Washington Publishes Farewell Address in Philadelphia

Context

By the mid-1790s the United States operated under its new federal Constitution, with institutions including a presidency, bicameral Congress, and federal courts already in place. The young republic confronted internal strains such as the Whiskey Rebellion and external pressures arising from the French Revolutionary Wars and unresolved disputes with Great Britain over trade and territory.

What Happened

Partisan alignments had crystallized between Federalists, who favored a stronger central government and commercial ties with Britain, and Democratic-Republicans, who leaned toward states’ rights and greater sympathy for France. These differences surfaced in debates over treaties and fiscal policy, testing the cohesion of the constitutional system that Washington had helped launch.

Aftermath

Washington had contemplated retirement after his first term in 1792 but agreed to serve a second amid the escalating rivalries between Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. As his second term neared its close, he prepared a public message announcing he would not seek a third term.

Legacy

With assistance from Hamilton, who revised and largely drafted the text based on an earlier outline by James Madison, Washington finalized the address. It appeared on September 19, 1796, in Claypoole’s American Daily Advertiser in Philadelphia, roughly ten weeks before presidential electors would vote in the 1796 election. The letter defended the constitutional government, warned against the corrosive effects of political factions and sectional loyalties, and advised temporary rather than permanent foreign connections.