He needed to stay at Mount Vernon for practical reasons after
the war, too, to reorder his finances, drained from the Revolution. “During the war, Washington had lost at least
ten thousand pounds sterling…He had himself paid not only his
own expenses but often those of the whole headquarters operation.
“At moments of crisis, he had advanced money for various other
military needs from his own pocket.” [i]
“After he had presented his expense account, Congress, being
as always short of cash, had met much of what they owed [Washington]
with certificates of indebtedness.” [ii]
“Various governmental bodies expressed eagerness to come to
Washington’s assistance. However,
he remained determined to receive no reward for his military service
except gratitude. He would
not even accept public help toward his official entertaining.
When Virginia forced a gift on him, he announced that he
would devote it to a public charity.” [iii]
]
The joys of retirement from public life at Mount Vernon, however,
were short-lived for Washington.
He became increasingly disturbed that national unity, far
from developing, was fraying under the weak Articles of Confederation.
Some states did not compel their citizens to repay pre-war
debts to British merchants, which Britain, in turn, used to justify
their own refusal to evacuate frontier forts as promised in their
treaty of surrender. “The Continental Congress was so neglected
by the states that there were rarely enough delegates present
to make a quorum.” [iv] In Massachusetts, outright rebellion had broken
out among the farmers.
Finally, in a meeting in Annapolis, a bold step was taken—the
calling of a convention in Philadelphia to revise the Articles
of Confederation. Washington
was worried about the future of the country, knowing how weak
the union was, but still he was hesitant to attend the meeting.
“Washington feared that [holding a convention] might actually
do harm by chalking up another failure.” [v]
“We are certainly in a delicate situation,’ he wrote, ‘but
my fear is that the people have not yet been sufficiently misled
to retract from error.” [vi] Were the people ready for the stronger government
they needed?
The importance that James Madison and others placed on getting
George Washington to Philadelphia is an indication of the commanding
respect which followed him. Yet, it was a heavy decision for Washington.
If the convention failed, his reputation would be tarnished
and his political asset squandered.
He knew, too, that this would not be a meeting that he
could easily retreat from back to his private life at Mount Vernon.
Heavy roles lay ahead.
Click
here to continue with Part 4 of Mount Vernon: A Photographic Essay,
Celebrating George Washington.
