Letter From George Washington to the President of the Confederation Congress

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Description

For nearly five years, Congress struggled to create a “Confederation of the United States.” When the Articles of Confederation were finally ratified on March 1, 1781, George Washington wrote this letter of congratulations to the President of Congress. The text is in the handwriting of an aide, but the letter is signed by Washington himself.

Notes on this document written by history scholars are available on Founders Online, a searchable archive of the correspondence and other writings of several of the Founders of the United States government.

Text adapted from “Letters from George Washington and Samuel Cabble, and Speeches by Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy” in the November/December 2008 National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) publication Social Education.

Transcript

Head Quarters New Windsor 21st March 1781

Sir

I returned to this place yesterday at Noon. I did not prosecute my intention of visiting Springfield, as I wished not to be out of the line of communication from the Southward, on account of the important intelligences which may be hourly expected from that quarter.

Give me leave sincerely to congratulate Your Excellency and Congress upon the completion of the Confederation of the United States—An event long wished for—which I hope will have the happiest effects upon the politics of this Country, and which will be of essential service to our cause in Europe.

I have the honor to be with the highest Respect Yr Excellency’s Most obt and hble Servt

Go: Washington

Citation

This primary source comes from the Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention.

National Archives Identifier: 595237

Full Citation: Letter From George Washington to the President of the Confederation Congress; 3/21/1781; Letters from General George Washington, Commander in Chief of the Army; Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774 – 1789; Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention, Record Group 360; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/document/letter-washington-president-confederation-congress/, April 5, 2026]

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