In N.Y., GW travelled by carriage with his Cabinet to give his first State of the Union address to the House and Senate. In his diary, GW recorded how he entered the room and that he had worn a suit of clothes manufactured in the United States for the occasion.

During the address, GW congratulated the Congressmen for their elections and lauded the rising “credit and respectability of our Country.” GW included a plea for establishing a strong defensive military, for support of agriculture and commerce, for the development of a process to allow foreign aliens to become citizens, the need to standardize the country’s currency, and the promotion of the education of American citizens. GW specifically thanked the House for passing a bill that established public credit. GW specifically told the Senate that he would be sending a list of nominees for offices in order to receive their advice and consent.

In his diary, he noted that a “great number of Ladies, and many gentlemen” visited Mrs. Washington that evening.