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Farewell Address (1796)

George Washington

President, Statesman, and Military Officer
February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799

George Washington was an American Founding Father and military leader who served as the first president of the United States. Appointed commander of the Continental Army in 1775, he led the Patriots to victory over the British in the Revolutionary War. He presided over the Constitutional Convention in 1787 that established the U.S. federal government.

Washington began his public service as a surveyor in Virginia in 1749. He later served in the French and Indian War and was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. As a delegate to the Continental Congress, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army and led the Americans to defeat the British, forcing them to acknowledge U.S. sovereignty and independence.

As president from 1789-1797, Washington implemented a strong federal government, remaining impartial between feuding cabinet members. He set enduring presidential precedents like republicanism, peaceful transfer of power, and the two-term tradition. His 1796 farewell address promoted national unity and warned of foreign influence and hyper-partisanship.

Washington ranks among the greatest U.S. presidents. He has been memorialized on monuments, money, and a federal holiday. In 1976 he was posthumously made General of the Armies, the highest U.S. Army rank.

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Date

September 19, 1796

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6,063

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≈ 34 minutes

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5

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23

Farewell Address

In 1792, George Washington was prepared to retire as the first president of the United States. To that end, Washington, with James Madison, wrote a farewell address to the public of the United States of America. Faced with the unanimous objections of his Cabinet, however, Washington agreed to stand for another term. Finally, in 1796, Washington refused a third term. Dusting off his previous address, Washington and Alexander Hamilton rewrote it. Technically speaking, it was not an address, or a speech, but an open letter to the public published in almost all American newspapers. Washington’s fellow Americans gave it its title as the first president’s valedictory to public service for the new republic.

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