During his first term as president, George Washington decided that the only way to fulfill the Revolution was to take the new federal government directly to the people. He organized an extraordinary journey carrying him to all 13 states. If the nation fragmented, as it had almost done after the war, it could never become the strong, independent nation for which Washington had fought. In scores of communities, he communicated a powerful and enduring message --- that America was now a nation, not a loose collection of states. And the people responded to his invitation in ways that he never could have predicted.