WASHINGTON PRESIDENT.

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new government to go into operation, but so slow were the members of Congress in reaching New York, the place chosen, that it was the 6th of April before a quorum of both houses was present. On that day the electoral votes for President and Vice-President were counted in the presence of both houses, in Federal Hall, and the result officially declared. George Washington, as had been expected, received a unanimous vote, and was accordingly chosen

FEDERAL HALL, 1789.

President. John Adams, receiving the next highest number, was declared Vice-President. As soon as Washington received the official news of his election, which was carried to him by a special messenger, Charles Thomson, the secretary of the old Continental Congress, he set out from Mount Vernon for New York. His journey was a continuous triumphal procession; "men, women, and children of all ages, classes, and conditions gathered by the roadside, and often stood in waiting for many hours to see him as he passed by." "Guns were fired, triumphal arches were erected, and flow

ers were strewn in the roads over which his carriage was to pass." He was most enthusiastically received at New York, but it was not until April 30th, six days after his arrival, that everything was ready for the inauguration. The ceremony took place between the two central pillars of the balcony of Federal Hall, which stood on the corner of Wall and Broad streets, where the United States Sub-Treasury Building now is. There, in the presence of Congress and of a great multitude of people, Washington took the oath of office, which was administered by Robert R. Livingston, chancellor of the state of New York. The union thus perfected consisted of eleven states.

154. Ordinance of 1787. Meanwhile the old Continental Congress for a long time had done little that is worthy of mention; but one act, passed while the constitutional convention was in session, deserves special notice. This is what is known as the ordinance of 1787, for organizing the Northwest Territory. This was the territory which was ceded to the United States by Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, and Connecticut, and comprised the country north of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi. The chief provisions were that not less than three nor more than five states should be formed out of it; that slavery should forever be prohibited within its borders; that there should be perfect religious freedom; that schools and the means of education should be forever encouraged; and that the writ of habeas corpus and trial by jury should be guaranteed. A form of government was provided for, and the territory was divided into parts, but when each division had a population of 60,000, that division might become a state if certain conditions were complied with. This ordinance met the approval of the new Congress, and under its provision Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,

ORGANIZATION; REVENUE.

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It has also

Michigan, and Wisconsin have become states. been the model for the organization of all the subsequent territories, though some of its provisions have been left out, notably that respecting slavery. Though it had been one of the most noteworthy assemblies that the world has ever seen, the Continental Congress closed its career unnoticed and almost in contemptuous neglect. Its history has never been written as it deserves to be. October 10, 1788.

(1789.)

The last roll-call was on

155. Organization. The first task which lay before the new Congress was the organization of the government. How successfully this was done is shown by the fact that the organization to-day is in all essential points unchanged from what was then established. Four of the executive departments were established during the first session: State, War, Treasury, and Justice. At the head of these Washington placed respectively Jefferson, Knox, Hamilton, and Randolph. As Chief Justice of the Supreme Court he appointed John Jay. Among other important measures which demanded the attention of Congress were amendments to the Constitution; twelve were proposed; most of them were intended to guard the rights and privileges of the people and those of the states. Ten of these, subsequently adopted (1791) by three-fourths of the states, became incorporated with the Constitution as the first ten Amendments. It may be safely said that these took from the Union no power it ought ever to have exercised."

156. Revenue. (1789.) The next question was of the utmost importance, that of raising revenue. It was the subject which had really brought the adoption of the Con

stitution. Congress had now full power to carry it out. There are two main sources from which nations usually draw revenue: taxes on imports and taxes on domestic manufactures, and both of these were now used. It is interesting to note that in the "Tariff-for-revenue" act of this first Congress under the Constitution, the principle of protection to domestic manufactures was observed in the title of the bill, and that iron, hemp, cotton, salt, and other articles were slightly protected. A tax on the home manufacture of spirits was also provided for in 1791. The Ordinance of 1787 (sect. 154) was confirmed. Before Congress met for the second session, North Carolina had ratified the Constitution, leaving Rhode Island to follow soon.

157. The First Congress; Capital. (1790.)-Among the measures passed at this session were a census act, a naturalization act, a patent act, and a copyright act. But the most. important measure of all was the plan proposed by Hamilton for paying the debt of the United States. The credit of the country was at its lowest, the interest on the debt of the old Confederacy was long overdue, while the holders of the obligations at home had almost given up the hope of being paid. Hamilton thought that nothing would help the country in the eyes of the world more than the payment of the foreign debt; he believed also that the Union would be greatly strengthened, not only by the payment of the domestic obligations, but also by the assumption by the government of the state debts as well. The total amount to be provided for, including back interest, was nearly eighty millions of dollars, a vast sum for those days. After much difficulty Hamilton's plan was carried, but only by means of a compromise in respect to the situation of the permanent capital of the nation. It was agreed that the South should give up her