Letter: President Washington &Trump

A recent book mentioned Washington's original 73-page address to Congress. He was persuaded to give a much shorter version, but he mentioned one thing that really stands out, "Corruption." President Washington could not miss the opportunity to put everyone on notice that patronage and nepotism had no place in his administration and all appointments would be on merit. “In all our appointments of persons to fill domestic and foreign office let us be careful to select only such as are distinguished for morals and abilities. Attention should be paid to the distribution of office to people on different parts of the Union.” Washington even turned down a gift of 23,000 acres for winning the Revolutionary War, stating “I do not wish to make a profit of it.” To the distribution of office, he said “We should seek to find men who are best qualified to fill office but never give consent to the creation of Office to accommodate men.”