Did you know that George Washington was sworn in for his second term as the President of the United States of America on March 4, 1793?

Following the drafting of the new Constitution for the United States of America, it was sent out to the various States for ratification. In 1787 three States ratified it. In the next year, eight more States gave their approval. On April 6, 1789, the Constitution of the United States became the basic law of the land as the electoral college unanimously elected George Washington as its first President.

The Founding Fathers of this nation had a strong distrust of centralized power in the Federal Government. They created a Constitution with checks and balances to prevent any of the three branches of government from becoming too powerful. But they knew the fledgling nation needed a strong, gallant and courageous leader to be the first fearless leader of the country.

George Washington was held in higher esteem by not only his colleagues at the Constitutional Convention, but also by the citizens of the nation. That is why he was considered the indispensible man and the only one to be given serious consideration to become the President.

George Washington was sworn in as President on April 30, 1789. As he was sworn in he held his arm to the square and repeated the words of the oath of office. After repeating the oath, he spontaneously added the words “so help me God.” No one had ever served a nation in this manner and he realized he needed God’s help. 

Since that day, those simple powerful words, “so help me God,”  have been considered a part of the Presidential Oath of Office. 

Washington was unanimously elected for a second term as President. He is the only man unanimously elected, not once, but twice. When asked to serve a third term he declined. He wished to live out the remainder of his life on his beloved Mount Vernon Plantation. And so he did.