The following is a guest post by Lena Bleckmann, a foreign law intern working with Foreign Law Specialist Jenny Gesley at the Global Legal Research Directorate of the Law Library of Congress.
In a letter to David Stuart dated June 15, 1790, George Washington shared that he would “rather be at Mount Vernon with a friend or two about me, than to be attended at the Seat of Government by the Officers of State and the Representatives of every Power in Europe.” Such sentiments were not new to the president, who had expressed similar wishes throughout the American Revolution, but he did not return to his home often before resigning as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. His following presidency also kept him away from the Virginia estate for the majority of his time. Only after serving two terms as President of the United States was his wish to return there permanently fulfilled, if only for a brief period, until his death on December 14, 1799.
Recently, I had the chance to visit the place of America’s first president’s longing, the beautiful mansion and estate on Mount Vernon. On site, visitors can, among other things, walk through the mansion itself, explore various gardens and outbuildings, and visit the Mount Vernon Wharf (see pictures below). George Washington’s final resting place, a brick tomb built after his death, is also located on the premises.
The picture above shows the view across the Potomac River from the mansion’s veranda. One can easily imagine the former president enjoying the scenery, seated in a wicker chair like the ones placed on the lawn and veranda today. The view alone may convince us to empathize with his decision to return to private life instead of pursuing a third term as president. As Washington put it in his Farewell Address, he only reluctantly left his post-revolutionary retirement to begin with and had hoped to return to it much earlier. The law, however, was not keeping Washington from running for a third time – the Constitution was, at the time, silent on the subject. Term limits had been discussed during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the first draft of the Constitution even proposed a single term presidency of seven years while excluding reelection. The final document introduced a term of four years without posing a limit to the number of terms. Be that as it may, from Washington’s inauguration in 1789 until Franklin D. Roosevelt’s third term beginning in 1941, no president served for more than two terms; the two term tradition founded by George Washington thereby holding out for more than 150 years. Today, the two term limit is more than tradition. Following Roosevelts four term presidency, the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, stating that “no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.” The Constitution was thus effectively shaped by George Washington’s decision to retire and the custom it inspired. While the first President’s true motivation can only be speculated upon, it does not seem unlikely that his often voiced desire to be at his home at least took some part in his resolve. This consideration further adds to the significance of the historic Mount Vernon estate and is something to contemplate when enjoying the view from George Washington’s veranda.
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