Washington retired to Mount Vernon after the Revolution, where as his step-grandson claims, he enjoyed the happiest period of his life. With great enthusiasm he again rode between and supervised his five farms, there resuming his agricultural experiments. He rekindled an interest in building a trans-Appalachian canal system linking the Potomac River with the Allegheny River system. Such a network would aid both the young nation and Washington. It would help discourage those Americans living west of the Appalachian Mountains from rejoining the British. (While the Treaty of Paris recognized the Mississippi River as the new boundary for the United States, the British still occupied much of the land, as well as Canada.) Second, it would give farmers in the western lands access to reliable markets for their agricultural goods, instead of having to ship them down the Ohio River to the Mississippi River, then south to New Orleans where there was no guarantee of a sale. While brokering the deal, by way of some (still dubious) back-room dealings, Washington came to own over 6,000 hand-picked acres, through which a canal granting easy access would generate him a fortune. One of many obstacles involved with such a project derived from the political atmosphere created under the Articles of Confederation. This was a Constitution hastily written to loosely bind the States together during their struggle against Britain. Each State retained many semi-sovereign powers, including powers to charge for the use of its waterways and impose inter-State taxes. Even if goods could be shipped via a trans-Appalachian canal system, fees and taxes would far exceed profitability.
In March 1787, representatives from Virginia and Maryland gathered together to coordinate their common commercial interests on the Potomac River. They met first in Alexandria, Virginia, but soon moved to Washington’s Mount Vernon. Under the pretence of revising the Articles of Confederation, it was here that Washington laid the groundwork for unification of all the States (or, in fact, to replace them). In letter after letter he made his views known that the Articles were ‘fatally flawed [and that] something must be done, or the fabric must fall, for it certainly is tottering.’
Mount Vernon
Washington saw the primary goal of the Revolution as a means to create a single, unified nation. To his dismay, this was not the view embraced by State leaders who, once independence was achieved, wrote constitutions so local in nature that each State’s ideas took precedence over anything national. If Congress needed money, it could only ask States to pay its fair share, Congress could pass laws only if every State gave its consent – but even then Congress could not enforce them. Because no national judiciary existed, disputes between States often verged on conflict. And because Congress was so far in debt, it could not raise an army to maintain order or deal with national crises.
As Washington had predicted, the ‘tottering’ began to resemble a ‘fall’ when disgruntled citizens in Massachusetts staged what is now known as Shays’ Rebellion. Judges had ordered farmers there to sell their land and livestock to pay off their debts and taxes. To prevent the confiscation of land and property, Daniel Shays and his followers forcibly closed down the courthouses to keep judges from issuing orders. Then they marched on the national arsenal to seize weapons. The Massachusetts militia restored order, but the rebellion was the crisis that turned public opinion in favour of reform. As Washington had hoped, a gathering of the States ‘for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation’ was called for.
At first Washington had no interest in attending the 1787 Philadelphia convention, instead placing faith in Alexander Hamilton and James Madison to secure a strong central government. However, when it became clear that unless he attended, a quorum of States would not be reached, he pledged to play his now indispensable role; his standing was such that he was thus elected the convention’s president. Once debate began, it also became clear to others that the Articles were beyond repair and had to be replaced, or in other words, a coup d’état. Washington’s presence, though, gave the gathering an air of calm and legitimacy and put such concerns to rest.
For four months Washington presided over debates that lasted five to six hours a day. As had been his practice in legislative functions, he said little, except to enforce strict parliamentary procedures. Washington did not simply play the role of elder statesmen at the convention, he was always present at evening gatherings where he brought diverse points of view into dialogue and strove to find common ground beneath disagreement.
Under his stewardship, the new Constitution created a federal government, by which powers are divided between national government and the governments of individual States. At the national level, there was a legislative body (Congress) to make laws affecting the entire nation; an executive branch (president) to enforce laws; and a judicial branch (the courts) to determine the constitutionality of laws and settle disputes. Powers reserved to the national government included: printing money, establishing an army and navy, declaring war, making treaties with foreign governments, establishing post offices, and the making of laws necessary to enforce the Constitution. Powers reserved for States included: establishing of local governments, running of elections, and provision for public health, safety and welfare. Both divisions shared the powers of collecting taxes, making and enforcing laws, chartering banks and corporations, building highways, and the taking of private property with just compensation.