The Farewell Address

George Washington: 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 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.[1]

Narrator: With these words, George Washington announced to the nation that his time as president was coming to an end. The publication of the Farewell Address in Claypoole’s Daily Advertiser was a momentous occasion for the young United States. Washington established the most significant precedent of his presidency: the two-term limit.

By giving up power, Washington ensured a peaceful transition for the next president. He sent the message that the presidency was not a lifetime appointment. And he did so willingly. But the Farewell Address was more than just a resignation. It also carried Washington's warnings for the young nation.

In it, Washington warned Americans to avoid partisan politics, entangling alliances with foreign nations, and regional divisions. At the same time, he urged Americans to celebrate liberty, education, and unity. The Farewell Address has long stood as a testament to Washington's leadership, but it also answered the vital, unsolved questions that had tested the young nation.

How long was a president supposed to serve? How many terms in office would be the limit? And how would power transition from one president to the next? This is Inventing the Presidency, Episode eight: the Farewell Address.

The 22nd Amendment of the Constitution enshrined in law the two term limit for the presidency. No one person would be able to serve as president for more than two terms. To date, Franklin Roosevelt is the only president to have ever served more than two terms. But, the 22nd Amendment wasn't ratified until 1951. In 1796, there were no term limits.

Despite the contentious debate about the subject during the Constitutional Convention, the Constitution gave no guidance on the matter. Washington, however, knew it was time. He had wanted to leave office as early as 1792. James Madison had already begun drafting the speech that would eventually become the Farewell Address.

But Washington had been convinced to stay by Elizabeth Powell and other friends. In 1792, the United States was in the midst of several crises, including the Whiskey Rebellion, the Northwest War, and the French Revolution. Washington knew that stepping aside would be risky. So, the Address was put aside, for now. At the end of his second term, however, Washington had many good reasons to resign.

First, he was getting older. In 1796, he was 64 years old. Washington worried about the precedent it would set if he died in office. Men in his family typically did not live long lives, and Washington had already outlived both his father and older brothers. If he died in office, some might see the presidency as a lifetime appointment.

Second, he understood the need to demonstrate a peaceful transition of power. Historically, the transition of power from one sovereign or ruler to another has been among the most vulnerable times for a nation. Proving that power could be smoothly transferred from one president to the next would be an important precedent.

Third, he was tired. For the last seven years, Washington had faced a series of successive crises. The stress from the Whiskey Rebellion, Genet Affair, and Jay Treaty had affected his health. The pressures of office had worn at him, and he was eager for a peaceful retirement. Washington yearned to return to Mount Vernon.

He had spent eight years away returning only for short trips. In his absence, parts of the plantation had fallen into disrepair, and he wanted to spend his retirement Returning it to its former glory. So, he made his decision. The original draft, written by James Madison in 1792, was turned over to Alexander Hamilton.

Hamilton largely rewrote the Address, keeping only a few paragraphs from the original. But Washington was closely involved in the writing process. The two men exchanged draft after draft, back and forth, with Washington suggesting new additions, revisions, and changes throughout the process. Historians generally agree that Washington gave shape to the Address's main ideas and structure while Hamilton focused on the rhetorical flourishes.

His granddaughter, Eleanor Parke Custis, or Nelly recalled watching him work.

Eleanor Parke Custis: I did see the President Washington repeatedly in the act of writing the Farewell Address in the daytime and also at night. I always passed the door of his office on my way to my grandmother's chamber at the head of the sleep stairs, which landed close to his door.

That door was generally open, and I have been sent to his room with messages, and at night have Passed the door and seen him writing as I passed to ascend the stairs with Grandmama. When his work was completed, he called me from her chamber and requested me to bring him a needle with silk to sew the leaves together.

The Address was in his hand when I gave him the needle and I saw him sew them in the form of a book. The only circumstance I could not take an oath on is the color of the silk.[2]

Narrator: Washington wanted to ensure that the message of the Address was clear and free from misunderstanding. But he also had concerns about the length.

You see, Washington would not be delivering this Address to the nation like a traditional speech. No one was more surprised to hear this than David Claypoole. Claypoole published a newspaper called Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser. On September 16th, 1797. Claypoole was surprised with an invitation to visit Washington in his presidential mansion.

There, Washington informed Claypoole of his intention to publish his Farewell Address in the newspapers. Claypoole's newspaper, to be precise.

Joseph Adelman: The newspapers are the way to speak to the nation in 1796. It is how Washington can get to everybody's eyeballs or ears.

Narrator: Here is Joseph Adelman, professor of history at Framingham State University.

Joseph Adelman: In the colonial era, if a government official, the king, or the governor wanted to tell something to the people, in the broadest sense, they would write something up, and it might be posted somewhere, but as often as not, it would be proclaimed. It's a proclamation because it's proclaimed, it's spoken from someone, either the person himself, or His representative in Boston, right?

The governor would read the proclamation of the king. That's not what we're going to have in the United States. He doesn't send it to the governors to have them proclaim it. He doesn't send it to ministers, which is what Massachusetts did with the Declaration of Independence. They sent it to each town's minister to read the declaration.

He wants the eyeballs, and the way to do that is to print it in the American Daily Advertiser in Philadelphia. And it spreads. The newspapers are the information network of the nation. So it's really a way to establish. That as a way of communicating with the public directly rather than through a ventriloquized speech.

Narrator: On September 19th, 1796, just three days after Washington met with Claypoole, Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser published The full Address. The Address began with Washington's justification for stepping away from the presidency.

George Washington: The impression with which I first undertook the arduous trust. What explained on the proper occasion in the discharge of this trust, I will only say that I have with good intentions, contributed towards the organization and administration of the government, the best exertions.

Of which a very fallible judgment was capable, not unconscious, in the outset of the inferiority of my qualifications, experience in my own eyes, and perhaps still more in the eyes of others. has strengthened the motives to diffidence of myself, and every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me more and more that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome.[3]

Narrator: Washington then made a call for unity within the Union. In particular, he urged citizens to consider themselves Americans first. Before regional or local identities

George Washington: In contemplating the causes which may disturb our union, it occurs as matter of serious concern that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties by geographical discriminations.

Northern and Southern, Atlantic and Western, whence designing men may endeavor to excite a belief that there is a real difference of local interest and views. One of the expedients of party, to acquire influence within particular districts, is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heart burnings which spring from these misrepresentations.

Because they tend to render alien to each other. Those who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection.[4]

Narrator: One of the most famous sections of the Farewell Address is Washington's warning against party politics.

George Washington: They are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines by which cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government. Destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.

There's an opinion that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the administration of the government and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. But in those of popular character, in governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged.[5]

Narrator: Washington also called on Americans to value education.

His letters to Alexander Hamilton while writing the Farewell Address demonstrate that Washington still valued the idea of a national university, and he had asked Hamilton to add a special paragraph on supporting education in the United States.

George Washington: Promote then, as an object of primary importance, Institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge.

In proportion, as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.[6]

Narrator: And, he wanted to protect the neutrality that had defined the foreign policy of his terms. Washington asked the nation to avoid costly and dangerous foreign entanglements, such as wars, permanent alliances, and exclusive trade arrangements.

George Washington: Observe good faith and justice towards all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all. Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side. And served a veil and even second the odds of influence on the other.[7]

Narrator: These warnings did not just reflect Washington's foresight. They were reactions to the world he saw around him. During his eight years in office, Washington had weathered rebellions, foreign threats, devastating military defeats, and the emergence of two opposing factions, the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans.

He had built a federal workforce from scratch and established the foundation of the modern American military, including the professionalization of the Army and the official formation of a permanent standing Navy. His administration was embattled by strident newspaper criticism, cabinet infighting, looming threats from Britain, and the meddling interference of one very determined Frenchman.

And just like Washington's other decisions, The Farewell Address had its critics. William DeWayne, who had succeeded Benjamin Franklin Beiche at the Aurora, wrote,

Newspaper: You have discharged the loathings of a sick mind. You have collected the aggravating recollections of wounded pride and warmed to the inveteracy of hatred.

Discharge the whole burden of your blazing spirit at the object of your personal dislike, under the form of advice to your beloved country.[8]

Narrator: But, despite the somewhat predictable backlash from the Aurora, the reactions to the Farewell Address were generally warm, if bittersweet. The press generally praised Washington for his Address, recognizing both the momentous nature of his exit, and As well as the wisdom of the warnings contained within.

Newspaper: There is nothing we can say that will fully express the estimation in which his illustrious and important services are held by the citizens of this much favored country. Or that will equally express their regret at being deprived of the continuance of his paternal watchfulness and care.[9]

Narrator: It would not take long for Washington's fears about factionalism and disunity to emerge.

The Address was published just ten weeks before the electoral vote for the next president. And now, the frontrunner had stepped away. While Washington had been elected unanimously before, there would be no consensus in the election of 1796. Here is Sarah Giorgini, series editor for the papers of John Adams at the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Sara Georgini: So Washington's Farewell Address, when it goes wide, everything kind of kicks off. But at the same time, we do have campaigning here. It just doesn't come under the official letterhead of John Adams office. It is done on the sly. It is done through various camps of Adams and Thomas Jefferson. And certainly Hamilton is a prime wielder of power in this chase.

There's all kinds of slander in the press. It's not going to be quite as colorful as what happens in the election of 1800. But at the same time, it is kind of a prequel. So we see a couple of things. We see some questionable creation of ballots. We see some pamphleteering that has all kinds of really character assassinations for and against Adams and Washington in different ways.

We see a lot of proxy battles in the press. We see some little social divisions that happen. Adams and Jefferson try to stay out of it as much as they can. So there's a lot of scrambling this time around with the election. There's a lot more regional division. There's a lot of people who have been thinking about things like the shipping depredations, about the domestic insurgencies, about taxation in new ways during the Washington years.

And they kind of held their fire while Washington was president. And now they have some things they want Addressed. They now expect a president to Address grievances and wrongs and to push the government forward in ways that they didn't expect from Washington.

Narrator: The election of 1796 was a close one, but Adams would emerge as the second president of the United States.

Adams had served eight years as Washington's vice president, but now it was time to take the main role. How would Adams build upon Washington's legacy?

Sara Georgini: I think Washington thought about the good of the country. And certainly in Adams, he saw the qualifications, although they differed from his own, that were needed to lead it in the next stage.

You know, Washington is much older. He is a veteran. He is someone who has seen a great deal more of war physically, emotionally in every way than Adams has. Adams has seen the world, he has dealt with kings and queens and public intellectuals all over Europe, he has argued for money and for goods and for arms. They come from very different sets of experience.

And I think Washington understood probably that that wasn't a bad thing. He didn't want to have a Washington part deux come in and necessarily take on the role. And I think that's extraordinary. He didn't say, I'm going to put someone forward. I'm not going to say Hamilton. But he didn't want to put someone forward who is a copycat.

He saw that the American people could handle one leader who is different than the predecessor, but had the same goals at heart. I think that's kind of remarkable for both of them, actually, that they respected each other's differences and still had a great degree of trust in handing over the office. So Washington has set up an amazing bureaucracy and really great protocols.

He came in like any good general and put the house in order. And I think that Adams, You know, that was not his gift. So it's good that that was done for him. So he had a cabinet in place that he could turn to, and he does almost immediately. He had a fairly engaged, if not always pacific congress that he could work with.

He had a growing judiciary. He had systematic placement of appointments for consular, diplomatic, and other lucrative local posts that I've mentioned. So there's a system in place. Washington got that up and running, and that's good, because like any 18th century person, John Adams thinks in systems. So the system of government is working.

It's something he can walk into on the first day.

Narrator: But there was still much room to build the presidency. Although he only served for one term, Adams would establish important precedents of his own.

Sara Georgini: The thing that he makes his own is, I'm going to say, the foreign policy agenda of the country for the next couple of years.

So, he thinks creatively about how to implement the Jay Treaty. So, thinking about how to balance our neutrality with opening up America to the world, that is something that Adams does. Thirdly, with France, he'll say it, he keeps the peace. It is not easy to do that. That is a great legacy to be able to hold back the U. S. from war while also putting in place the tools they'll need if a war comes, i. e. a navy, a working army. all kinds of money that he can get out of Congress to fund those in a regular manner. So he does his job of evolving the system a little bit more that he inherits from Washington, but I do think a lot of his greatest legacy is gonna come after the election of 1800.

Narrator: In 1800, Adams would lose the presidential election to his longtime political rival, Thomas Jefferson. The election had been a contentious one, but Following Washington's example, Adams peacefully left office. In his State of the Union Address, Jefferson chose to echo Washington's sentiments from the Farewell Address, proving that, despite their political differences, Washington's presidency had lasting influence on the executive branch.

Sara Georgini: There's really no democracy until there's a peaceful transfer of power. America didn't invent the peaceful transfer of power in a democracy to make that definition come true, but we do engrave it in our history after that moment. So the idea that an election can be so close and so difficult and he can still turn over the office of the presidency because it doesn't belong to him.

That power belongs to the people. It's something that even he and Jefferson can agree on. It's so remarkable.

Peter Kastor: So Washington's most important legacy as president is the notion that a president could hold office, could be invested with significant and powerful public institutions, but that that president would nonetheless respect the constitutional powers of the other branches of government and would then surrender power.

Narrator: In making this podcast, we asked each of our contributing scholars what they considered to be Washington's most significant legacy. This is the response from Peter Kastor, the Samuel K. Eddy Professor of History and American Culture Studies at Washington University in St. Louis.

Peter Kastor: It seems so obvious that that's what a president would do, but because there had been no president, there was no precedent.

And I also think we need to look at Washington's contemporaries. Soon after Washington was elected, there were a series of other leaders who were also doing things new. These were the first people to lead countries in the Atlantic system in the absence of monarchs. Uh, and I think here of Napoleonic France, I think of revolutionary Haiti and I think of revolutionary Spanish American.

And in all of these places, the presidencies that emerged from them, or the heads of government almost all became dictatorships who had people who would not surrender power. You had people who used the institutions of government against their own citizens. You had people who used government to enrich themselves personally, and there was no evidence that Washington did any of those things.

Narrator: There are few examples in history of a leader willingly surrendering power. Washington did it twice. First, when he resigned as Commander in Chief in 1783, and then again in 1796, when he published the Farewell Address. Of all Washington's precedents, this may have been one of the most significant for the United States.

These precedents, of course, included momentous firsts for the nation. The first State of the Union. The creation of the cabinet. Executive oversight for foreign diplomacy. But it also included a legacy of leadership, character, and sacrifice for the United States. And it is here that Washington's example shines.

Here is Lindsay Chervinsky, presidential historian and author of the upcoming book Making the Presidency.

Lindsay Chervinsky: There are three ways that Washington left an extraordinary legacy for the nation. The first is the creation of the cabinet. I think the creation of the cabinet is the most underappreciated and one of the more significant legacies that a president has ever created.

Every president has had one. They are a central part of the U. S. government. No foreign policy, legislative, military, diplomatic decision is created without a cabinet or without a department secretary that is in the cabinet, and yet we tend to not see it as the central force in an executive branch. The second legacy that can't be overlooked is the two-term legacy.

Washington understood that power corrupts. Washington understood that people should not stay in office for too long. And he decided to leave office for a couple of reasons. He also understood that the process of an election, of a transfer of power, Was going to be new and it was going to be scary and he didn't want it to happen when he died.

He wanted it to be intentional. He wanted it to be deliberate over a period of time that there would be an election process and he wanted to be around such that he could give his legitimacy to that practice, to start to teach Americans how to cultivate these political norms because they have to be taught and cherished and cultivated over decades to gain any sort of power.

The third legacy is one of service. Washington spent most of his life doing things he didn't want to do for the good of the nation and tried to put the nation over his personal interests. During the war, that meant he was never home and home was his very favorite place to be. And he tried to do the very best he could with those decisions, but it wasn't what he would have chosen for himself if he had the choice.

And so the ethos of service, the ethos of trying to be the best version of yourself for the nation, is one that starts with Washington and we often take for granted but really shouldn't.

Narrator: What made Washington so successful in the role of first president? As both a general and a president, Washington faced failure often.

But it was his response to these setbacks that distinguished his leadership style. Here is Rick Atkinson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and author of The Revolution Trilogy, on his view of Washington's leadership.

Rick Atkinson: Everyone should understand that he has feet of clay, just like the rest of us. He is a flawed man, just like all men and women are flawed.

The fact that in the course of his life, he owns more than 500 slaves, that there are more than 300 slaves at Mount Vernon when he dies in December 1799. You cannot square that circle morally. And we shouldn't try to. We can try and understand it within the context of his times, but we ought not be inclined to excuse slavery as an institution.

So, he's part and parcel of that. He's part and parcel of the planter aristocracy that conceived of slavery in America and helped it perpetuate it. On the other hand, and there's always another hand, I think we've got to acknowledge his virtues, of which he has many. His persistence, his determination to serve a cause larger than himself, which is something he truly believes in.

But he's got a personal relationship with the concepts of Stoicism, that Roman philosophy that still persists in our culture today, which helps him to get through tough times, as it has helped many to get through tough times. I think understanding that aspect of his personal makeup. His philosophical makeup is important.

It helps explain who he is and why he's successful to some extent. I think one of the things that any leader can appreciate about Washington is his adaptability. He can be rigid about certain things, but for the most part, he is not rigid. He is flexible. And he is even more important than that. He's adaptable.

When he has setbacks during the revolution, he abandons effectively the strategy that he would like to pursue, which is all out aggression where armies line up and duke it out on some field someplace, and instead adopts a strategy of, you know, A strategic defense where he is falling back. He's not allowing the British to land a solid blow against him.

And that kind of adaptability and issues large and small is a hallmark of his success as a president. He sees that he's got to be given to compromise. He's got to acknowledge that the other fellow either has the upper hand politically, or he's got a better idea. And when he's able to be most successful, I think, whether it's as a general or as a political leader, it's when he is using this natural instinct for adaptability.

Narrator: Adaptability, self sacrifice, and a willingness To give up power are common refrains in Washington's legacy, but it is also important to remember the man behind the myth. Washington was not without his flaws, as he himself was aware. Even in his Farewell Address, he acknowledged his mistakes and asked for forgiveness from Americans.

Ramin Ganeshram, author of The General's Cook, gave us this insight.

Ramin Ganeshram: I think that Washington was probably the only person in the history of this nation who had he spoken publicly against the institution of slavery could have brought people who were on the fence over to the abolitionist side. I think that he was so admired that at his word, at least some percentage of the people would have given serious thought to finding appropriate solutions.

And what I mean by that is solutions that were not economically devastating to the nation to end slavery.

Narrator: Washington's time as president ended on March 4th, 1797. Just a few days later, he left Philadelphia to return to his beloved Mount Vernon with his family. A month later, he wrote to Dr. James Anderson:

George Washington: I am once more seated under my own vine and fig tree, and I hope to spend the remainder of my days in peaceful retirement, making political pursuits yield to the more rational amusements of cultivating the earth.[10]

Narrator: Washington devoted his remaining years to restoring Mount Vernon. Despite Washington's wish for a peaceful retirement, visitors would flood Mount Vernon after the presidency. Ever since the Revolution, Mount Vernon had become a place of pilgrimage, and this would continue after Washington returned in 1797.

Washington would wake early in his retirement. He would dress in his study and take breakfast at 7 a. m. before riding out to supervise the plantation's activities for the day. Over the years, he would His family grew. He watched his beloved Nelly Custis marry his nephew, Lawrence Lewis. Their first child was born at Mount Vernon.

Then, on a cold December day in 1799, Washington went out for a ride in a blitz of snow, rain, and hail. A day later, He would ride out again in the midst of heavy snow, despite complaining of a sore throat. His condition would quickly deteriorate. And on December 14th, 1799, just two years after leaving the presidency, Washington passed away at his beloved Mount Vernon, with Martha at his side.

Rick Atkinson: He was famously eulogized by, uh, Light Horse Harry Lee as first in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen. That still rings, doesn't it? I mean, not only is it a wonderful turn of phrase, but all these years later, we can look back and think, well, that pretty well captured who he was. And it captures how we think about him, it captures how we think about him historically, and why we still feel an emotional connection to it.

That's a vital thing for us as a people, to have that connectivity to a man who died more than two centuries ago. His voluntary surrender of power, his recognition of the importance of the other branches of government, his acknowledgment of a vital role in military affairs, For the legislative branch of government, these are things he invents.

They're things that are not a given when he exceeds to authority. I think that we owe him a great debt for the durability of these institutions within institutions that he helped to create. An acknowledgment that as the father of our country, it's a cliche, there's a lot to be said for him as a progenitor.

A progenitor of ideas, a progenitor of institutions, a progenitor of standards. All of these things that have helped to make the republic endure as long as it has.

Narrator: The Farewell Address remains a core part of Washington's legacy. Since 1896, the Address has been recited annually in the Senate to celebrate Washington's birthday.

Beginning in the 19th century, schools throughout the United States have used the Address to teach students about civic responsibility and the legacy of Washington's leadership. Much has changed since Washington first took office in 1789, but the lessons from his leadership still resonate today

More than ever, it is important to understand the origins and development of the presidency and the examples left behind by George Washington. Here is Patrick Spero, former executive director of the George Washington presidential library.

Patrick Spero: Washington's presidency and actually all the presidencies in this early period are so important to still study because they were facing issues that have So much resonance with today, we hand leaders in the past who are able to navigate these challenges, and these problems and the lessons that we can take from them, whether it was success in a good approach or bad decisions that can really help inform our path forward today when we talk about debt, when we talk about the role of the federal government, when we talk about diplomatic crises, all of these things were things that Washington faced, and they were very similar to issues that we have today. Now it's not to say that what Washington did is exactly what we should do today or not, but studying them helps you think through the issues today with, I think, an important lens.

The past isn't a guide to the future, but the more knowledge you have about the past, the better informed you are about making decisions that will shape the future.

Narrator: And here, we end, just as Washington did, with his parting words to the nation, in his Farewell Address.

George Washington: I anticipate, with pleasing expectation, sweet enjoyments of partaking in the midst of my fellow citizens the benign influence Of good laws under a free government.

The ever favorite object of my heart. And the happy reward, as I trust, of our mutual cares, labors, and dangers.[11]

Narrator: Inventing the Presidency is a production of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association and CD Squared Productions. This episode was written and directed by Dr. Anne Fertig. Audio production was done by Curt Dahl of CD Squared Productions. Production assistant was Jacob Cameron. Narration by Tom Plott. With additional voice acting by Dan Shippey, Matt Mattingly, and Sarah Louise Huebschen.

Additional fact checking was performed by Dr. Alexandra Montgomery. Our logo was created by Caitlin Prange. We would like to thank all our contributing scholars to this episode. Dr. Sarah Georgini, Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky, Dr. Peter Kastor, Ramin Ganeshram, Dr. Joseph Adelman, and Rick Atkinson. To hear more great podcasts from Mount Vernon and the George Washington Presidential Library, visit George Washington podcast.com or go to www.mountvernon.org.

Notes

[1] George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison. “Washington’s Farewell Address To The People Of The United States,”  (States Senate Historical Office: Washington DC, 2017). https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Washingtons_Farewell_Address.pdf

[2] “Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis to Lewis William Washington, January 1, 1852.” Letter. Peter Family Papers,  The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. http://catalog.mountvernon.org/digital/collection/p16829coll39/id/112

[3] Washington et. al.  “Washington’s Farewell Address To The People Of The United States,”  https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Washingtons_Farewell_Address.pdf

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Jasper Dwight (William Duane), A Letter for George Washington, President of the united States: Containing Strictures on his Address of the Seventeenth of September, 1796, Notifying his Relinquishment of the Presidential Office (Printed for the author by Benjamin Franklin Bache: Philadelphia, 1796).

[9] "The Daily Advertiser. New-York, September 21." Daily Advertiser (New York, New York) XI, no. 3625, September 21, 1796: [3]. 

[10] “From George Washington to James Anderson (of Scotland), 7 April 1797,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/06-01-02-0059. 

[11] Washington et. al.  “Washington’s Farewell Address To The People Of The United States,”  https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Washingtons_Farewell_Address.pdf