Inventing the Presidency / Becoming the King

The section intro text, to your left, reads:

George Washington helped invent the presidency when he headed the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Two years later, he became America’s first president, bringing the new role to life. The American presidency was created as a reaction against the British monarchy, even as it incorporated elements of it.

Unlike Washington, George III had been groomed for his role as national leader from birth. The two Georges overlapped as national leaders during Washington’s two terms as president, from 1789 to 1797. Despite their separate paths to power, they contended with many of the same forces that buffeted their shared Atlantic world.

This text is accompanied by larger-than-life portraits of King George III and George Washington.

The portrait on the left depicts George Washington as an older man. He is wearing a powdered wig and wearing a dark coat. The caption reads: Gilbert Stuart. George Washington (Lansdowne Portrait), 1796 (detail). Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; acquired as a gift to the nation through the generosity of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation

The portrait on the right depicts King George III as an older man. He is wearing a powdered wig and a dark cloak with a red sash. The caption reads: Right: Thomas Lawrence. George III, 1818–1823 (detail). © Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust

“Hatts,” Gloves, Feathers, and Books

A large graphic on the wall to the right shows pages from a notebook. The text reads:

These pages are from the Washingtons’ household expense book, kept while they lived in Philadelphia during Washington’s presidency. Their house was then both a family home and a place where American officials and foreign diplomats met.

The purchases listed here include a bonnet and feathers for Martha Washington and a pair of “gloves for Kennedy to wear when putting on table ornaments.” (Patrick Kennedy was a household servant.) The expense book also reveals that Martha Washington was a committed reader. It records the purchase of fourteen books for her, including a “Ladies Geography” and Mary Wollstonecraft’s Thoughts on the Education of Daughters.

Exhibit Item(s)

• George Washington. Daily expenses, Philadelphia, March 28–31, 1794. George Washington Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. A two-page spread of a handwritten notebook with the header “March 1794.”

Inventing the Presidency / Becoming the King

The text panel in front of you reads:

As the first president of the United States, George Washington realized that everything he did would set a precedent. Both George and Martha Washington were anxious as they approached their new roles. Washington wondered how a president could avoid seeming like a king.

George III’s throne was ancient, but his pathway to it was not foreordained. His great-grandfather, George I, was born in Hanover, Germany. He jumped ahead of his Catholic cousins in 1714 because Britain wanted a Protestant king. George III was the first Hanoverian king to be born in England and speak English as a first language. When he took the throne in 1760, he reassured his subjects, “Born and educated in this country, I glory in the Name of Britain.”

The display case to your right contains five objects:

1. Washington’s Draft of the Constitution

George Washington served as president of the Constitutional Convention, which met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787. There, delegates from every state met to draft a federal Constitution. Near the end of the convention, a committee of delegates had a draft of the Constitution printed, and each delegate received a copy. Washington’s copy, displayed here, includes the notes he made, probably as he was sitting in Carpenters’ Hall discussing the text with his fellow delegates.

Exhibit Item(s)

• Report, Committee of Style and Arrangement, Constitutional Convention, Philadelphia, September 12, 1787, with notes by George Washington and Convention secretary William Jackson, p. 3 (reproduction). George Washington Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (080.01.00). A printed page from the draft Constitution with George Washington’s handwritten edits.

2. Washington’s First Inaugural Address

George Washington delivered this address in the Senate chamber of Federal Hall in New York, which was then the nation’s capital. He began on a modest note, admitting that “no event could have filled me with greater anxieties” than the news that he had been elected president. Then he reminded his listeners that “the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty” depended on “the American people.”

Exhibit Item(s)

• George Washington, First Inaugural Address, April 30, 1789. George Washington Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (082.00.01). A handwritten document beginning with the words “of the world. I dwell on this prospect with every satisfaction which an ardent love for my Country can inspire.”

3. “Queries on Conduct”

During his first weeks as president, George Washington asked his vice president, John Adams, and members of his cabinet for advice on how to conduct himself in the new office. He was conscious that the precedents he set would affect the office for years to come. In this letter, Adams replies to Washington’s questions point by point.

Exhibit Item(s)

• John Adams to George Washington, May 17, 1789. George Washington Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (084.00.00). A handwritten letter beginning with the words “The Vice President of the United States has the honour to present his humble Opinion, on the Points proposed, for his consideration.”

4. The Supreme Executive Authority

Alexander Hamilton delivered this speech at the Constitutional Convention, where he was serving as a delegate from New York. On this page, he sets out his plan for the new federal government of the United States, including the role of the “Supreme Executive Authority” or president. The outline is undated, but Hamilton delivered the speech, which lasted about six hours, at the Convention on June 18, 1787. While there is no transcript, the speech survives in the notes of his fellow delegates and in this outline.

Exhibit Item(s)

• Alexander Hamilton. Outline for a Speech Delivered at the Constitutional Convention on June 18, 1787. Alexander Hamilton Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (086.00.00). A handwritten document beginning with the words “The Supreme Legislative Power of the United States of America to be vested in two distinct bodies of men.”

5. “The first and dearest wish of my heart”

Like her husband, Martha Washington would have preferred to stay at Mount Vernon rather than travel to New York to take on a new role. In this letter, she expresses her doubts to her friend, author Mercy Otis Warren: “I had anticipated, that from this moment we should have been left to grow old in solitude and tranquility together: That was, My Dear Madam, the first and dearest wish of my heart; — but in that I have been disapointed.”

Exhibit Item(s)

• Martha Washington to Mercy Otis Warren, December 26, 1789 (reproduction). Dr. John S. H. Fogg Autograph Collection, Coll. 420. Collections of Maine Historical Society, Portland, Maine (088.00.00). A two-page spread of a handwritten letter. The page on the left begins with the words “a burden to me. When I was much younger.” The page on the right begins with the words “he has made; indeed in his journeys from Mount Vernon – to this place.”

A large graphic at the back of the display case shows a black-and-white illustration of inauguration decorations. The caption reads: To honor their first president as he traveled from Mount Vernon to New York for his inauguration, Americans drew on traditions that would have been familiar to Britons watching their king making a “royal progress.” The bridge at Gray’s Ferry, outside Philadelphia, was decorated with triumphal arches by artist Charles Willson Peale. As Washington crossed, a child dressed in white dropped a laurel wreath on his head. Charles Willson Peale, artist. James Trenchard, engraver. An East View of Gray’s Ferry, near Philadelphia; with the Triumphal Arches, &c. erected for the Reception of General Washington, April 20th, 1789. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

To continue, turn the corner around the display case to your right. The display case on the other side contains three objects:

1. The “Patriot King”

British politician Henry St. John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, published The Idea of a Patriot King in 1749. In the book, he opposed factionalism, as expressed by political parties. He argued that a constitutional monarch’s function was to reign disinterestedly and benevolently over his whole people like a kind “father of his country.” When George III became king, he made Bolingbroke’s ideas central to his philosophy of governing. As president, George Washington shared this interpretation of national leadership.

Exhibit Item(s)

• Henry St. John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke. Letters on the Spirit of Patriotism: on the Idea of a Patriot King: and on the State of Parties at the Accession of King George the First. London: A. Millar, 1752. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (077.00.01). A printed page titled “Letter II. The Idea of a Patriot King.”

A quote to the right of the label reads:

“To espouse no party, but to govern like the common father of his people, is so essential to the character of a Patriot King, that he who does otherwise forfeits the title.”
—Henry St. John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke

2. “Of the King and His Title”

Like George Washington, George III made notes as he read. These notes, in the form of essays, are in the king’s papers at the Royal Archives. This essay explores the power vested in the king or queen. It is based on George III’s reading of William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England. Blackstone’s Commentaries, first published in 1765, were also influential in the American colonies, including Washington’s Virginia.

Exhibit Item(s)

• King George III. Essay, “Of the King and his Title,” (reproduction). © His Majesty King Charles III 2025 (078.01.00). A handwritten document beginning with the words “Of the King and His Title.”

3. “An accident had happened to the King”

In these “memoirs,” George III records the events of the day in 1760 when his grandfather, George II, died and he became king. Unlike his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, George III was born in England, rather than Germany, and spoke English as his first language.

Exhibit Item(s)

• King George III. “Memoirs from Oct. 25th. 1760,” (reproduction). © His Majesty King Charles III 2025 (079.01.00). A handwritten document beginning with the words “Memoirs from Oct. 25th, 1760.”

A quote to the right of the label reads:

“The P of Wales was riding a little after eight between Kew bridge and the Six Milestone when a Messenger stopped Mr. Breton and told him an accident had happened to the King.”
—King George III, Memoirs from October 25th, 1760

A large graphic at the back of the display case shows black-and-white illustrations of George III and George Washington. The caption reads: Portraits of George III and George Washington, ca. 1780s–1790s. These may have been part of a French print sellers sample book. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress