It was a speech so moving the crowd wept. It was a speech so personally important that George Washington’s hand shook as he read it until he had to hold the paper still with both hands. After the ceremony, he handed the thing to a friend and sped out the door of the state house in Annapolis, Md., riding off by horse.

For centuries, his words have resonated in American democracy even as the speech itself – the small piece of paper – was quietly put away, out of the public eye and largely forgotten.

Today, however, amid festivities celebrating his birthday, Maryland officials plan to unveil the original document – worth $1.5 million – after acquiring it in a private sale from a family in Maryland who had kept it.

The speech, scholars say, was a turning point in American history. As the Revolutionary War was winding down, some wanted to make Washington king. Some tried to seduce him with the trappings of power. But Washington renounced them all.

By resigning his commission as commander in chief to the Continental Congress – then housed at the Annapolis capitol – Washington laid the cornerstone for an American principle that persists today: Civilians, not generals, are ultimately in charge of military power.

The manuscript includes the crossed-out lines and penned-in additions as Washington searched for the right words and exact phrasing to formally resign as commander in chief of the Continental Army.

Drawing from historical accounts, Maryland State Archivist Edward Papenfuse and others believe Washington wrote it at an Annapolis inn a few weeks after the last British soldiers withdrew. He had just bid his troops a tearful farewell in New York after leading them through bitter winters and near starvation, and rode into Annapolis, intent on resigning but unsure of how to go about it.

Recognizing the importance of what was about to unfold, Congress set up a protocol committee chaired by Virginia’s Thomas Jefferson. They wrote back, asking for a formal speech.

Washington delivered it at noon on Dec. 23, 1783.

According to the revisions in the newly acquired draft, it appears Washington wanted to stress the importance of Congress and his subservience to it.

He also left open the possibility of serving his country again, if needed.

Five years later, he was indeed called back into service – as the first president of the United States of America.