implied could only flourish as a republic of virtue. her president setting an example and on occasion using his exhalted position to teach, admonish and publicize.

taking pains to appear above partisanship, washington em employed the washington national rather than federalist to label the new regime. with every decision, no matter how seemingly trivial he helped to establish the natural character of which he spoke. there was the question, for example, of what to call him in his official capacity. members of the senate favored the high toned, his highness and president of the united states and protecter of liberties. the house of representatives urged he be addressed as the president of the united states, vice president adams was appalled. what would common people think of such a title, they will despise him to all eternity. washington with a far surer grip on public sentiment much

preferred the less ornate of mr. president. no one in 1789 had the slightest idea of what a president was or what he did or how he should comport himself while striving the high wire during affordability and accessibility. he fired off a list of painfully earnest inquires. the first attempt to define a working presidency. would it be appropriate, he asked, for the executive to make himself available to members of the public every morning at 8:00? what about hosting regular small dinners for quote distinguished characters? >> large scale public entertainments on the fourth of july and other national holidays and presidential tours when congress was in recession. should the president be free to accept private invitations to dinner? should he attend funerals in his official capacity.

for washington clearly the shrewdest politics was to be as apolitical as possible, as he privately expressed in a government that depends so much on the first stages on public opinion, much circumspection is still necessary for those engaged in its administration. thus for ever advise it to chief justice john jay, a silk stocking federalist, washington was careful to take tea with governor mrs. george clinton. the governor of new york was an old friend and amateur botanist who would supply lyndon trees and war time ally from whom washington had no intention of being separated by political differences. men's opinions were as varied as

their faces, said washington. and where their motives were pure, no more to be questioned than nature itself. in politics as in religion, my tenants of few are simple the president had written, the leading one of which is to be honest and just ourselves and to exact it from others. meddling as little as possible in their affairs where our own are not involved. what followed was a neat mix of innovation and caution. the inaugural address itself was washington's idea. so it was a presidential cabinet, a sort of council which both reflected an imperfectly contained the opposing schools of thought personified by secretary of the treasury alexander hamilton and secretary of state thomas jefferso of state thomas jefferson. inevitably, the arist to cat who considered himself a friend to man versus hamilton with a belief in regional sin and no shortage of personal experience to back it up.

taking note of hamilton's reputation as a lady's man, washington had given his name to the house ped, a large headed amorous tomkat. like fire and frost, they were temperamental opposites who not even washington could reconcile. he performed a juggling act with historic consequences. two centuries before bill clinton and his aggressive young campaign team declared that it's the economy stupid, washington resolved to put his country's credit on a sound basis. quote. i think i see a path as clear and direct as a ray of light, he wrote. which if pursued will ensure

permanent felicity to the commonwealth. to support hamilton's audacious scheme to have the federal government assume state debts left over from the war, was a perfectly logical expression of this vision. the president was equally -- to locate a permanent capital on the banks of the potomac. quote, that there is a diversity of interest in the union, no one has denied washington told a friend who warned him of

regional animosity. this is the case also in every state is equally certain. but i ask again, which is most blameworthy, those who see and will steady pursue their interests or those who cannot see or seeing will not act wisely. here was a coded endorsement of the hamiltonian program combining a strong central government with a unified financial structure topped by a presidential cult of personality, bordering on adulation. at one point, for example, hamilton seriously suggested that washington's profile grace leon nation's coinage but the house of representatives rejected that idea as incompatible with the republican virtue. senator clay of pennsylvania went so far as to call washington a cat's paw in the hands of designing speculators, led of course, by the secretary of the treasury. quote, the president has become in the hands of hamilton the dish clout of every dirty speculation, as his name goes to wipe away blame and silence all murmuring. while mcclay worried about his

own backyard, washington cast his eye across the continent. he feared the consequences if spain were allowed to choke off american access to the mississippi river. quote, unless we can connect the new states, which are rising to our view in these regions with those in the atlantic by interest, his italics, interest, the only bonding cement wrote washington, they will be quite a different people. and ultimately they be troublesome neighbors to us. there's that word. interest. again. washington needless to say did not fear interest for what else but interest had governed his youthful appetite for western lands and very canal speculations, the war had taught him patriotism alone was unlikely to win a war. and yet, washington's true greatness and ultimate growth

weighed in his discovery over time that there were interests greater than self-interest. he never ceased to appeal to these but he have all men understood the limits of virtue. of self-denial. the best he could hope for was to create political institutions that would inhibit the baser side of men while channelling their energies into subduing the continent and fulfilling the promise of republican government. meanwhile, he took pains to enforce the literal constitution. he was the strictest of constructionists. if you have any doubt of that, he should have been in the senate in august 22nd, 1789 when washington appeared in person to deliver a proposed treaty with

southern indian tribes. then as now legislators were jealous of their prerogatives. mcclay proposed the treaty be referred to the appropriate committee. washington realizing that no immediate decision would be forthcoming, lost his legendary temper. this defeats every purpose of my coming here, complained the president. quickly regaining his composure he gracefully withdrew from the halls and nursed his grief ens against the dilatory senators insisting that he would be damned rather than face public humiliation, with profound consequences. washington had taken literally the constitutional clause about seeking the senate's advice and consent. he thought he could go to the senate and get their advice and their consent in one visit.

little did he know. [ laughter ] sensitive as a tuning fork, the president regularly inquired as to what others thought of him. thanks to whispered complaints about the allegedly loyalist trappings of the executive household. they don't seem very royalist to us. the fact of the matter is if you were decently attired, and you lived in new york, you had an opportunity every tuesday afternoon to walk into 39 broadway, the house formerly occupied by the french ambassador, and see the president of the united states. he was that accessible. now, the accounts that had been left suggest the conversation was something less than

scintillating. but then, there's a reason for that. it was in washington's interest not to say anything quotable. at a time when the new government was so vulnerable. but the fact is that the routine never varied. everyone formed a circle in the drawing room and the president came in. by the way, the story goes that his in effect chamberlain in a rather royal fashion threw open the doors the first time and announced the august presence and washington said by god you can take in like that once but never again. it was washington rebelling against the desire on the part of some to turn him into a republican king. and now, he maintained a distance. he didn't shake hands. that supremely democratic act did not occur until thomas

jefferson showed up. of course, jefferson was not above answering the door of the white house himself in his carpet slippers when the british ambassador appeared. every thursday afternoon there was a state dinner, washington had a dining room and table for 16. and unfortunately the best account we have left by the senator mcclay, who detected lobbying for the presidential program when washington urged him to have a second helping of pudding, he never quite understood virginia hospitality. could you imagine? washington waited five minutes for tardy guests and then everyone went in and sat down. if you arrived afterward, if you had the nerve to walk in,

washington had an unvarying line. sir, we are too punctual for you. i have a cook, said, washington, who never asked whether the company has come but whether the hour has come. presuming at that point you would slink down the table to your position. he is generally sedate and serious recalled one of washington's guests. only after have two or three glasses of wine and rouzed by the conversation around him does his face assume an expression of liveliness. with sufficient champagne, the president reportedly became positively merry. he was a spartan eater. a salt cod being a favorite dish. and before the dinner ended, he al