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THE FIRST INAUGURATION—PATRIOTIC
& MASONIC!
by
Captain Kenneth R. Force, USMS
Right Worshipful Brother Force is a Past Master of St.
Cecile Lodge No. 568 (“The Lodge of the Arts”) and Nassau Lodge No. 1016, both
of New York. He is a Past District Deputy Grand Master of the Fourth Manhattan
District. For many years, he has been Director of Music at the U.S. Merchant
Marine Academy, Kings Point, N.Y. and regularly conducts the Academy’s
Regimental Band in concerts and at patriotic events. The following is partly
excerpted from the Program Notes he prepared for a booklet of music and comment,
both related to the period of George Washington’s first inauguration as
President of the United States.
“Sir: I have the honor to transmit to your Ex-cellency the
information of your unanimous elec-tion to the office of President of the United
States of America. Suffer me, Sir, to indulge the hope that so auspicious a mark
of public confidence will meet your approbation, and be considered as a sure
pledge of the affection and support you are to expect from a free and
enlightened people”—Letter to President elect Washington from John Langdon,
Temporary President of the U.S. Senate.
The above congratulatory note was delivered to General
George Washington* at Mount Ver-non on April 14th, 1789. Thus, from
this hum-ble beginning began the American Presidency— an office that one day
would become the most powerful and responsible position in the entire world.
Two days later, on April 16th, General
Washington left his beloved Virginia home, ac-companied by his personal
secretary, Colonel David Humphreys*, and by Mr. Charles Thom-son, Secretary of
Congress and the individual chosen to deliver the congratulatory message.
The General, dressed in his familiar buff and blue uniform,
looked resplendent upon his horse.
All along the route to New York City, the party was greeted by a
tumultuous outpouring of public adulation and enthusiasm. Each tiny village and
town displayed its finest decorations; even the General was overwhelmed by the
receptions that greeted him every place he passed through.
The most noteworthy greeting was at Trenton, New Jersey,
where a magnificent arch was erected at the Trenton bridge displaying the motto,
“The Defender of the Mothers will also protect the Daughters.” As Washington
passed under the arch, a choir of white-robed mothers and daughters sang
Alexander Reinagle’s chorus, “Welcome Mighty Chief, Once More.” This work is
dedicated to the President’s wife, Martha.
For weeks, elaborate preparations had been underway in New
York for the arrival of the na-tion’s war hero and leading example of the
coun-try’s unity and pride. By the time of the inaugura-tion, Washington had
become a unifying symbol to the people and his popularity took on cult-like
dimensions. He was revered with an almost religious fervor, clearly reflected in
the Iyrics con-tained in the music of that period.
On April 23rd, he arrived at Elizabethport, New
Jersey. He was met by a committee from Congress and several other notable
dignitaries, including Chancellor Robert Livingston*. (Liv-ingston would
administer the oath of office a few days later.)
At the shore lay waiting a magnificent forty-five-foot-long
barge, commanded by Com-modore James Nicholson*, which had been con-structed at
great expense for the occasion. On its deck was a red-curtained enclosure
beautifully decorated with festoons and symbols of the new Republic. Rowing the
barge were thirteen river pilots dressed in white, who had been especially
selected to transport the stately General Washington to Manhattan. Other barges
accom-panied the Presidential vessel filled with leading politicians and future
Cabinet members.
As the Presidential barge proceeded down the Hudson River,
a Chorus rose up from a sloop anchored in the harbor singing an “ode” to the
General. This “ode” is described in eloquent terms by the New York Packet:
The voices of the ladies were as much superior to the
flutes that played with the stroke of the oars in Cleopatra’s silken cor-ded
barge, as the very superior and glorious water scenes of New York Bay exceeds
Cyn-dus in all its pride. We could with rapture dwell upon this interesting
subject, and wander into the fields of fancy for expres-sions to paint the
various and delightful ap-pearances that vied with each other at the same time
to welcome the great and il-lustrious man to our now happy city.
Another description of the “singing” has been preserved in
the writings of Congressman Elias Boudinot of New Jersey, who was part of the
Presidential party that day:
Before we got to Bedlars Island (now Lib-
erty Island, site of the Statue of Liberty) a
large sloop came, with full sail on the Star-
board Bow, when about 20 Gentn & Ladies
rose up, and with excellent & melodius
voices sung an Eloquent Ode appropriate
to the occasion, & set to the music of “God
Save the King,” welcoming their Great
Chief to the Seat of Government. At the
conclusion we gave them our Hats, and
then they with the surrounding Boats, gave
three Hurra’s which made the
neighborhood shores rebound with Joyful
acclaimation. (Spelling and punctuation
unaltered from the original.)
When the Presidential barge passed the Spanish sloop-of-war
Galveston, the men of the ship fired a thirteen-gun salute and immediately
displayed the flags of “all foreign nations.” Another thirteen-gun salute was
fired as the barge rounded the Battery and finally at Murray’s Wharf, at the
foot of Wall Street, a final salute of thirteen-guns was fired as the
Presidential barge landed.
General Washington climbed the carpeted stairs to the pier
where he was greeted by the Governor and Mayor along with city and state
officials. From the wharf, a grand procession was formed which accompanied the
General to his new residence, the house of Samuel Osgood, at Cherry Street and
Franklin Square. As the procession progressed through the streets of the city, a
tumultuous outpouring of public adula-tion greeted him, and the General was
visibly and emotionally moved.
Homes and business establishments were decorated with
signs, flags, and every festive decoration imaginable. At night, candles were
displayed in windows as the city continued to celebrate.
The United States Gazette reported:
Many persons who were in the crowd on
Thursday were heard to say that they
should now die contented—nothing being
wanted to complete their happiness,
previous to this auspicious period but the sight of the
Savior of his Country.
Inauguration Day, April 30,1789, is unique in American
history. Not only did it mark the tak-ing of the oath of office by America’s
first president—it was the only inauguration of an American President in New
York City, the capital moving to Philadelphia for Washington’s second
inauguration and those of his successor, John Adams. Thomas Jefferson was the
first President to be inaugurated in the new capital city of Washington on the
Potomac.
The day began with a cannon salute fired from the Battery
at sunrise. (An early wake-up call!) At nine o’clock, all the churches in the
city held special religious services. At noon, Congress assembled at Federal
Hall on Wall Street and a procession of dignitaries, politicians and militia
proceeded to the Presidential mansion on Cherry Street (the present sight of the
Brooklyn Bridge tower) to accompany the President back to Federal Hall where
Congress was meeting. The building had served as City hall, but was remodeled by
the architect, L’Enfant. It stood on Wall Street at the head of Broad.
With the President-elect that morning as he wended his way
to the Hall were John Langdon of New Hampshire, Charles Carroll of Maryland, and
William Samuel Johnson of Connecticut.
They were escorted by selected military units commanded by General William
Malcom*, with Morgan Lewis*, (later Grand Master of New York) serving as Marshal
and Jacob Morton* and Leonard Bleecker* as aides. So great was the press of
spectators in Broad Street that Washington and his immediate party were obliged
to dis-mount and walk the last hundred yards. Behind them, the crowds broke
through the ranks of the military. The windows were jammed wherever they
provided any view of the spectacle, and even the housetops along Broad Street
were taken ad-vantage of for a bird’s-eye view of the stirring scene taking
place below.
At Federal Hall, Washington entered the Senate chamber
where he was received by the Vice Presi-dent, John Adams, and the assembled
con-gressmen and senators. Adams spoke as follows:
“Sir! The Senate and the House of Represen-tatives of the
United States are ready to attend you to take the oath required by the
Constitu-tion, which will be administered by the Chancellor of the State of New
York.” The rep-ly was a dignified “I am ready to proceed.”
The Oath was administered in the outer gallery, so that it
would be done in the most public man-ner. According to Washington Irving, who at
the age of seven was an eyewitness, there was a table in the center upon which
lay a superbly bound Bible on a crimson velvet cushion. In other ac-counts, the
Bible was missing, and Jacob Mor-ton, who was then both Grand Secretary of the
Grand Lodge of New York and Master of St.
John’s Lodge No. I (later Grand Master of New York), went to the Lodge
room nearby to bor-row the alter Bible. Either way, there is no doubt that the
Bible (published in 1767) was the pro-perty of St. John’s Lodge (constituted in
1757), and it remains a treasured possession to this day. (Elected officers of the Grand Lodge
today take their obligation on this Bible, and it has been pre-sent at several
Presidential inaugurations. It will be on display at the White House from
January through March 1989, and it will be part of the Bicentennial celebration
of the first inauguration, on April 30, 1989.)
Washington made his appearance clad in a
dark brown suit of American manufacture
(woven in Samuel Hinsdale’s* mill in Hartford), with a
steel-hilted sword. He advanced to the front of the balcony, laid his hand upon
his breast, bowed solemnly several times, and then returned to an arm chair near
the table. After the cheering subsided, he arose and again stepped forward. Vice
President John Adams stood on his right; at his left was Chancellor Robert R.
Liv-ingston, Grand Master of Masons in New York, who administered the oath;
nearby were Generals Richard Henry Lee*, Henry Knox*, Arthur St. Clair*, Baron Von Steuben*, House Speaker
Frederick A.C. Muhlenberg*, and New York Governor George Clinton*, (ironically,
leader of the Anti-Federalists at the New York Ratification Convention in
Poughkeepsie, two years earlier!).
After the Constitutional oath was given, con-cluded with
the words “So help me God!”, Samuel Allyne Otis, Secretary of the Senate, who
held the Bible, would have raised it to Washington’s lips, but the President
bent down reverently and kissed the Holy book (open to Genesis, Chapter 49).
Stepping to the railing, Chancellor Livingston announced to the crowd below, “It
is done! Long live George Washington, President of the United States!” At that
moment, the flag was raised on the cupola of Federal Hall, which signaled the
artillery at the Battery to render a salute. The bells of the City rang forth
and the populace screamed forth shouts of joy.
After the balcony ceremony, President Washington entered
the Senate chamber and delivered his inauguration address to the assem-bled
Congress. Then, in another procession, he left Federal Hall and proceeded with
the Vice President to nearby St. Paul’s Chapel of Trinity Church for religious
services. (A practice followed to this day by New York Masons, who have
reenacted the oath-taking ceremony for many years.) That evening, the city was
beautifully il-luminated as parties and balls were held in celebration of the
momentous event.
The first inauguration . . . one in which the principal, a
Freemason, took an oath ad-ministered by a Grand Master of Masons, upon the
Bible of a Masonic Lodge, and witnessed by other Masonic and public dignitaries.
We are all proud of Washington as our first President; we can be equally proud
of him as a Freemason!
·
indicates Masonic Membership