This speech was given in 1889 to commemorate the inauguration of George Washington as the first president of the United States. The author, Melville Weston Fuller, was the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court at the time he delivered this speech. He provides insights into the character of George Washington and discusses the early days of the United States government.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.