A Letter from George Washington

A Letter from George Washington, November 30, 1785

Closed May 7, 2010
Online

On November 30, 1785 George Washington wrote to David Stuart, a trusted associate and stepfather to Washington’s grandchildren.

“If we consider ourselves, or wish to be considered by Others as a United people, why not adopt the measures that are characteristic of it—Act as a Nation. . .”

Through an examination of this letter the exhibition reveals Washington's active role in the political debates of the day leading up to the Constitutional Convention. The letter remained in the Stuart family until last year, when through a donation of Dr. Peter Buck, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History acquired the document. This is the first time this letter has been on public display.

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