I visited mount vernon recently and I noticed there were a lot of gifts George Washington has received after the revolutionary war from various world leaders such as art work and Italian marble.
Since the emoluments clause has been on the news so much, I am curious if this was technically a violation of the clause or if there is some other historical context explaining this.
Between 1783 (end of Rev. War) and 1789 (Washington's election), George Washington was in retirement, and spent the majority of his time at his farm in Mount Vernon. Also during this time, the United States was operating under the Articles of Confederation, which, as far as I know, did not contain a similar clause. It is entirely possible that many of these gifts were given during this period, and thus do not qualify under the constitution's emoluments clause.