Part 17 (1/2)

Bring Out Your Dead THE FORCE THAT COOLED, at least teitation of the Democratic-Republican clubs was not political but medical: the yellow fever epide the su but the yellow fevercould have saved the United States froovernure in the presidential household, Polly Lear, the wife of Washi+ngton's secretary Tobias, who had assisted Martha with numerous household duties Martha had converted her into another surrogate daughter, while George valued her as ”an amiable and inoffensive little woure in the presidential household, Polly Lear, the wife of Washi+ngton's secretary Tobias, who had assisted Martha with numerous household duties Martha had converted her into another surrogate daughter, while George valued her as ”an amiable and inoffensive little woe twenty-three, Washi+ngton honored her with the sort of full-dress funeral thatfro funerals, he led a procession that included Hamilton, Jefferson, Knox, and three Supreme Court justices as pallbearers It was the one titon attended a funeral as president When Tobias Lear, after a seven-year association with Washi+ngton, resigned his post to make money in business, he was replaced by Martha's nephew Bartholoe's nepheell Lewis ”In whatever place you ton assured Lear, ”my best wishes will attend you, for I am and always shall be your sincere friend” When Polly died on July 28, age twenty-three, Washi+ngton honored her with the sort of full-dress funeral thatfro funerals, he led a procession that included Hamilton, Jefferson, Knox, and three Supreme Court justices as pallbearers It was the one titon attended a funeral as president When Tobias Lear, after a seven-year association with Washi+ngton, resigned his post to make money in business, he was replaced by Martha's nephew Bartholoe's nepheell Lewis ”In whatever place you ton assured Lear, ”my best wishes will attend you, for I aressed, the yellow fever scourge spread froh fevers, spewed black voed blood from every orifice, and developed jaundice before they expired By late August the sights and s carts, stacked high with corpses, that trundled through the streets as their drivers intoned, ”Bring out your dead”4 To ste barrels of tar, which polluted the air with a potent, acrid stench The epide aenty victi panic, overnment employees decamped from the city The Supreeneral exodus To ste barrels of tar, which polluted the air with a potent, acrid stench The epide aenty victi panic, overnment employees decamped from the city The Supreeneral exodus

Whether fro fore-ordained, George Washi+ngton again behaved as if endoith supernatural ifroid as when bullets whizzed past hied Martha to return with their grandchildren to Mount Vernon, but she refused to desert hiovernment workers: six clerks died in the Treasury Department, seven in the customs service, and three in the Post Office On Septe that Haton rushed to hie Treated by his childhood friend Dr Edward Stevens, Hamilton survived the disease and then fled with his wife, Elizabeth, to the Schuyler mansion in Albany Since Martha wouldn't abandon hiton opted to leave for Mount Vernon on Septe in sufficient haste that he left behind his official papers He and Martha invited Eliza Powel to escape with theesture, Powel decided that she could not abandon her husband, then the speaker of the Pennsylvania Senate, lest he get sick and require help ”The conflict between duty and inclination is a severe trial of tons, ”but, as I believe it is always best to adhere to the line of duty, I beg to decline the pleasure I proposed to inia at this time”5 Her caution was prophetic: three weeks later her husband joined the growing list of fatalities Ironically, Eliza was off at her brother's far source of affliction” for not having been present at her husband's bedside at the end Her caution was prophetic: three weeks later her husband joined the growing list of fatalities Ironically, Eliza was off at her brother's far source of affliction” for not having been present at her husband's bedside at the end6 After urging hiton left Henry Knox in charge as acting president, with instructions to submit a weekly report on develophty Knox was the last high-ranking official to depart ”All my efficient clerks have leftthat fatalities in the capital had zoomed to one hundred per day ”The streets are lonely to a enerally have fledIn fine, the stroke is as heavy as if an ar it”7 After Jefferson found only a single clerk toiling at the State Departinia By mid-October 3,500 Philadelphians, or one-tenth of the population, had succuton's words, ”almost depopulated by rele clerk toiling at the State Departinia By mid-October 3,500 Philadelphians, or one-tenth of the population, had succuton's words, ”alovernment operations and show that the republic could function even under extreency sessions of Congress outside the capital, but he was unsure of their constitutionality To his credit, he did not automatically assume autocratic powers in a crisis but tried to conform faithfully to the letter of the law As alternate sites, he considered several nearby cities, aton, Trenton, Annapolis, and Reading When he stopped at Mount Vernon, Jefferson, a strict constructionist, gave Washi+ngton his opinion that the government could lawfully asseress had toby this restrictive view, Washi+ngton turned to the one person guaranteed to serve up a more liberal view of federal powers: Alexander Haton hinted broadly at his preferred outco him that ”as none can take a more comprehensive view anda less partial one on the subject than yourselfI pray you to dilate fully upon the several points here brought to your consideration”9 Engaging in fancy seja in fancy sejaton could recoh he couldn't that the governh he couldn't order order it Hamilton favored Germantown, close to Philadelphia, as the optimal site, and it was duly chosen it Hamilton favored Germantown, close to Philadelphia, as the optiton decided to convene a cabinetthere in early November On October 28 he packed and left Mount Vernon, teamed up with Jefferson in Baltimore, and arrived in Gere was scarcely i the nearby capital, and hundreds of Philadelphia refugeesback to their hoer hoton had furniture carted out fro in a bed tucked into the corner of a local tavern As the weather cooled, the yellow fever epidegle for htly falling snow, Washi+ngton saddled his horse and returned to a place sadly transforeneral dress in the city,” Martha noted ”Almost every family has lost some of their friends”10 Out of respect for the dead, plays and dances were canceled, and as the town's fore charity to s and orphans left stranded by the epidemic Out of respect for the dead, plays and dances were canceled, and as the town's fore charity to s and orphans left stranded by the epide back to the capital, and as soon as Washi+ngton learned on December 2 that a quorum had been mustered, he decided to deliver his fifth annual address to Congress the next day, escorted for the last ti triued in Europe, Washi+ngton felt the need to combat pacifist fantasies and insisted upon the need for sufficient ”arazine and arsenals”11 As always, he touted ently raised the question of whether militias were adequate to the country's defensive needs He also defended his neutrality procla betrayal of the historic French alliance Beyond its policy particulars, the speech reaffirovernment had weathered the yellow fever epidemic and would now revert to some semblance of normality As always, he touted ently raised the question of whether militias were adequate to the country's defensive needs He also defended his neutrality procla betrayal of the historic French alliance Beyond its policy particulars, the speech reaffirovernment had weathered the yellow fever epidemic and would now revert to some semblance of normality

WHILE THE TEMPORARY CAPITAL suffered froinning to eton had been on hand in the federal city for the cere his endless responsibilities, he was bogged down in ad to approve personally, for exae over Rock Creek The Residence Act of 1790 had stipulated that governs in the district should be ready by Decens of progress

Disclaiton nonetheless endorsed a design for the new horess sketched by Dr William Thornton, a versatile doctor, inventor, and abolitionist Thornton caam of classical architecture and 's style as ”Athenian” and, to eed its narandiose Capitol 12 12 Washi+ngton was especially enarandeur to the pile,” its visual effect enhanced by a ton was especially enarandeur to the pile,” its visual effect enhanced by a ton's approval also helped the Irish architect James Hoban win the commission for the President's House, later known as the White House ”He has been engaged in soton wrote adreat ton's approval also helped the Irish architect James Hoban win the commission for the President's House, later known as the White House ”He has been engaged in soton wrote adreat many hands of his own”14 The White House cornerstone was laid on October 13, 1792 As in all ton wanted an elastic design that would accorowth ”It was always ed that only a part of it should be erected at present,” he told the commissioners, ”but upon such a plan as to , and to admit of an addition in future” The White House cornerstone was laid on October 13, 1792 As in all ton wanted an elastic design that would accorowth ”It was always ed that only a part of it should be erected at present,” he told the commissioners, ”but upon such a plan as to , and to adh, the Supreard that it did not merit its own edifice and had to settle for a rooh, the Supreard that it did not merit its own edifice and had to settle for a rooy of building slowly and allowing for future expansion was an aptthe entire country An unintended metaphor perhaps cropped up in the co to co indentured servants to do the building-he praised Germans for their steady work habits, Scots for their mechanical abilities-but there was no way that a southern capital could eiven the local shortage of free labor Hundreds of slaves pulled up stumps, leveled trees, ress had authorized no s, the project had to subsist on the proceeds of land auctions, and using slave labor helped cushi+on the budgetary stringency By 1795 three hundred slaves were hard at work in the federal district, hurrying to finish public or private buildings

On Septereeted a fife and drum corps from Alexandria and presided over a festive procession to install the cornerstone of the Capitol After he crossed the Potoathered to receive hirand parade to the Capitol site proceeded under the auspices of Lodge No 22 of Alexandria and the Grand Lodge of Maryland and its assorted chapters Officiating as Grand Master, Washi+ngton donned the elaborately embroidered Masonic apron that, in happier tiift from Lafayette's wife To the sharp reports of cannon, Washi+ngton stepped into a trench, hoisted a trowel, and spread ce oil, corn, and wine over it as spectators offered up Masonic chants Incorporated into this southeast corner of the Capitol was a silver plate engraved with the words ”the year of Masonry 5793”16 That Washi+ngton performed Masonic rituals at the new capital proved not that he was in thrall to a secret society but probably sorand object of Masonry” was ”to promote the happiness of the human race,” and that nobody could possibly object to such an inarguable, coton performed Masonic rituals at the new capital proved not that he was in thrall to a secret society but probably sorand object of Masonry” was ”to promote the happiness of the human race,” and that nobody could possibly object to such an inarguable, co by the President's House, the gathering settled down to celebrate by dining on the barbecued re by the President's House, the gathering settled down to celebrate by dining on the barbecued remains of a five-hundred-pound ox

With the town naton was especially solicitous about the course of its building caht four lots there At many points he prodded the three co that they live in the federal district to expedite flagging construction As he surveyed thebehind schedule, the southern states ht well lose the capital to the avid boosters of Philadelphia ”The year 1800 is approaching with hasty strides,” he warned ”So ought the public buildings to advance towards coish that Jaan to despair that the capital would ever escape froress seean to despair that the capital would ever escape froreat ”whirlpool of Philadelphia” 19 19 Whenever the project stagnated, Washi+ngton purchased s a ti individual lots to e speculators, persuaded that the for-terton advanced his pet project for a national university in the new capital where students could attend congressional debates and absorb the basic principles of representative governton that Aht in ideas ininated, Washi+ngton purchased s a ti individual lots to e speculators, persuaded that the for-terton advanced his pet project for a national university in the new capital where students could attend congressional debates and absorb the basic principles of representative governton that Aht in ideas inimical to a republican polity

ONCE WAshi+NGTON AGREED to serve a second term, the decision only fueled his apprehension about the state of his business affairs at Mount Vernon There had been so his presidency,barn that Washi+ngton had designed But in his absence, despite such scientific strides, Mount Vernon was overtaken by general decay, and his letters are replete with long-running coates, and stables needing repair

Having lost the services of George Augustine and Anthony Whitting, Mount Vernon lacked a guiding hand, and it was all Washi+ngton could do to keep the place running from afar He never overcame his chronic financial anxieties, which only worsened with the distractions of his political career, and he re boss His incohten his touch with employees, as if his economic insecurity were too deeply rooted ever to be extirpated It never seemed to dawn on him to apply the saues in Philadelphia, where he was such an exquisitely tactful politician In Dece to keep a slave nah Gunner was probably around eighty-three years old ”Itup brick earth,” the president wrote20 Despite his theoretical opposition to slavery, he cautioned his overseers against the ”idleness and deceit” of slaves if not treated with a firm hand Despite his theoretical opposition to slavery, he cautioned his overseers against the ”idleness and deceit” of slaves if not treated with a firton's business letters home have an unpleasantly caustic tone, as if he felt himself at the uard against inept overseers, who with slaves If overseers weren't up with the sun, he warned, slaves would sleep late, loaf, and cost hi hours of the slaves they supervised In petulant weekly letters to the consuton scarcely ever offered an encouraging syllable With painful consistency, he faulted Whitting's work, loaded hi

In ton inforton that the doctors had pronounced his tuberculosis ”critical and dangerous”22 Whitting himself wrote pathetically to the president: ”I am just now able to walk a little A himself wrote pathetically to the president: ”I am just now able to walk a little A, as he grappled with neutrality and Citizen Genet, Washi+ngton continually la and talked to hi did not respond adequately to his questions, he told him to take a slip of paper, jot down all the instructions, then cross off each item on the checklist as it was acco was so weak that he could scarcely mount a horse; a month later he lay in critical condition Bedridden, barely able to speak, he nonetheless fretted about his failure to file weekly reports with Washi+ngton As Tobias Lear reported fro wasreceived the reports of last week, but observed that he had directed [James] Butler [the Mansion House overseer] to take the, as he grappled with neutrality and Citizen Genet, Washi+ngton continually la and talked to hi did not respond adequately to his questions, he told him to take a slip of paper, jot down all the instructions, then cross off each item on the checklist as it was acco was so weak that he could scarcely mount a horse; a month later he lay in critical condition Bedridden, barely able to speak, he nonetheless fretted about his failure to file weekly reports with Washi+ngton As Tobias Lear reported fro wasreceived the reports of last week, but observed that he had directed [James] Butler [the Mansion House overseer] to take them, as he was unable to do it hier was dead A few days later the estate er was dead

Preoccupied with political proble's death and pro for an honest, sober bachelor between the ages of thirty-five and forty-five Only after Whitting's death did Washi+ngton learn to appreciate his virtues, telling one correspondent, ”If I could get aI sh[oul]d esteeton continued to defa that he ”drank freely, kept bad company at my house and in Alexandria, and was a very debauched person” Even so, Washi+ngton continued to defa that he ”drank freely, kept bad company at my house and in Alexandria, and was a very debauched person”26 In late Septeton hired Williaer and quickly trained hi hi s, he told Pearce to keep a checklist of his instructions and review them often, ”because I expect to have the it”27 By this point Washi+ngton was convinced that Mount Vernon was veering toward chaos and that he had to crack down on overseers and slaves alike In the sa used with his military and political associates, he coached Pearce on how to handle recalcitrant overseers: ”To treat them civilly is no more than what all men are entitled to, but my advice to you is to keep therow upon familiarity in proportion as you will sink in authority, if you do not”28 He gave Pearce scathing character sketches of the five overseers, calling one ”a sickly, slothful, and stupid fellow,” and urging his of Mount Vernon He gave Pearce scathing character sketches of the five overseers, calling one ”a sickly, slothful, and stupid fellow,” and urging his of Mount Vernon29 Ironically, the only one of the five overseers for whom he spared a kind as the one black: ”Davy at Muddy Hole carries on his business as well as the white overseers and with more quietness than any of them With proper directions, he will do very well” Ironically, the only one of the five overseers for whom he spared a kind as the one black: ”Davy at Muddy Hole carries on his business as well as the white overseers and with more quietness than any of the hiton was frustrated by his inability to introduce modernton responded that ”the utility of it anorant overseers will depend absolutely absolutely upon the si coer in use than a mushroom is in existence” upon the si coer in use than a rets that his overseers refused to apply the crop-rotation system that had been his will-o'-the-wisp for rets that his overseers refused to apply the crop-rotation system that had been his will-o'-the-wisp for ht before Christe portion of the day to writing five consecutive letters to his five overseers, bla his hopes for crop rotation and for the general decline of his business In tere, these five letters have no equal in Washi+ngton's papers: they suggest a daylong teued and frustrated he could be Their jeering tone is als with brutal clarity and telegraph a tough new regily anxious he was about his financial position and the economic situation at Mount Vernon They er fro made on him in the Jeffersonian press and by the Deton wrote to overseer Hiland Crow that he had been so ] that it is with difficulty I have been restrained fro you instantly off the plantation My whole place for next year is ruined by your conduct And look ye, Mr Crow, I have too good reasons to believe that your running about and entertaining company at homeis the cause of this now irreress ofand desirous to be your friend, but if your conduct does not merit it, you e overseer in flogging slaves, Washi+ngton describing hiton criticized overseer Henry McCoy for failing to plow after the late October rains, jeopardizing his spring oat crop: ”How durst you disobey this order and, instead of bringing the whole force of your plows to this, you employ them now and then only, or one or teek, as if it were for a which was in your power to derange my whole plan for the next year”34 If McCoy reton threatened to banish hiIf I suffer by your neglect, you shall not benefit by the money of one ishes to be your friend” If McCoy reton threatened to banish hiIf I suffer by your neglect, you shall not benefit by the money of one ishes to be your friend”35 Overseer Willia for his failure to plow as soon as the October rains had ceased Overseer Willia for his failure to plow as soon as the October rains had ceased

Washi+ngton chastised overseer Thoue Run barn ”I know full well,” Washi+ngton told him, ”that to speak to you is of noover one's head; first, because you are lost to all sense of shaovern an honest man, who sets any store by his character; and, secondly, because you have no more command of the people over whom you are placed than I have over the beasts of the forests” If Green did not shape up, Washi+ngton threatened to ”discharge you that mom[en]t and to dispossess your family of the house they are in, for I cannot, nor will not, submit to such infa overseer John Christian Ehlers on how to graft fruit and plant trees properly, Washi+ngton administered a stern lecture on the evils of alcohol: ”I shall not close this letter without exhorting you to refrain from spirituous liquors They will prove your ruin if you do not Consider how little a drunken man differs from a beast; the latter is not endoith reason, the former deprives himself of it; and when that is the case acts like a brute, annoying and disturbing everyone around hi harshly on Ehlers's ton concluded, ”Show yourself more of a man and a Christian than to yield to so intolerable a vice”37 The stress offor Washi+ngton that he wanted to free hi overseers and slaves Since he conte down as president in a year, his mind already dwelt on retirement, and he felt oppressed by a surplus of both slaves and white indentured servants So he concocted an ambitious plan to rent out four of the Mount Vernon far only the Mansion House far this rental scheton admitted candidly that his motive was ”that the remainder of my days may thereby be more tranquil and freer froood with it as the resource will adood and clear estate, yet, so unproductive is it, that I am oftentimes ashamed to refuse aids which I cannot afford, unless I was to sell part of it to answer the purpose”38 The cash-strapped Washi+ngton knew that the world reckoned hilorified facade of wealth and grandeur covered up an operation that was, at best, only ton to keep up appearances and act with the openhanded largesse of an affluent planter He still felt hounded by visitors stopping by Mount Vernon and partaking liberally of his food and drink (In one letter, he expressed exasperation with fanny for giving away dozens of bottles of expensive wine to voyeuristic travelers and listed only three classes of people who deserved those coveted bottles: close friends, foreign dignitaries, and ton's plan called for raising cash by selling more than thirty thousand acres of western land at a ti sharply

To help find suitable English farrono for him the riches of the four farms in question, which then had 3,260 acres of arable land, 54 draft horses, 12 working s that ”run pretty ton had no qual the proxi nearby ”The federal city in the year 1800 will becooverns and rising into consequence and will, I have no doubtbecoton had no qual the proxi nearby ”The federal city in the year 1800 will becooverns and rising into consequence and will, I have no doubtbecoton's rental plan gave him yet another economic incentive to accelerate the dilatory pace of construction of the new capital Washi+ngton's rental plan gave him yet another economic incentive to accelerate the dilatory pace of construction of the new capital