The great military leader of the American Revolution George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States on April 30, 1789, in New York. He was unanimously chosen by all 69 electors in February 1789.
In March of that year the new United States constitution officially took effect and, in April, Washington was notified that he had won the presidency. Before he traveled to New York, he had to borrow money to pay off his debts in Virginia. On April 30, he crossed the Hudson River in a specially built and decorated barge.
The balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street had the honor of hosting the inaugural ceremony and a large crowd cheered after he took the oath of office. When the ceremony was over, the president moved indoors to read his inaugural address to Congress in which spoke of “the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people”.
In his role as president George Washington worked hard to unite the nation and protect the interests of the Republic public at home and abroad. He was well aware of his responsibility and said, “I walk on untrodden ground. There is scarcely any part of my conduct which may not hereafter be drawn in precedent.“
Washington successfully implemented executive authority and listened to members of his cabinet like Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson and quashed any fears of presidential tyranny.
He was unanimously re-elected in 1792, but refused a third term in 1797 when he began a long-awaited retirement in Virginia for two years before he died.
Washington’s friend Henry Lee provided a famous eulogy for the father of the United States: “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”