This Week in History - George Washington's Presidential Tour

236 years ago this week, on October 15^th, the newly elected president of the now independent United States of America, George Washington, began his first presidential tour. Washington travelled across the northern states, hoping to rally support for the newly created constitution and engage with the American public. It was decisions such as these that made Washington so revered, so unifying, and so popular. 

Yet, the great nation that he set out to create has certainly diverted from his original vision. Societies, of course, change rapidly. Washington lived in an era where the industrial revolution wasn’t fully realised, he owned slaves in a time where the practice was still normalised, and he died before even the first dinosaur fossils were uncovered. Most would, therefore, call his suggestions for the future of the United States somewhat redundant. However, the continuity of society between Washington’s time and now is also quite striking. The electoral college system used in 1796 functioned almost identically to today’s system, foreign policy and politics are conducted in a vastly similar way, and the issue of racial injustice remains a problem in the United States to this very day. It is for this reason that the study of Washington’s aspirations for the US is so fascinating when compared to the country in the modern day. 

Washington’s farewell address in 1796 outlined his desires and his warnings for the future of the United States. Washington pleaded, that the American people ensure national unity in the face of state conflict, only involve themselves in foreign affairs if absolutely necessary, and avoid the dominance of political parties in their government. The issue of state rights has been, and continues to be, a daunting issue for the national government. State conflict reached its height in the 1860s with the American Civil War; but recent disputes, surrounding the overturn of Roe Vs Wade in 2022, have brought this to the forefront of the news once again. The United States’ consistent and often controversial intervention in foreign affairs since 1945, is another stark contrast to Washington’s political ideals. The system of political parties too, has spiralled out of control in the 20^th and 21^st century. No party outside the Democrats or Republicans has won a state in a US election since 1968, while both of them continue to polarise political opinion. The modern political landscape is a far-cry from what Washington would have hoped at the end of the 18^th century. 

Is there any trace of Washington’s vision left in the modern United States? Washington’s presidency ended with him stepping down voluntarily, exclaiming the ‘debt of gratitude’ that he owed to his people and his country. The current president, Donald Trump, encouraged his supporters to ‘fight like hell’ and march to the Capitol building, after his election loss in 2020. It is astoundingly clear that very little of Washington’s ideals remain in place in the governance of the United States in the 21^st century. 

Bibliography 

Primary 

Washington, George, Washington’s Farewell Address (19^th September 1796), The Papers of George Washington, https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Washingtons_Farewell_Address.pdf?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email (Accessed 23/10/25). 

Secondary 

BBC News, ‘Capital Riots Timeline: What Happened on 6 January 2021?, BBC News, 2^nd August 2023, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-56004916 (Accessed 23/10/25) 

Morgan, Kenneth, ‘George Washington and the Problem of Slavery’, Journal of American Studies, Vol.34, No.2 (2000). 

Pluta, Anne C., ‘Presidential Politics on Tour: George Washington to Woodrow Wilson’, Congress and the Presidency, Vol.41, No.3 (2014). 

United States Senate Historical Office, ‘Introduction’ to Washington’s Farewell Address (19^th September 1796), The Papers of George Washington, https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Washingtons_Farewell_Address.pdf?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email (Accessed 23/10/25).