General George Washington must have heaved a sigh of relief upon the ratification of the Constitution by Virginia on June 25, 1788. His home state's decision to accept the results of the Philadelphia Convention enabled Washington to place one more struggle behind him. His thoughts turned away from battlefields and assembly halls to a much more modest arena--his Mount Vernon estate--and the opportunity of "living and dying a private citizen on my own farm."

Yet Washington's dreams of a tranquil retirement were at odds with the plans of both his peers at the Convention and the American people at large. Even before the Constitution was ratified by the mandatory ninth state, New Hampshire, rumors spread declaring George Washington would be elected first President of the United States.

At this time, Washington could diffuse the issue. When his dear friend the Marquis de Lafayette wrote on January 1, 1788, beseeching him "not to deny your acceptance of the office of President for the first years," Washington replied: "Let those follow the pursuits of ambition and fame, who have a keener relish for them, or who may have more years, in store, for the enjoyment."

But Washington was not allowed to distance himself from an eventual decision. With each state's decision to ratify the constitution, the subject of election of the first president vaulted to the forefront. Not only did a variety of friends, such as the Count de Rochambeau, General John Armstrong, and Alexander Hamilton urge his acceptance of the premier post, but the American populace decided to make July 4, 1788, as Douglas Southall Freeman states in his biography George Washington:

...a general call for the election of Washington as President. At Wilmington, Delaware, a toast was drunk to "Farmer Washington--may he like a Second Cincinnatus, be called from the plow to rule a great people!" Citizens of Frederick, Maryland, lifted their glasses with the sentiment, "May the Savior of America gratify the ardent wishes of his countrymen by accepting that post which the voice of mankind has assigned him." At York, Pennsylvania, loyal participants in the festive ceremony listened to a "new Federal song" in five stanzas, each of which concluded: "Great Washington shall rule the land while Franklin's counsel aids his hand."

New York's patriotic parade included, according to the Pennsylvania Packet, "a flag with thirteen stripes--under them the figure of General Washington, with these words placed over him, 'the illustrious Washington, may he be the first President of the United States.