Constitution by which our country has ever since been governed.

And soon afterwards, in accordance with that Constitution, the people of
the country were called upon to elect a President. Who should it be?

Who could it be but Washington?

When the electoral votes were counted, every vote was for George
Washington of Virginia.

And so, on the 16th of April, 1789, the great man again bade adieu to
Mount Vernon and to private life, and set out for New York. For the city
of Washington had not yet been built, and New York was the first capital
of our country.

There were no railroads at that time, and so the journey was made in a
coach. All along the road the people gathered to see their
hero-president and show him their love.

On the 30th of April he was inaugurated at the old Federal Hall in New
York.

"Long live George Washington, President of the United States!" shouted
the people. Then the cannon roared, the bells rang, and the new
government of the United States--the government which we have
to-day--began its existence.

Washington was fifty-seven years old at the time of his inauguration.

Perhaps no man was ever called to the doing of more difficult things.