One evening in the summer of 1787, during the Constitutional Convention, a group of old friends gathered in Philadelphia for dinner. The talk turned to General Washington, now presiding with implacable dignity over the convention’s sessions. As the story goes, Gouverneur Morris of New York asserted that he could be as familiar with General Washington as with any other intimate acquaintance. Another guest, Alexander Hamilton, promptly offered to provide dinner for a dozen with the finest wine if, at Washington’s next reception, Morris would simply walk up to Washington, clap him on the shoulder, and say, “My dear General, how happy I am to see you look so well.” Hamilton, of course, had served closely on Washington’s staff during the Revolutionary War, and both he and Morris knew the general as well as any man did.

Jefferson was among the first to give up the powdered...

 

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