The Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington

Alexander Dallas

Alexander Dallas was a Pennsylvania lawyer, financier, and politician who served as President James Madison’s secretary of the treasury.

Annapolis Convention

Held September 11-14, 1786, the Annapolis Convention was a meeting incipiently aimed at constructing uniform parameters to regulate trade between states during a time of political turbulence and economic strain.

Aurora General Advertiser

Founded by Benjamin Franklin Bache, the Aurora General Advertiser was published in Philadelphia between 1794 and 1824. Bache, the grandson of Benjamin Franklin, established the Aurora as a Republican newspaper that could counter the many Federalist newspapers in circulation at the end of the eighteenth century. It quickly became the leading Republican paper in the United States. Bache ran the Aurora six days a week from a two-story print shop located a few blocks away from Independence Hall using presses and printing fonts that he had inherited from his grandfather. Despite having a large readership, the Aurora was never a particularly lucrative business for Bache or its subsequent editors.

Circular Letter to the States

Having received news of the signing of a preliminary peace treaty on April 11, 1783 Congress proclaimed?

Classicism

Thirteen centuries after the Roman Empire fell in 476 A.D., the compendium of Roman classics served as an ideological guidebook for the American founders. Classical Roman concepts and figures exerted a formative influence on the founders’ governmental theories and principles of virtue.

First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of His Countrymen

"First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." These famous words about George Washington come from a eulogy written by Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee.

First United States Census, 1790

The 1790 census was the first federally sponsored count of the American people. One of the most significant undertakings of George Washington's first term as president, the census fulfilled a constitutional mandate and was interpreted by many as evidence of national prosperity and progress.

Pacificus/Helvidius Letters

The Pacificus/Helvidius Letters were a series of newspaper articles published in the Gazette of the United States in response to President George Washington’s “Neutrality Proclamation.” The letters reflected opposite positions on the role of the executive and legislature in American foreign policy.

Robert Dinwiddie

Robert Dinwiddie poured his ambitions into becoming a successful merchant, as well as a colonial administrator and politician for more than 30 years, including six and a half years as Governor of the Royal Colony of Virginia (1751-1758)

Robert Morris

Robert Morris was a financier of the American Revolution, delegate to the Second Continental Congress, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and senator from Pennsylvania. Given Morris’s personal wealth and financial acumen, Congress appointed him superintendent of finance in 1781, which gave him sole authority over financing and supporting the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

Samuel Powel

Samuel Powel was an elite Philadelphia politician who was close friends with George and Martha Washington.

Timothy Pickering