Washington, George

Excerpt from "Farewell Address"

Written in September 1796
Published in The Writings of George Washington, volume 35, edited by
John C. Fitzpatrick, 1940

After serving two terms as the first president of the United States, George Washington (1732–1799; served 1789–97) decided it was time to retire. He had contributed forty-five years of his life to public service. Washington was the most popular public figure in America in the late eighteenth century. In fact, many people supported ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788 with the understanding that Washington would automatically fill the position of president. Washington proved to be a very capable and effective president in dealing with both domestic and foreign crises.

Washington considered retiring after his first term. In 1792, fellow Virginian and chief author of the U.S. Constitution James Madison (1751–1836) prepared notes for Washington as he began thinking of a farewell speech. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) and Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804) urged Washington to run for a second four-year term. Persuaded to run for reelection, Washington set the farewell notes aside. Washington received the maximum number of electoral votes possible in the presidential election of 1792, just as he had in 1789. He is the only U.S. president to receive a unanimous vote of the electors, and he achieved it twice.

In May 1796, ten months before his second term ended, Washington began earnestly preparing his farewell address, using Madison's notes. He then passed the first draft of his speech to Hamilton, a member of his Cabinet and a close personal adviser, for review. Over the next several months, Washington and Hamilton traded revised drafts back and forth, polishing the words with the help of U.S. Supreme Court chief justice John Jay (1745–1829). Washington then took the draft and worked it over to a final form. Washington wrote the address primarily to take himself out of consideration for a third term as president. At the time, a president could run for reelection more than once. (The Twenty-second Amendment, limiting a person to two terms as president, would not be ratified until 1951.)

In the first two-thirds of the speech, Washington addressed domestic issues and the rise of political parties. Washington did not like the concept of political parties; he felt that such groups represented special interests and not the nation as a whole. The president could not have predicted that political parties would eventually be the main avenue through which Americans debated issues. Instead, he feared the development of parties would tear the young country apart.

In the last third of the address, the president turned to foreign issues. The majority of the following excerpt is taken from this portion of the address. While Washington stressed that the United States needed to concentrate on U.S. interests and open trade with all foreign nations, he cautioned the country to stay out of foreign wars. Washington warned that the nation should avoid joining foreign alliances. When hostilities between France and Britain renewed in 1793, Washington had resisted siding with either country and issued his Neutrality Proclamation in April 1793. Neutrality meant not favoring one country over the other. Washington announced that as long as war supplies were not involved, the United States would continue to trade freely with any country. In the "Farewell Address," Washington strongly advised continuation of the neutrality policy.

Washington began his farewell speech by saying he would "decline being considered" for another term in office. Washington stated that for the rest of his life he would have concern for the country's well-being and that, therefore, he would express some thoughts and advice to help guide the country. Washington urged Americans to treat other nations with good faith and justice. He warned against harboring longstanding hatreds or showing unreasonable favoritism toward any nation.

Next, Washington stated the most important advice he wished to give the nation. He encouraged commerce and trade agreements with foreign nations but no more political or military alliances. European countries, Washington pointed out, have "frequent controversies" that were of no concern to the United States. Washington recommended that America "steer clear of permanent alliances" such as the 1778 Treaty of Alliance with France. (This treaty stated that the United States and France would come to each other's aid in wars against Britain; immediately after signing the treaty, France had assisted America in its fight for independence from Britain.) Washington urged the nation to honor its alliance with France but to avoid any further alliances.

Washington stated that U.S. commercial or trade agreements should not favor one country over another. Instead, he urged, they should be flexible enough to be changed from time to time or even abandoned. Washington then appeared to contradict his earlier statement about honoring the 1778 alliance with France. He emphasized that the United States should hold a neutral position in the ongoing war between Britain and France, an opinion he first announced in the Neutrality Proclamation of 1793.

In closing, Washington noted that over the past eight years he had pursued policies he hoped would allow the nation time to grow and develop. He said he wished the errors he had inevitably made would not harm the country. Washington then announced his decision to retire.

Things to remember while reading excerpts from "Farewell Address":

• Realizing that many American citizens supported France while others supported Britain in the ongoing European war, Washington tried to warn against political and military attachments to other countries. He believed foreign entanglements would lead to problems for the United States.
• Though Washington strongly discouraged formal political and military alliances, he greatly encouraged development of extensive trade relations with other nations.
• George Washington's address and advice to the nation has influenced U.S. foreign policy for centuries. For example, the nation followed his advice on foreign alliances. The United States did not make another formal foreign alliance until the mid-twentieth century.

Excerpt from "Farewell Address"

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, ... it appears to me proper ... that I should nowapprise you of theresolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made. ...

I have theconsolation to believe that, while choice andprudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it. ...

Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But asolicitude for your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me, on an occasion like the present, to offer to yoursolemn contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, somesentiments which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me all-important to the permanency of yourfelicity as a people. These will be offered to you with the more freedom, as you can only see in them thedisinterested warnings of a parting friend, who can possibly haveno personal motive to bias his counsel .

Citizens, by birth or choice, of a common country, ... [w]ith slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess are the work of jointcounsels, and joint efforts of common dangers, sufferings, and successes. ...

Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and moralityenjoin this conduct; and can it be, that good policy does not equally enjoin it. ...

Inveterate antipathies against particular nations, and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and ... in place of them, just andamicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another ahabitual hatred or a habitual fondness is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to itsanimosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest . ... Hence, frequent collisions ... and bloody contests. The nation, prompted by ill-willand resentment, sometimesimpels to war the government, contrary to the best calculations of policy. ...

So likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation,facilitating theillusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists . ... It leads also toconcessions to the favorite nation of privileges denied to others which is apt doubly to injure the nation making the concessions; ... by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and adisposition to retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld. ...

Against theinsidious wiles of foreign influence ... the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the mostbaneful foes ofrepublican government . ... Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those ... to see danger only on one side. ...

The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop. Europe has a set of primary interests which to us have none; or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us toimplicate ourselves by artificial ties in the ordinaryvicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enemies.

Ourdetached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different course. If we remain one people under an efficient government, the period is not far off when we maydefy material injury from external annoyance . ...

It is our true policy to steer clear of permanentalliances with any portion of the foreign world; so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as capable ofpatronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold ... that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed in theirgenuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them. ...

Harmony,liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest. But even our commercial policy should hold an equal andimpartial hand; neither seeking nor granting exclusive favors or preferences; ... establishing with powers ... to giveto trade a stable course, to define the rights of our merchants, and to enable the government to support them;conventional rules of intercourse, the best that present circumstances and mutual opinion will permit, but temporary, and liable to be from time to time abandoned or varied, as experience and circumstances shall dictate; constantly keeping in view that it isfolly in one nation to look fordisinterested favors from another. ...

In relation to thestill subsisting war in Europe, myproclamation of the twenty-second of April, 1793, is theindex of my plan. Sanctioned by your approving voice, and by that of your representatives in both houses of Congress, the spirit of that measure has continually governed me, uninfluenced by any attempts to deter or divert me from it.

After deliberate examination, with the aid of the bestlights I could obtain, I was well satisfied that our country, under all the circumstances of the case, had a right to take, and was bound in duty and interest totake a neutral position. Having taken it, I determined, as far as should depend upon me, to maintain it, with moderation, perseverance, and firmness. ...

With me apredominant motive has been to endeavor to gain time to our country to settle and mature itsyet recent institutions, and to progress without interruption to that degree of strength and consistency which is necessary to give it, humanly speaking, the command of its own fortunes.

Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, Ifervently beseech the Almighty toavert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that my country will never cease to view them withindulgence; and that, after forty five years of my life dedicated to its service withan upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will beconsigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to themansions of rest . ...

What happened next...

The United States maintained its neutrality during the European conflicts of the 1790s and for several years after Washington's retirement. The nation's trade economy flourished. America traded with Europe, South America, and China. Exports soared from $20 million in 1790 to $90 million in 1802. Shipping earnings rose from $5 million to $30 million. In addition, the value of reexported goods such as sugar, coffee, cocoa, and pepper (goods imported from the West Indies and then shipped to foreign nations) rose from nothing to $50 million. Ports at Boston, New York, and Philadelphia boomed. American profits far exceeded the cost of losing ships to France and Britain, countries that sometimes seized U.S. ships to prevent them from trading with their enemies.

France had begun seizing U.S. ships headed for Britain after American and British officials signed the Jay Treaty in 1794. The French saw this treaty as a violation of the 1778 U.S.-France alliance. Increasingly angered over the United States moving closer to Britain, France continued to seize American vessels and refused to negotiate with U.S. representatives. As chances of war with France grew, some U.S. leaders feared that Americans sympathetic to France might try to undermine the U.S. government. As a result, in 1798 Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts. The acts gave the government authority to more easily deport foreigners considered dangerous and imprison citizens who criticized the federal government. This legislation proved highly unpopular with the public.

Amid growing bitter division over relations with France and the Alien and Sedition Acts, President John Adams (1735–1826; served 1797–1801), Washington's successor, made another attempt at peace with France. In early 1800, he sent diplomats to Paris. Napoléon Bonaparte (1769–1821), military hero of the French people, had seized control of the French government in 1799. He had tired of squabbling with the United States; and he needed to repair relations with the Americans, because he wanted to build a French empire in North America, west of the Mississippi River. After months of diplomatic discussions, France and the United States signed a treaty, the Convention of Mortefontaine, in September 1800. The treaty released the United States from its 1778 alliance with France and renewed trade between the two nations.

The war in Europe heated up again in 1803, and once again Britain and France drew the United States into the conflict. Still at war with each other, both France and Britain issued decrees in 1807 restricting the trade that neutral parties could carry on with either warring country. Britain declared that the neutral United States could not trade with France, and likewise, France declared that the United States could not trade with Britain.

Britain seized more than one thousand American ships and their cargoes. France seized some five hundred American merchant ships. President Thomas Jefferson responded by convincing Congress to pass the Embargo Act in December 1807. This act banned all U.S. trade with foreign countries. U.S. goods were denied to Britain and France, and neither country could ship goods into the United States. Jefferson hoped this would force Britain and France to change their policies; instead, the embargo dramatically hurt American farmers and businesses. The act was repealed in late February 1809, a month before Jefferson left office. Congress replaced the embargo with a ban on trade with Britain and France but not other nations.

More controversies over trade finally led the United States to declare war on Britain in June 1812. The United States would claim victory in the War of 1812 (1812–15), but not before British troops burned and looted Washington, D.C., including the White House and the Capitol. In 1815, a trade agreement with Britain reopened trade between the two nations.

Did you know...

• George Washington did not actually deliver the "Farewell Address" orally. The speech was published first in a Philadelphia newspaper, the American Daily Advertiser, on September 17, 1796, and seven days later in theIndependent Chronicle, a highly respected Boston newspaper. Washington left office six months later.
• Washington's "Farewell Address" was read annually in Congress for decades. It is probably the most famous speech Washington ever wrote. Parts of the speech were published in children's schoolbooks, engraved on jewelry, and even woven into cloth tapestries.
• Washington died suddenly, only three years after writing his farewell address. He had become ill after working outdoors in harsh winter weather. He was sixty-seven.
• The editor of the Philadelphia newspaper that first published the "Farewell Address" kept Washington's 1796 manuscript until his death. It was then sold at an auction for $2,300 on February 12, 1850, to New York book and painting collector James Lenox. Despite last-minute efforts by U.S. senator Henry Clay (1777–1852) of Kentucky, the federal government apparently placed no bid for the document. Lenox's library, including the "Farewell Address" manuscript, became part of the New York Public Library in 1895.

Consider the following...

• Foreign relations dominated U.S. concerns during the 1790s. Summarize the developing relations with Britain and France during this time period.
• Political parties were forming in the United States in the late 1790s. What were the positions of the Federalists and the Republicans with regard to foreign issues? Why did some support the French revolutionaries?
• Why was George Washington concerned about foreign alliances?

Apprise: Tell.

Resolution: Firm decision.

Consolation: Comfort.

Prudence: Good judgment.

Solicitude: Anxious concern.

Solemn contemplation: Thoughtful study.

Sentiments: Thoughts.

Felicity: Happiness.

Disinterested: Unbiased.

No personal motive to bias his counsel: No secret or selfish reason behind his advice.

Counsels: Meetings.

Enjoin: Command.

Inveterate antipathies: Persistent hostile feelings.

Amicable: Peaceful and friendly.

Habitual: Continuing.

Animosity: Hatred.

Impels: Forces.

Facilitating: Resulting in.

Illusion: False impression.

Concessions: Grants or offers.

Disposition: Inclination.

Insidious wiles: Trappings.

Baneful: Seriously harmful.

Republican: A form of government in which power is held by the citizens who elect representatives to run government.

Implicate ourselves by artificial ties: Unnecessarily involve ourselves.

Vicissitudes: Changes.

Detached and distant situation: Location across the oceans.

Defy material injury from external annoyance: Avoid war.

Alliances: Agreements of mutual aid.

Patronizing infidelity: Encouraging the nation not to honor a signed treaty.

Genuine sense: Original purpose.

Liberal intercourse: Unrestricted trade.

Impartial: Fair.

Conventional: Standard or accepted.

Folly: Foolish.

Disinterested favors: Special privileges granted without any expectation of a return favor.

Still subsisting: Current.

Proclamation: Washington's statement of neutrality in the conflict between France and Britain.

Index: Indicator.

Lights: Sources of public knowledge.

Take a neutral position: Support neither side.

Predominant motive: Chief desire.

Yet recent institutions: New government and economic base.

Fervently beseech: Eagerly pray to.

Avert or mitigate the evils: Prevent or lessen any harm.

Indulgence: Tolerance.

An upright zeal: Honest enthusiasm.

Consigned to oblivion: Forgotten.

Mansions of rest: Retirement (or a reference to eventual death).

For More Information

Books

Burke, Rich. George Washington. Chicago: Heineman Library, 2003.

Burns, James MacGregor. George Washington. New York: Times Books, 2004.

Ellis, Joseph J. His Excellency: George Washington. New York: Random House, 2004.

Fitzpatrick, John C., ed. The Writings of George Washington. Vol. 35. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1940.