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When the people of Virginia called on him to serve in the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Washington at first refused, but he was finally persuaded by the same call of duty that led him to accept the command of the Continental Army in 1775. The Convention unanimously elected him president. His presence and support for the Constitution alone helped silence some opposition to it, and the delegates to the Constitutional Convention surely had him in mind when constructing the executive branch, because they knew the new government would depend on his involvement. He expresssed his reservations in his 1789 Inaugural Address

He responded to his unanimous election as president in 1789 with a sense of dread. “My movements to the chair of government will be accompanied by feelings, not unlike those of a culprit, who is going to the place of his execution.” Washington had the perfect disposition for the job. In sharp contrast to modern politicians, he did not campaign for, nor actively seek, power. There were no signs extolling “The Office of the President-Elect.” He believed God had intervened in the cause of independence and now believed only Providence could predict the outcome of his new role as president.

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George Washington’s 1789 Inaugural Address

Such being the impressions under which I have, in obedience to the public summons, repaired to the present station, it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own, nor those of my fellow-citizens at large less than either. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States.

Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency; and in the important revolution just accomplished in the system of their united government the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities from which the event has resulted cannot be compared with the means by which most governments have been established without some return of pious gratitude, along with a humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seem to presage. These reflections, arising out of the present crisis, have forced themselves too strongly on my mind to be suppressed. You will join with me, I trust, in thinking that there are none under the influence of which the proceedings of anew and free government can more auspiciously commence.

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"George Washington’s 1789 Inaugural Address" History on the Net
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March 27, 2024 <https://www.historyonthenet.com/george-washingtons-1787-inaugural-address>
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