The Death of General Montgomery in the Attack on Quebec
by John Trumbull, 1787
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The Death of General Montgomery in the Attack on Quebec
by John Trumbull, 1787
Map courtesy of the Department of History,
United States Military Academy
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.