10 Chapter 9 A Brand-New Country

Chapter 9 A Brand-New Country George Washington was living again in his beloved Virginia. He was still the most famous man in America, just as he had been all through the war. A constant stream of visitors arrived at Mount Vernon. Everyone wanted to meet "His Excellency."

What brought Washington out of retirement? The country was floundering. The government was weak. It didn't have the power to raise taxes or control trade or mark state boundaries. Washington said it was "as clear to me as the ABC," that the new country needed a much stronger system. In 1787, at a convention held in Philadelphia, the Constitution was written. It mapped out the kind of government George Washington hoped for. There would be three

branches of power—a strong president, a Congress to pass laws, and a Supreme Court to rule on whether laws were fair. No one branch would have too much power. Even before the first election for president was held, everyone knew George Washington would win.

The election system then was different from the way it is now. Electors from the different states were chosen. Each had two votes. Everyone voted for Washington. So he became president. John Adams came in second, with thirty-four votes. So he became vice president. George Washington received the news on April 14, 1789. Two days later he set out for the temporary capital, New York City. There he would take the oath of office. He said there were no "words to express" how anxious he felt. He was

walking "on untrodden ground." He meant there was no path for him to follow, because no one had ever been president before.

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