George Washington arrived as a delegate from Virginia to the Second Continental Congress in May of 1775. By the time Washington left public office for the last time almost a quarter century later, he had been Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, presided over the Constitutional Convention, and after unanimous election in the Electoral College twice, President of the United States. Few other Americans have played such a pivotal role in our history than this great man.
This issue celebrates the 150th anniversary of Washington’s inauguration on the steps of Federal Hall in New York City on Thursday April 30th, 1789. For Washington though one would think a day of great joy and satisfaction, his first words of his inaugural address were “Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: Among the vicissitudes incident to life no event could have filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order, and received on the 14th day of the present month.” New York City as the location for the United States’ first capitol under the new Constitution is not well known. It was only the capitol for one year 1789-1790, when it was moved to Philadelphia and finally to Washington D.C. in 1800. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing produced 72,764,550 3-cent Washington Inauguration Issue stamps
