WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS (September 17, 1796)

When President george washington decided, in the summer of 1796, not to seek a third term, he published an address to the American people embodying his advice on how to insure the survival of the new constitutional order. The first draft was prepared by Washington himself; the final version was drafted under Washington's direction by alexander hamilton, incorporating suggestions from james madison and john jay.

The first, and longest, section of the address comprises an encomium of the federal union and a warning against the dangers of factionalism, and especially of sectionalism. Washington urged that Americans regard the Union as "the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad, of your safety, of your prosperity, of that very liberty which you so highly prize." The central section of the address commends religion as a support for free government. Anything that weakened religious belief, he argued, would corrupt public morals, undermine the efficacy of oaths, and threaten the national capacity for self-government. The final section of the address contains Washington's advice on foreign affairs and defense. Washington opposed permanent alliances and standing armies as incompatible with constitutional democracy.

Advice in the address concerning specific constitutional questions includes Washington's deprecation of the "spirit of encroachment" that would subvert the separation of powers and his admonition against hasty adoption of constitutional amendments.

Dennis J. Mahoney
(1986)

Bibliography

Eidelberg, Paul 1974 A Discourse on Statesmanship: The Design and Transformation of the American Polity. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.