George Washington Pens 2 pg 1796 ALS re "Federal City" We buy rare documents/autographs/books 1-800-237-5692 Start Price USD 75,000.00 Current Price USD 75,000.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price USD 100,000.00 Reserve Price - Start Time Thursday, May 01, 2008 End Time Sunday, May 11, 2008 Location Westport, CT See more about 'George Washington Pens 2 pg 1796 ALS re "Federal City"' Description George Washington First President (1789-1797). A colonel in the French and Indian War, he resigned after his election to the House of Burgesses. Concluding that reconciliation with Britain was no longer possible, he was chosen a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses. There, he was selected to lead the Continental army against the British and Hessian troops. Defeating the British in Boston, Trenton, and Princeton, he enlisted the help of France. Their combined strength forced Cornwallis to surrender at Yorktown. After the victory, he returned home, but was elected President of the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Unanimously elected President twice, his Presidency served as a role model for others. He proclaimed neutrality in the European wars, suppressed the Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania, approved Jay's Treaty with England and Pinckney's Treaty with Spain, and gave a farewell address warning against political parties and foreign entanglements. He died three years later at Mount Vernon. Tremendous 1796 George Washington as President to Thomas Pinckney, Two-Page ALS Discussing The "Federal City" That Would Bear His Name.  Date: February 20 1796  - Place: Philadelphia PA Autograph Letter Signed, "G° Washington", dated February 20, 1796, Philadelphia, two pages, 7.5" X 8.75". Like Rome, Washington D.C. was not built in a day. It began as an idea: a glorious "Federal City" that would be under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress, on territory ceded from Virginia and Maryland. The 100-square-mile tract, situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Eastern Branch Rivers, would include a residence for the President and a meeting place for Congress. It would be European in design, with broad tree-lined avenues, imposing statues and monuments, and expansive open spaces. Elaborate homes would be built for dignitaries. This utopian vision was officially set in motion on July 16, 1790, when President George Washington signed the Residence Act. The two-fold aims of this Act were (1) to establish the District of Columbia and (2) to move the seat of the federal government from New York City to Philadelphia until 1800—the projected year in which the new district would be ready for use by the three branches of government. President Washington commissioned the French engineer, Major Pierre Charles l'Enfant (1755-1825), to design a plan for the new capital. Although l'Enfant was ultimately dismissed from the task—ostensibly due to differences with the President about property speculation prior to the city's completion—the layout of Washington, D.C. today remains much as l'Enfant envisioned it. George Washington, himself, would never serve as Chief Executive in the city that bears his name; our 2nd President, John Adams, was the first to take up residence at the White House (referred to then as the "President's House"). He did so in 1800, as scheduled. In this extraordinarily significant letter, handwritten from Philadelphia in the sixth year of the new capital city project, President George Washington directly references "lands to be rented in the vicinity of the Federal City, or to be sold." His esteemed correspondent is the U.S. Minister to Great Britain, Thomas Pinckney, who would soon be the Federalist candidate for Vice President. Washington writes of entrusting Pinckney with important documents regarding land development, which the foreign minister will then distribute to prospective buyers "so as not to saddle those Gentleman with the Postage." For all intents and purposes, the President is also doing Pinckney a great personal service by supplying him with this advanced notification, which "puts it in your power to say (if enquiries should be made of you) for lands to be rented in the vicinity of the Federal City, or to be sold, that you are possessed of information that may merit attention." Washington then shifts gears to discuss his Mount Vernon estate. He describes the rental arrangement of his land, as it pertains to the wheat crop, and concludes the letter with a pessimistic view of the future: "I have very little expectation of accomplishing the Renting part of my plan for next year; nor would I attempt it at all, with the slovenly farmers of this country, if there was a tolerable well grounded hope of getting them for any other; where husbandry is better understood, and more rationally practiced." One wonders if Washington is simply recounting his plight to Pinckney as a friend, or if his words serve more of an advisory role—cautioning the foreign minister, prior to a hasty investment in the Federal City, on the potential drawbacks of extensive land ownership. This two-page letter, dated February 20, 1796, is beautifully scripted in dark-brown ink and signed "G°: Washington". The edges are crisp, the surface is clean, and there is no evidence of the customary paper loss that affects many surviving documents of the period. Technical condition is apparent NM with a few minor professional repairs to the folds. In terms of its provenance, this very letter sold as Lot 361 in a Charles Hamilton Galleries sale on December 11, 1969. The hammer price was $3,200. To put this figure into perspective: in the same Hamilton sale, a General Order No. 9 signed by Robert E. Lee (which in today's market brings $100,000-$150,000) fetched $1,350! Here is a George Washington letter of great historical import, written in his hand from Philadelphia, addressed to statesman Thomas Pinckney, referencing the "Federal City" by name, and deserving of a place of honor in the very finest presidential or political autograph collection. In full, the letter reads, "Dear Sir: Permit me to intrust the enclosed dispatches to your care, and to request that they may be forwarded agreeably to their directions; but by private conveyances, rather than by the Mail; as I am not disposed to saddle those Gentlemen with the Postage. Having come to the resolutions which are implied in the enclosed printed notification, I take the liberty of transmitting them to you; for no other purpose, believe me, than merely to put it in your power to say (if enquiries should be made of you) for lands to be rented in the vicinity of the Federal City, or to be sold, that you are possessed of information that may merit attention. As Wheat is the Staple commodity of the part of the country in which my Mount Vernon estate lies, I mean to fix the rent in the lease (giving privileges contained in the printed publication) to be discharged in failure of that Crop in Cash, at the price it bears in the market. I have very little expectation of accomplishing the Renting part of my plan for next year; nor would I attempt it at all, with the slovenly farmers of this country, if there was a tolerable well grounded hope of getting them for any other; where husbandry is better understood, and more rationally practiced. With great esteem & regard, I am Dear Sir Your obed't & affect' G° Washington."   At University Archives we specialize in rare/historic autographs, documents and rare books. We are interested in purchasing your items, please call us at 1-800-237-5692. Place a Bid!