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→Constitution: Mount Vernon Conference
==Constitution==
==Constitution==
Long before most of his contemporaries, Washington realized that independence could not be guaranteed without a standing army and that a nation strong enough to defend itself and to control the West could not exist without a central taxing power and a competent executive authority. All of those things, he admitted. ran directly counter to anti-tax, anti-centralizing sentiments that animated the Revolution. But they were necessary nonetheless, Washington insisted throughout the 1780s. Ellis (2004) concludes that Washington, succeeded in reconciling those contradictions and playing the difficult role of a semi-monarchical republican leader because he understood so well the proper use of power and could project "onto the national screen ... the same kind of controlling authority he had orchestrated within his own personality."<ref>Ellis 2004 p. 274</ref>
Long before most of his contemporaries, Washington realized that independence could not be guaranteed without a standing army and that a nation strong enough to defend itself and to control the West could not exist without a central taxing power and a competent executive authority. All of those things, he admitted. ran directly counter to anti-tax, anti-centralizing sentiments that animated the Revolution. But they were necessary nonetheless, Washington insisted throughout the 1780s. Ellis (2004) concludes that Washington, succeeded in reconciling those contradictions and playing the difficult role of a semi-monarchical republican leader because he understood so well the proper use of power and could project "onto the national screen ... the same kind of controlling authority he had orchestrated within his own personality."<ref>Ellis 2004 p. 274</ref>
In 1785 Washington hosted the [[Mount Vernon Conference]] at his home, which led to both the [[Annapolis Convention]] and the creation of the Constitution.
Because of the reputation he gained in the American Revolution, Washington was a logical choice for Virginia to send as a delegate to the [[Constitutional Convention]]. There, he was quickly chosen to chair the convention. While he barely ever spoke, the delegates have been said to have designed the [[President of the United States|Presidency]] assuming he would be the first President. Other members of the Virginia delegation to the Convention were [[John Blair]], [[James Madison]], [[George Mason]], [[James McClurg]], [[Edmund Randolph]], and [[George Wythe]].
Because of the reputation he gained in the American Revolution, Washington was a logical choice for Virginia to send as a delegate to the [[Constitutional Convention]]. There, he was quickly chosen to chair the convention. While he barely ever spoke, the delegates have been said to have designed the [[President of the United States|Presidency]] assuming he would be the first President. Other members of the Virginia delegation to the Convention were [[John Blair]], [[James Madison]], [[George Mason]], [[James McClurg]], [[Edmund Randolph]], and [[George Wythe]].