As in the case of his career as commander-in-chief, Washington’s most important act as president was his giving up the office. The significance of his retirement from the presidency is easily overlooked today, but his contemporaries knew what it meant. Most people assumed that Washington might be president as long as he lived, that he would be a kind of elected monarch like the king of Poland. Hence his retirement from the presidency enhanced his moral authority and set a precedent for future presidents.
Gallery
American Artists | 6 albums
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Works by John Singleton Copley American Painter, 1738—1815 » view » |
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Works by Charles Willson Peale American Painter, 1741—1827 » view » |
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Works by Rembrandt Peale American Painter, 1778—1860 » view » |
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Works by Gilbert Stuart American Painter, 1755—1828 » view » |
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Works by John Trumbull American Painter, 1756—1843 » view » |
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Other American Artists Mather Brown • Ralph Earl • James Peale • Charles Peale Polk • William Rush • Edward Savage • Thomas Sully • John Vanderlyn • Benjamin West • Other American Works » view » |
European Artists | 8 albums
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Works by Antonio Canova Italian Sculptor, 1757—1822 » view » |
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Works by Giuseppe Ceracchi Italian Sculptor, 1751—1801 » view » |
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Works by Thomas Gainsborough English Portrait and Landscape Painter, 1727—88 » view » |
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Works by Jean-Antoine Houdon French Sculptor, 1741—1828 » view » |
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Works by Robert Edge Pine English Painter, 1730—88 » view » |
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Works by Joshua Reynolds English Portrait Painter, 1723—92 » view » |
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Works by James Sharples & Family English Painters — James (c. 1751—1811); Ellen (1769—1849); James Jr. (c. 1788—1839) » view » |
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Works by John Wollaston English Portrait Painter, c. 1710—c. 1775 » view » |
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Other European Artists Portraits of Americans, British, French, Germans, and Spanish » view » |
Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815 (2009)