REFERENCES.—J. Schouler, _History of the United States_, Vol. I., chaps. i.–iii.; J. B. McMaster, _History of the American People_, Vol. I., chap. i. See also References to the next chapter. The novels of Charles Brockden Brown (1771–1810), the first American who was a successful professional man of letters, may be profitably consulted in connection with this chapter, especially his _Arthur Mervyn_, and _Ormond_, which describe life in Philadelphia during the yellow fever epidemics. ----- [103] Kentucky was made a state in 1792; Tennessee, in 1796; Ohio, in 1803. [Illustration: THE AREAS OF FREEDOM AND SLAVERY IN 1790] CHAPTER XIII. =THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF WASHINGTON, 1789–1797.= EARLY LEGISLATION AND PARTIES. =265. Washington as a Statesman.=—When Washington took the oath of office in New York City[104] on April 30, 1789, few people could have foreseen that the elderly, dignified man, dressed in the picturesque costume of the period, would one day rank among the greatest statesmen of the world. His experience had been rather with military than with civil affairs. He was reserved in temper, and liked forms and ceremonies to which the masses were opposed. He had few of the arts of persuasion. His mind was not trained like that of John Adams, for example, nor was it markedly original. But he had had the training of experience, and he had what is essential to statesmanship of the first order—a great character, sobriety, dignity, perfect rectitude of purpose, knowledge of men, and willingness to trust those whom he regarded as competent—in short, wisdom as opposed to mere knowledge made Washington the great statesman we now know him to have been. He held the reins of government firmly and made few or no mistakes. He saw that the new nation should show prudence and by its dignity win the respect of other nations; and in spite of criticism, and often of frantic opposition, he kept his administrations well in line with his ideals. He avoided foreign complications and appeased or put down domestic discontent. He balanced political parties and made their leaders serve the state. When he laid down his office he explained his principles in his “Farewell Address,” which has become one of the political classics of the world. And now, after the lapse of a century, the perspective of time enables us to comprehend, in part at least, the unique grandeur of his position among men.