George Washington's Farewell Address. George Washington's Farewell Address is a letter written by the first American President, George Washington, to "The People of the United States of America".[1] Washington wrote the letter near the end of his second term as President, before his retirement to his home Mount Vernon.
Originally published in Daved Claypole's American Daily Advertiser on September 19, 1796 under the title "The Address of General Washington To The People of The United States on his declining of the Presidency of the United States," the letter was almost immediately reprinted in newspapers across the country and later in a pamphlet form.[2] The work was later named a "Farewell Address," as it was Washington's valedictory after 20 years of service to the new nation. It is a classic statement of republicanism, warning Americans of the political dangers they can and must avoid if they are to remain true to their values.
Summary[edit] Unity and sectionalism[edit] Washington's Farewell Address 1796. Washington's Farewell Address 1796 Friends and Citizens: The period for a new election of a citizen to administer the executive government of the United States being not far distant, and the time actually arrived when your thoughts must be employed in designating the person who is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made.
The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in, the office to which your suffrages have twice called me have been a uniform sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty and to a deference for what appeared to be your desire. The impressions with which I first undertook the arduous trust were explained on the proper occasion.
Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. George Washington's Farewell Address. Digital Dead Sea Scrolls. Anthology of English Literature.