![]() The problem in 1782 was that Congress literally did not have the money to pay them. They had been spending their own money on supplies and even arms and needed some assurance that they could return home to care for their families already financially behind due to the personal costs of the fight for independence. Soldiers had been promised half-pay pensions for life in 1780 when there was nearly a mass exodus of them from the fighting. His Continental Army was in upset and ready to turn their arms against the Continental Congress. Washington’s character and his loyalty to the new country he was fighting for shone during the Newburgh Conspiracy in New York in 1782. He declined both opportunities in pursuit with others to create the great experiment of our constitutional representative republic. Indeed, there was one point at which his army wanted him to invade the capital and take dictatorial control. Washington was massively popular and very likely could have led the creation of a constitutional monarchy. ![]() ![]() ![]() On this date in both 17, George Washington was the first and only person to be elected President of the United States by a unanimous vote in the electoral college.
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