On January 8, 1790, President George Washington delivered his first annual message to Congress, as required by the recently adopted U.S. Constitution. In this address, Washington informed Congress, from his firsthand experience in touring the eastern states between October 15 and November 13, that great recovery had been made from the wartime destruction and dislocation. He also stated that agriculture, commerce, and manufacturing were prosperous and that both the people and the officers of the states were very supportive of the federal government under the new Constitution. In his first inaugural address, delivered eight months earlier, Washington had asked Congress to consider only one item, a bill of rights. His first annual message, however, contained a list of more than six topics for Congress to consider. Washington listed tasks that the Constitution specifically delegates to Congress to do, such as to provide a uniform currency, set a standard of weights and measures, develop a system of patents for inventions, give copyrights in science and literature, ascertain a uniform rule of naturalization, and further develop the Post Office and Post Office roads to tie the country together. He also asked for Congress’s cooperation in his executive duties, particularly in military and foreign affairs.