Patrick Henry
cried, "We shall have a king; the army will salute him monarch." Though
not fixed by the Constitution, it has been since the time of Washington
the invariable rule that no man shall be elected for more than two
terms. The friends of President Grant attempted to have him nominated
for a third time, but so strong was this prejudice that, popular as he
was at that time, the plan failed.
For nine months the struggle was wagered fiercely in the States, but the
Federalists prevailed. In June, 1788, the ninth State ratified, and
adoption was assured. Congress fixed the first Wednesday in January for
the election of presidential electors, the first Wednesday in February
for the meeting of the electors and election of the President, and the
first Wednesday in March, 1789, for the inauguration of the President
and the beginning of the new government. This last date fell upon the
4th of March, which date has from that time served as the day for the
inauguration of our presidents. Owing to a delay in the assembling of
the new Congress, Washington was not inaugurated, nor our present
government instituted, until April 30, 1789.
Thus was founded our present government, which has stood the test of a
century. When adopted there were thirteen States; now there are
forty-four. The inhabited area was then the narrow strip between the
Atlantic Ocean and the Allegheny Mountains, with a population of
scarcely 3,000,000.
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