The first president of the United States, George Washington, addressed the assembled Congress with the first State of the Union on this day in history, January 8, 1780.
Washington’s speech took place at Federal Hall in New York City and addressed a variety of topics including national defense, foreign policy, economics, and education.
The first president of the United States began by congratulating North Carolina for recently joining the federal republic, according to History.com.
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This decision followed the state’s initial rejection of the Constitution in 1788 for not including a bill of rights.
The official Bill of Rights was eventually drafted and sent to 11 of the 13 states that accepted the Constitution before North Carolina’s ratification in 1789.
An illustration of the first President George Washington and his cabinet. (Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)
Washington went on to briefly outline his administration’s policies, designed by Alexander Hamilton.
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As former commander in chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, Washington was reportedly careful in approaching his support for the creation of a standing army.
Washington’s idea was controversial, History.com says, but he argued that “providing for the common defense will merit special consideration.”
President George Washington’s first cabinet, circa 1790. Left to right: Secretary of War Henry Knox (1750-1806), Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), Attorney General Edmund Randolph (1753-1813, back) , Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (175-1804) and George Washington (1732-1799). (FPG/File Photos/Getty Images)
“Being prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace,” Washington said, according to Mountvernon.org.
Washington also encouraged federal influence over certain domestic issues, after discussing federal issues, including foreign relations and national defense, in his speech.
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The administration at the time, influenced by Hamilton, sought more money and some control over sectors such as agriculture, commerce and manufacturing, as well as science and literature, History.com reports.
“Every valuable end of government is best answered by the enlightened confidence of the people.”
Washington said that achieving this would require a federal post office, postal roads, and a public education system, which he explained would strengthen the nation in its new Constitution.
General George Washington resigned from office on December 23, 1793, in front of Congress in Annapolis. Painting by John Trumbull, circa 1824. (Universal History Archive/Getty Images)
“Knowledge is in all countries the surest basis of public happiness,” the president said in his speech.
“It contributes to the security of a free Constitution in several ways: by convincing those to whom the public administration is entrusted that every valuable end of government is best answered by the enlightened confidence of the people; and by teaching the people themselves to know and value their own rights.”
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Washington left his administration feeling that the welfare of the United States is the “great object to which our concerns and efforts must be directed.”
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The president concluded: “And I will derive great satisfaction from cooperating with you in the pleasant though arduous task of securing to our fellow citizens the blessings which they have a right to expect from a free, efficient and equal government.”
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