John Adams was inaugurated as second president on March 4, 1797. Washington had preceded him to the hall and sat on the dais with Jefferson the Vice-President-elect, as Adams spoke. When the new President finished and left, Washington motioned to Jefferson to go next. The two Virginians had known each other since 1769, when Washington had been thirty-seven years old and Jefferson only twenty-six. From long habit and lingering respect, Jefferson now held back. But Washington gestured again, in a manner not to be ignored. The younger man was now Vice-President and must go first.
Benjamin Blythe (b. 1746; active until 1787)
by Benjamin Blythe (b. 1746; active until 1787)
Pastel on paper; 57 cm x 44.3 cm. Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, MA.
by Benjamin Blythe (b. 1746; active until 1787)
Pastel on paper; 57 cm x 44.5 cm. Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, MA.
Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington (1996)