1939 3c Inauguration of Washington Sesquicentennial

U.S. #854 commemorates the 150th anniversary of George Washington's inauguration as the first President of the United States. Washington was inaugurated on April 30, 1789, on the balcony of the Senate Chamber at Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City. Robert Livingston, the Chancellor of New York, administered the oath of office before a crowd of spectators who had gathered in the streets below to witness this unprecedented moment in American history.

The 3-cent purple stamp features an engraved reproduction of the inauguration ceremony, showing Washington taking the oath surrounded by assembled dignitaries and officials. Issued on April 30, 1939, exactly 150 years after the original event, this commemorative was printed using the flat plate printing method. The detailed engraving captures the solemnity and importance of the occasion that established the precedent for all future presidential inaugurations.

Following the inauguration, New York City served as the nation's capital for just over a year before the government relocated to Philadelphia in 1790. The ceremony at Federal Hall marked not only Washington's assumption of the presidency but also the formal beginning of the new constitutional government under the recently ratified Constitution. This location, where Washington took his oath, would later become one of the most significant financial centers in the world as part of Wall Street.