The Sacred Fire of Liberty: President George Washington's First Inauguration

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On April 30, 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States at Federal Hall in New York City’s lower Manhattan. As Washington emerged onto the open-air balcony located on the building’s second floor, a mighty roar erupted from the massive crowd gathered on the streets below and spread across every nearby rooftop. Those in attendance were packed so tightly together that one observer said “it seemed one might literally walk on the heads of the people.”1 It was a day filled with tremendous hope as the greatest hero of the age offered his steady, guiding hand to lead the United States’ constitutional republic.

Washington made a statement with his attire for the historic day, donning a suit of brown broadcloth made at the Hartford Woolen Manufactory in Hartford, Connecticut. He did so to show his support and confidence in the future of American manufacturing, which was then in its infancy. With a profound respect for the solemnity of the occasion and a deep sense of the great public trust being placed in him, Washington set his hand on a Bible as New York Chancellor Robert R. Livingston administered the oath of office. One observer was struck by the “devout fervency” with which Washington “took the oath and the reverential manner in which he bowed down and kissed the Bible.”2 According to legend, Washington concluded the oath by saying, “So help me God.”3 With the oath of office completed, Livingston told the crowd, “Long live George Washington, President of the United States!”4 The crowd responded with passionate cheers of “God Bless our Washington! Long live our beloved President!”5 As one of those people in the crowd described the scene, “All the bells in the city rang out a peal of joy . . . The President bowed . . . to the people and then retired from a scene such as the proudest monarch could never have enjoyed - the delight not only of his own nation and people, but for all mankind.”6

In a world ruled by kings, the great powers of the earth would all be watching and waiting for the Americans and their experiment in self-government to fail. George Washington understood this. Regardless of his fears about his political expertise or the daunting fact that he had no guide to follow as the first president, Washington accepted the immense task of shepherding a stable, successful start to the new American government and proving the viability of republicanism to the world. As he said in his inaugural address, which was delivered in front of both houses of Congress in the Senate chamber of Federal Hall immediately after his oath of office, “. . . the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”7

Despite the magnitude of the moment, Washington’s incorruptibility, his complete commitment to bringing honor to the office by his personal example, and his supreme dedication to the American people, made him the perfect man to meet that transformative moment in history. Because of Washington’s wise, firm, and responsible leadership at the outset, America was given the sturdiest foundation, setting the nation on a path to becoming a land brimming with hope as the standard-bearer for personal liberty and opportunity in the world. It took a man of the most upright character and supreme devotion to duty to accomplish this unparalleled feat in world history. For these reasons and more, you simply can never overstate the importance of George Washington to the history of the United States and to the world at large.

Notes:

1. Ron Chernow, Washington: A Life (Penguin Books, 2011), 567.

2. Chernow, 568.

3. Chernow, 568.

4. Chernow, 568.

5. Chernow, 568.

6. "President Washington's Inauguration in New York City," George Washington's Mount Vernon.

7. "First Inaugural Address: Final Version, 30 April 1789," Founders Online, National Archives.

Bibliography:

Chernow, Ron. Washington: A Life. Penguin Books, 2011.

“Founders Online: First Inaugural Address: Final Version, 30 April 1789.” National Archives , founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-02-02-0130-0003.

President Washington’s Inauguration in New York City, www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-first-president/inauguration/new-york.