Most of the country was stunned when in September of 1796, George Washington, who was “the Father of the Country” before there was even a country, the Washington whose coat and pants were pierced by bullets while he was unharmed, the man whose face adorned their silverware, plates, and coins, submitted his imminent retirement in a Philadelphia newspaper. While the people of the Union were shocked, the government had suspected Washington’s departure for several months. However, the President had already nearly retired twice, once before he became president in 1789, and once after his first term, but had been convinced by advisors and even Jefferson that his leadership was needed. Why was he retiring now? Two terms seemed short to a generation…