Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the United States on April 30, 1789, at Federal Hall in New York, then the nation's capitol. As judges of the federal courts had not yet been appointed, the presidential oath of office was administered by Chancellor Robert Livingston, the highest judicial officer in the state of New York. Washington took the oath on the building's second floor balcony, in view of throngs of people gathered on the streets. As the  presidential election of 1792 approached, Washington, pleased with the progress his administration had made in establishing a strong, stable federal government, hoped to retire rather than seek a second term. He complained of old age, sickness, the in-fighting plaguing his cabinet, and the increasing hostility of the partisan press. The members of his cabinet—especially Jefferson and Hamilton—worked diligently through the summer and autumn to persuade Washington not to retire.