![]() In his 1789 inaugural address, and in many private letters as well, Washington made clear that he was longing to return to his retirement at Mount Vernon. “May you, till the extremest old age, enjoy the pure Felicity of having employed your whole Faculties for the Prosperity of the People for whose Happiness you are responsible, for to you their Happiness is intrusted.” Elizabeth Willing Powel to George Washington, November 17, 1792, George Washington Papers, Manuscript Division. One of these, from Elizabeth Powel to George Washington, dates from the third year of Washington’s first term as president, a time when he was hoping he would be able to resign the presidency and go home. Letters exchanged between the couples are in the George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress. ![]() Among the regulars at Powel’s dinners and parties were George and Martha Washington, with whom the Powels became close friends. All three served as mayors of the city.Īnother source of Elizabeth Powel’s influence was her own social and political dexterity, which she deployed to make her home a gathering place for the city’s political elite from the revolutionary period through George Washington’s presidency. ![]() Her father Charles Willing and brother Thomas Willing (1731-1821) were wealthy merchants, and they and her equally prosperous husband, Samuel Powel (1738-1793), were active in Philadelphia’s political and civic life. The money, connections, and positions of authority held by the men in Powel’s family generated the basis of her power. Despite her exclusion from the Pennsylvania State House, Powel was a force in Philadelphia social and political circles. No women served as delegates to the Constitutional Convention so, unlike Franklin and McHenry, Powel did not participate in the creation of the federal Constitution. Powel of Philada.” was Elizabeth Willing Powel (1742/43-1830) of Philadelphia. Franklin” McHenry quotes was, of course, Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), who had presided over the Constitutional Convention, which took place in his home city of Philadelphia “Mrs. His journal was among several that document the debates at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and it was used by Max Farrand when compiling The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 (1911). Later he was secretary of war under presidents Washington and Adams. He was an officer during the war, and served under Lafayette at the Battle of Yorktown. James McHenry was born in Ireland in 1753 and immigrated to the American colonies just before the Revolutionary War. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. Elizabeth and Samuel Powel’s house at 244 South Third Street, Philadelphia, where the conversation between Elizabeth Powel and Benjamin Franklin might have taken place. ![]() Powel of Philada.” The journal is at the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. Franklin Well Doctor what have we got a republic or a monarchy – A republic replied the Doctor if you can keep it.” Then McHenry added: “The Lady here alluded to was Mrs. On the page where McHenry records the events of the last day of the convention, September 18, 1787, he wrote: “A lady asked Dr. Capitol on January 6, 2021, one year ago today, Senator Amy Klobuchar and other federal legislators reminded us that we have “a republic,” but only “if you can keep it.” The source of this quotation is a journal kept by James McHenry (1753-1816) while he was a Maryland delegate to the Constitutional Convention. In the aftermath of the violent events at the U.S. This guest post is by Manuscript Division historian and early America specialist Julie Miller.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |