Presidents in Retirement: George Washington
George Washington was retired for less than three years. His presidency ended in March of 1797 and his life ended on December 14, 1799. Washington died at his home in Mount Vernon, Virginia. He was 67 years of age, a much longer life than the average life expectancy for males in 1797 of 36.4 years, but younger than most of the Presidents who succeeded him.
After retiring from the presidency in March 1797, Washington returned to Mount Vernon looking very much forward to his retirement and to being away from politics. He devoted much time to farming and other business interests, including his distillery which produced its first batch of spirits in February 1797. His farm operations were barely profitable. His western lands were frequently under attack by Indian tribes, so the squatters living there refused to pay him rent. However he wasn't exactly impoverished. Historians estimate his estate was worth about $1 million in 1799 dollars, equivalent to about $35 million in today's purchasing power. But as many other occupants of the Oval Office would come to learn, in those days one generally left the Presidency poorer than one entered it.
By 1798, relations with France had deteriorated to the point that war seemed imminent. On July 4, 1798, President John Adams offered Washington a commission as lieutenant general and Commander-in-chief of the armies raised or to be raised for service in a prospective war. He reluctantly accepted, and served as the senior officer of the United States Army between July 13, 1798 until his death. He participated in the plans for a Provisional Army to meet any emergency that might arise, but avoided involvement in details as much as possible. He delegated most of the work to Alexander Hamilton.
On Thursday December 12, 1799, Washington spent several hours inspecting his farms on horseback, in snow, hail and freezing rain. Later that evening he ate his supper without changing out of his wet clothes. On Friday morning (December 13th), he awoke with a severe sore throat and became increasingly hoarse as the day progressed.
Sometime around 3 am on Saturday morning (December 14th), he awoke his wife Martha and said he felt ill. She sent for a doctor who followed common medical practice at the time. Washington was bled. His condition worsened until finally Washington died at home around 10 pm on Saturday December 14, 1799.
Throughout the world, men and women were saddened by Washington's death. Napoleon ordered ten days of mourning throughout France; in the United States, thousands wore mourning clothes for months. To the regret of future historians, Martha Washington burned the correspondence between her husband and herself following his death. Only a total of five letters between the couple are known to have survived, two letters from Martha to George and three from George to Martha.
On December 18, 1799, a funeral was held at Mount Vernon, where his body was interred. Congress passed a joint resolution to construct a marble monument in the United States Capitol for his body. In December 1800, the United States House passed an appropriations bill for $200,000 to build the mausoleum, which was to be a pyramid that had a base 100 feet (30 m) square. Southern opposition to the plan defeated the measure because they felt it was best to have his body remain at Mount Vernon.
In 1831, for the centennial of his birth, a new tomb was constructed to receive his remains. That year, an attempt was made to steal the body of Washington, but proved to be unsuccessful. Despite this, a joint Congressional committee in early 1832 debated the removal of Washington's body from Mount Vernon to a crypt in the Capitol, built by Charles Bulfinch in the 1820s. Yet again, Southern opposition prevented such a move. This ended any talk of the movement of his remains, and he was moved to the new tomb at Mount Vernon that was built there on October 7, 1837. After the ceremony, the inner vault's door was closed and the key was thrown into the Potomac. George Washington has rested there, in peace, ever since.
After retiring from the presidency in March 1797, Washington returned to Mount Vernon looking very much forward to his retirement and to being away from politics. He devoted much time to farming and other business interests, including his distillery which produced its first batch of spirits in February 1797. His farm operations were barely profitable. His western lands were frequently under attack by Indian tribes, so the squatters living there refused to pay him rent. However he wasn't exactly impoverished. Historians estimate his estate was worth about $1 million in 1799 dollars, equivalent to about $35 million in today's purchasing power. But as many other occupants of the Oval Office would come to learn, in those days one generally left the Presidency poorer than one entered it.
By 1798, relations with France had deteriorated to the point that war seemed imminent. On July 4, 1798, President John Adams offered Washington a commission as lieutenant general and Commander-in-chief of the armies raised or to be raised for service in a prospective war. He reluctantly accepted, and served as the senior officer of the United States Army between July 13, 1798 until his death. He participated in the plans for a Provisional Army to meet any emergency that might arise, but avoided involvement in details as much as possible. He delegated most of the work to Alexander Hamilton.
On Thursday December 12, 1799, Washington spent several hours inspecting his farms on horseback, in snow, hail and freezing rain. Later that evening he ate his supper without changing out of his wet clothes. On Friday morning (December 13th), he awoke with a severe sore throat and became increasingly hoarse as the day progressed.
Sometime around 3 am on Saturday morning (December 14th), he awoke his wife Martha and said he felt ill. She sent for a doctor who followed common medical practice at the time. Washington was bled. His condition worsened until finally Washington died at home around 10 pm on Saturday December 14, 1799.
Throughout the world, men and women were saddened by Washington's death. Napoleon ordered ten days of mourning throughout France; in the United States, thousands wore mourning clothes for months. To the regret of future historians, Martha Washington burned the correspondence between her husband and herself following his death. Only a total of five letters between the couple are known to have survived, two letters from Martha to George and three from George to Martha.
On December 18, 1799, a funeral was held at Mount Vernon, where his body was interred. Congress passed a joint resolution to construct a marble monument in the United States Capitol for his body. In December 1800, the United States House passed an appropriations bill for $200,000 to build the mausoleum, which was to be a pyramid that had a base 100 feet (30 m) square. Southern opposition to the plan defeated the measure because they felt it was best to have his body remain at Mount Vernon.
In 1831, for the centennial of his birth, a new tomb was constructed to receive his remains. That year, an attempt was made to steal the body of Washington, but proved to be unsuccessful. Despite this, a joint Congressional committee in early 1832 debated the removal of Washington's body from Mount Vernon to a crypt in the Capitol, built by Charles Bulfinch in the 1820s. Yet again, Southern opposition prevented such a move. This ended any talk of the movement of his remains, and he was moved to the new tomb at Mount Vernon that was built there on October 7, 1837. After the ceremony, the inner vault's door was closed and the key was thrown into the Potomac. George Washington has rested there, in peace, ever since.