Editing George Washington (section)

==Early republic (1783–1789)==

{{Further|Confederation Period|Articles of Confederation}}

===Return to Mount Vernon===
{{Quote box
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|quote="I am not only retired from all public employments but I am retiring within myself, and shall be able to view the solitary walk and tread the paths of private life with heartfelt satisfaction&nbsp;... I will move gently down the stream of life, until I sleep with my fathers."
|author= — George Washington in a letter to Lafayette.<br> February 1, 1784.{{sfnm|Randall|1997|1p=410|Flexner|1974|2pp=182–183|3a1=Dalzell|3a2= Dalzell|3y=1998|3p=112}}}}

After spending just ten days at Mount Vernon out of {{frac|8|1|2}} years of war, Washington was eager to return home. He arrived on Christmas Eve; Professor [[John E. Ferling]] wrote that he was delighted to be "free of the bustle of a camp and the busy scenes of public life".{{sfn|Ferling|2009|p=246}} He received a constant stream of visitors paying their respects at Mount Vernon.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=462|Ferling|2009|2pp=255–256}}

Washington reactivated his interests in the [[Great Dismal Swamp]] and [[Potomac Company|Potomac Canal]] projects, begun before the war, though neither paid him any dividends.{{sfn|Ferling|2010|pp=332&ndash;334}} He undertook a 34-day, {{convert|680|mi|km|adj=on}} trip in 1784 to check on his land holdings in the Ohio Country.{{sfn|Ferling|2009|pp=247–255}} He oversaw the completion of remodeling work at Mount Vernon, which transformed his residence into the mansion that survives to this day—although his financial situation was not strong. Creditors paid him in [[depreciation|depreciated]] wartime currency, and he owed significant amounts in taxes and wages. Mount Vernon had made no profit during his absence, and he saw persistently poor crop yields due to pestilence and bad weather. His estate recorded its eleventh year running at a deficit in 1787.{{sfnm|Ferling|2009|1pp=246–247|Chernow|2010|2pp=552–553|Ellis|2004|3p=167}}

To make his estate profitable again, Washington undertook a new landscaping plan and succeeded in cultivating a range of fast-growing trees and native shrubs.{{sfnm|Wulf|2011|1p=52|Subak|2018|2pp=43–44}} He also began breeding [[mule]]s after being gifted a [[Stud (animal)|stud]] by King [[Charles III of Spain]] in 1785;{{sfn|Coe|2020|p=xxii}} he believed that they would revolutionize agriculture.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Coe|first=Alexis |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/george-washington-saw-future-america-mules-180974182/ |title=George Washington Saw a Future for America: Mules |date=February 12, 2020 |magazine=Smithsonian|ref=none}}</ref>

===Constitutional Convention of 1787===
{{Main|Constitutional Convention (United States)}}
[[File:Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Painting by Howard Chandler Christy, depicting the signing of the Constitution of the United States, with Washington as the presiding officer standing at right|''[[Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States]]'', a 1940 portrait by [[Howard Chandler Christy]] depicting Washington as the presiding officer at the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention]] in 1787]]

Before returning to private life in June 1783, Washington called for a strong union. Though he was concerned that he might be criticized for meddling in civil matters, he sent a circular letter to the states, maintaining that the [[Articles of Confederation]] were no more than "a rope of sand". He believed the nation was on the verge of "anarchy and confusion", was vulnerable to foreign intervention, and that a national constitution would unify the states under a strong central government.{{sfnm|Alden|1996|1p=221|Chernow|2010|2p=518|Ferling|2009|3p=266}}

When [[Shays's Rebellion]] erupted in Massachusetts in August 1786, Washington was further convinced that a national constitution was needed.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|pp=517–519}}<ref name=anb/> Some nationalists feared that the new republic had descended into lawlessness, and they met on September 11, 1786, at [[Annapolis Convention (1786)|Annapolis]] to ask the Congress to revise the Articles of Confederation.{{sfnm|Taylor|2016|1pp=373–374|Ferling|2009|2p=266}} Congress agreed to a [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention]] to be held in Philadelphia in 1787, with each state to send delegates.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1p=523|Taylor|2016|2pp=373–374}} Washington was chosen to lead the Virginia delegation, but he declined. He had concerns about the legality of the convention and consulted [[James Madison]], Henry Knox, and others. They persuaded him to attend as they felt his presence might induce reluctant states to send delegates and smooth the way for the ratification process while also giving legitimacy to the convention.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=220–221|Ferling|2009|2p=266}}

Washington arrived in Philadelphia on May 9, 1787, and the convention began on May 25. Benjamin Franklin nominated Washington to preside over the meeting, and he was unanimously elected.{{sfnm|Chernow|2010|1pp=520–521, 523, 526, 529|Unger|2013|2p=33}} The delegate [[Edmund Randolph]] introduced Madison's [[Virginia Plan]]; it called for an entirely new constitution and a sovereign national government, which Washington highly recommended.{{sfn|Ferling|2010|pp=359–360}} However, details around representation were particularly contentious, resulting in a competing [[New Jersey Plan]] being brought forward.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=553}} On July 10, Washington wrote to Alexander Hamilton: "I almost despair of seeing a favorable issue to the proceedings of our convention and do therefore repent having had any agency in the business."{{sfn|Alden|1996|pp=226–227}} Nevertheless, he lent his prestige to the work of the other delegates, lobbying many to support the ratification of the [[Constitution of the United States|Constitution]].{{sfn|Alden|1996|p=229}} The final version adopted the [[Connecticut Compromise]] between the two plans, and was [[Signing of the United States Constitution|signed by 39 of 55 delegates]] on September 17, 1787.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/about-the-white-house/our-government/the-constitution/|publisher=The White House|access-date=January 12, 2025|title=The Constitution}}</ref>

===First presidential election===
{{Main|1788–1789 United States presidential election}}
Just prior to the first presidential election of 1789, in 1788 Washington was appointed [[chancellor of the College of William & Mary]].{{sfn|Morrison|2009|p=6}} He continued to serve through his presidency until his death.<ref name="chancellor">{{cite web |title=Duties and History |url=https://www.wm.edu/about/administration/chancellor/duties/index.php |publisher=[[College of William & Mary]] |accessdate=April 2, 2021 |archivedate=March 7, 2021 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307230012/https://www.wm.edu/about/administration/chancellor/duties/index.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The delegates to the convention for the first presidential election anticipated a Washington presidency and left it to him to define the office once elected.{{sfn|Alden|1996|pp=226–227}} When the state electors voted on February 4, 1789,{{sfnm|1a1=Chernow|1y=2010|1pp=559–560|2a1=Ferling|2y=2009|2p=361}} Washington was unanimously elected, unique among U.S. presidents.{{sfn|Chernow|2010|p=551}} John Adams was elected vice president.{{sfn|Ferling|2009|p=274}} Despite writing that he felt "anxious and painful sensations" about leaving Mount Vernon, Washington departed for New York City on April 16.{{sfnm|Ferling|2009|1pp=274–275|Chernow|2010|2pp=559–561|Rhodehamel|2017|3loc=10: "On Untrodden Ground"}}