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A Circular Letter from George Washington

This broadside includes General George Washington’s last circular to the states as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army and an exchange, published by order of Congress, between Washington and the President of the Continental Congress, Elias Boudinot. In the latter, Boudinot thanks Washington for his service to the country and requests his assistance in cementing plans for the future of the military before taking leave, to which Washington responds favorably.

Comprising most of the broadside, and of much greater significance, is Washington’s circular, which has been given the title “His Excellency General Washington's Last Legacy.” Originally, copies of the address were sent to the governors of all thirteen states, but this specific broadside was adapted from the copy sent to Rhode Island Governor William Green. In announcing his resignation, Washington bids farewell to the new nation in whose service he labored for eight years.

Most of the Washington war correspondence is typically mundane and pragmatic, but this address is a deliberate departure from that pedestrian style. With its philosophical overtones and potent language, he exhorts the American public to strive for the great future he sees. Washington implores his countrymen to protect the independence and liberties they achieved at such high cost. Reflective and keenly aware that the United States stood at a crossroads in history, he stressed that:

this is the moment when the eyes of the whole World are turned upon them, this is the moment to establish or ruin their National Character forever, this is the favourable moment to give such a tone to our federal Government as will enable it to answer the ends of its institution, or this may be the ill-fated moment for relaxing the powers of the Union, annihilating the cement of the Confederation.

Washington's words take on even greater significance in context. After eight years of dealing with a Congress powerless to raise funds for itself, he knew more than anyone about the necessity of a strong central government. Most of his circulars to the states throughout the war were of a desperate nature, describing the miserable state of the army and imploring Congress to comply with his requests for troops, money and supplies. The self-regulating tax system created during the Revolution allowed each state to perpetually under fund the central government, to Washington’s continual dismay. This eventually led to unrest in the army over pay in March 1783 that Washington was only able to quell by his personal charisma, thus saving the civil government from military intervention.

The strong central government that Washington was proposing was the main thrust of this broadside, and it was a radical notion at the time. Ironically, Washington was proposing the exact thing the Revolution was supposedly fought for, the elimination of a distant, powerful, and centralized government. But his thoughts on government at this point stemmed from his frustration as a war leader, and the need for government to act decisively at critical junctures. In this circular, Washington claims the most essential feature of an independent United States will be "an indissoluble union of the States under one federal head." Washington asserts that without centralization the union, which was created with much sacrifice and blood, will be lost to bickering and squabbling, much like the nations of Europe.

Throughout the document it is easy to see the genesis of Washington's federalism of the late 1780s and 1790s. Two of the trends of his future presidency can be seen in this circular: the need for the states to comply with their creditors and pay off the war's debts, and the importance of organizing a strong military for a future defense of the nation. But only Washington could have made such statements so publicly and forcefully, since he took scrupulous care not to overstep the civil authority of Congress. Not planning to return to public life, and feeling the need to communicate what his long service had taught him, he excused himself for taking such latitude.

This last circular radiates with the eloquence and dignity that made Washington such a revered and powerful leader. Aware of the great significance that his retirement held for the new nation, he honored the moment in this reflective and moving address. In taking what he thought would be his final leave from public service he writes, "I now bid adieu to your Excellency, as the Chief Magistrate of your State; at the same time I bid a last farewell to the cares of office, and all the employments of public life."

GLC06561, His Excellency General Washington's Last Legacy , 18 June 1783

For more information or to obtain copies, contact Ana Ramirez-Luhrs at reference@gilderlehrman.com or call (212) 787-6616 ext. 209.