What were the sources of political stability in the 1790s?

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Figure false: Washington Stands Outside of Time
Figure false: A French clockmaker and artist produced this piece of Washington memorabilia after the death of the president. Below the clock is a motto about Washington that was first uttered in his funeral eulogy: “First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of his Countrymen.” Death elevated Washington to celebrity status, and Americans immortalized him by purchasing souvenirs, many of them European-made. The Warner Collection of Gulf States Paper Corporation.

AFTER THE STRUGGLES of the 1780s, the most urgent task in establishing the new government was to secure stability. Leaders sought ways to heal old divisions, and the first presidential election offered the means to do that in the person of George Washington, who enjoyed widespread veneration. People trusted him to exercise the untested and perhaps elastic powers of the presidency.

Congress had important work as well in initiating the new government. Congress quickly agreed on the Bill of Rights, which answered the concerns of many Antifederalists. Beyond politics, cultural change in the area of gender also enhanced political stability. The private virtue of women was mobilized to bolster the public virtue of male citizens and to enhance political stability. Republicanism was forcing a rethinking of women’s relation to the state.

CHRONOLOGY

1789

  • –George Washington is inaugurated as the first president.
  • –First Congress meets.

1790

  • –Judith Sargent Murray publishes “On the Equality of the Sexes.”

1791

  • –States ratify Bill of Rights.