Elizabeth Willing Powel (February 21, 1743 – January 17, 1830) was an American socialite and a prominent member of the Philadelphia upper class of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. After the American Revolutionary War, she established a salon of the Republican Court of leading intellectuals and political figures. She corresponded widely, including with the political elite of the time. A close friend to George Washington, she was among those who convinced him to continue for a second term as president. She wrote extensively, but privately, on a wide range of subjects, including politics, the role of women, medicine, education, and philosophy. Powel is said to be the person who asked Benjamin Franklin "What have we got, a republic or a monarchy?", to which he replied "A republic ... if you can keep it," an often quoted statement about the Constitution of the United States. The exchange was first recorded by James McHenry, a delegate of the Constitutional Convention, in his journal entry dated September 18, 1787. Powel's exchange with Franklin was adapted over time, with the role played by Powel all but removed in 20th-century versions and replaced with an anonymous "lady", "woman", or "concerned citizen". The setting of the conversation was also revised from her home at the Powel House to the steps of Independence Hall.
Her
husband Samuel Powel, one of the richest people in Philadelphia who was twice
elected mayor of the city, died in 1793. He left almost his entire estate to
Powel, who went on to manage the family business dealings. She built a home for
her nephew and chosen heir, John Hare Powel, on the country estate which she
inherited from her husband. She sold the Powel House and lived on Chestnut
Street near Independence Hall for the last three decades of her life; she died
on January 17, 1830, and was buried beside her husband at Christ Church. More
than a century later, the Powel House was acquired by the Philadelphia Society
for the Preservation of Landmarks. It was renovated and opened to the public as
a museum in 1938. Two rooms from the house were reconstructed as exhibits at
museums in Philadelphia and New York City. The Powels' country estate later
became part of Powelton Village in Philadelphia. Hundreds of her letters and
several of her portraits survive.
Powel During The American Revolution
When
the Revolutionary War began in 1775, Powel and her husband remained in the
city. He was elected mayor of Philadelphia and began his first term on October
3, 1775. The Declaration of Independence was signed in July 1776 and the city
government dissolved, making him the last colonial mayor of Philadelphia. His loyalty was equivocal, and he seems to
have had little interest in the outcome of the war. Elizabeth's allegiance
during the war remains uncertain. She was concerned with the destruction of
Philadelphia. As large fires burned throughout the city, she unsuccessfully
attempted to save the furniture from her sister Ann's home.
During
the Philadelphia campaign, the Powel House was taken over by the British during
their occupation of the city. Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle, used it
as his headquarters while leading the Peace Commission, which unsuccessfully
sought an end to the war. Carlisle and his staff remained for about ten days in
June 1778, forcing the Powels to move to a wing of their home normally reserved
for servants. Carlisle and the Powels
often dined together and discussed politics; he found them "very
agreeable, sensible people". When
British troops withdrew from the city, Elizabeth emerged among the most
prominent Philadelphian socialites of the post-revolution period, establishing
the Philadelphia salon of the Republican Court from the leading intellectual
and political figures of colonial America. As the foundations of the new nation
were established, the Republican Court played a key role in facilitating
political affiliation and communication, in addition to cementing the social
status and personal reputation of the aristocratic
elite, as they adapted to the emerging democratic society.
Friendship with George Washington
Elizabeth
was a close friend and confidant to George Washington, commander-in-chief of the
Continental Army and later the first president of the United States. She was also a friend of his wife, Martha. The Washingtons first met the Powels in 1774,
as dinner guests at notable homes in Philadelphia, while George served as a
delegate of the First Continental Congress.
They were officially introduced in 1779, at a Twelfth Night ball hosted
by the Powels and attended by the Washingtons, who were celebrating their 20th
wedding anniversary. Washington renewed
his friendship with the couple when he returned to Philadelphia for the Constitutional
Convention in May 1787. His diary and
various letters indicate frequent visits to the home, passing mornings drinking
tea and evenings dining. The Powels also
visited Mount Vernon in October of the same year.
Washington's
relationship with Powel was perhaps the closest of all his friendships with
women in his later life, and they enjoyed a mutual respect as intellectual
equals. In November 1792, Washington
confided in Powel that he intended to step down at the end of his first term as
president. In her own words, her
"mind was thrown into a train of reflections", and she considered it
"inconsistent with [their] friendship" to withhold her thoughts. To
urge Washington to reconsider, she wrote a long letter using both her own words,
and borrowed passages from The Secret History of the Court of Berlin, a
political treatise written by the French nobleman Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte
de Mirabeau. Her letter reads in part:
The
Antifederalist would use [retirement] as an argument for dissolving the Union,
and would urge that you, from experience, had found the present system a bad
one, and had, artfully, withdrawn from it that you might not be crushed under
its ruins ... For God's sake do not yield that empire to a love of ease,
retirement, rural pursuits, or a false diffidence of abilities..
According
to Washington biographer Ron Chernow, her letter may have been the
"decisive stroke" in convincing Washington to seek a second term. Although he did not reply, it seems that he
was not offended by the strongly worded letter which he kept in his collection.
Their friendship continued unaffected, and he commissioned a poem by Elizabeth
Graeme Fergusson as a gift to Powel for her 50th birthday a few months later. They corresponded regularly; Washington
signed his letters "With the greatest respect and affection". Powel
referred to him as "My dear Sir" and signed "Your sincere
affectionate friend." Their
relationship lasted until his death in 1799. It was within custom for prominent
men of the period to befriend women, and they also included both Samuel and
Martha in their friendship.
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