Major points of George Washington's Farewell Address

Washington's Farewell

A Summary and Analysis of George Washington's 1796 Farewell Address on Leaving the Presidency

There are many reasons that George Washington is remembered as one of the United States of America's greatest founding fathers. Regardless of whether the famous cherry tree story of his childhood is based on historical fact or mythological wishful thinking, Washington conducted himself with great honesty, forthrightness, and honor in his adult life. His military and political service showed not only his heroism and his determination, but also his integrity and his undying commitment to his principles. But it is not just in the details of his leadership that Washington's greatest can be recognized and admired, but it can also be seen in the way he chose to end his leadership. In his 1796 farewell address, Washington outlines the reasons he will not be seeking a third term as the President of the United States and his hopes for the nation that he was so instrumental in creating and guiding in its first years.

Washington starts by explaining that he will not be seeking reelection, and then goes on to explain why. He stresses that it is not due to a lack of "gratitude which I owe to my beloved country for the many honors it has conferred upon me," or because he has not received the support he required from his nation and its citizens, but rather simply because he feels he has reached an age where he must retire, and feels that "patriotism does not forbid it." He is incredibly careful in the opening paragraphs to express extreme graciousness to the nation as a whole and its statesmen in particular, thanking everyone profusely for having trusted him for so long. He is also very calculating in the way he uses this praise to lay he foundations for the next, more fundamental and far more extensively detailed message in his farewell address.

One of the comments Washington makes just before his transition is that if he is due any praise for services he has rendered to his country, it should "always be remembered to your praise, and as an instructive example in our annals." In this way, he begins to makes his case for the continued unity and solidarity for this new, large, and diverse country. This is the larger theme of his address, and by introducing it this way he ties his point to his prominence as a person and his stature as a national leader without explicitly invoking these things to sway his readers' minds. This enables him to maintain a high degree of humility while still recalling to everyone's minds how much he has been trusted and listened to in the past. Though both his appearance of humility and his earnest belief in his advice may be accurate and true, his ability to invoke both while still using his political and persona weight demonstrates his rhetorical skill.

The reasons he provides for encouraging the continued unity of the nation are made no less valid by the fact that they are presented in a calculated rhetorical manner. He begins by enumerating the various values and dependencies of the various regions of the new country -- North, South, East, and West -- and stresses that this mutual dependency ought to be reason enough alone for the Union to stay together. Again, his decision to begin with the merits of the union is a calculation to enamor the argument with all possible readers before continuing into the somewhat more controversial portion of his argument. After stressing that all regions both contribute to and depend upon the union of all, he suggests that the prime reasons that the union might not succeed are for geographical regions: "Is there a doubt whether a common government can embrace so large a sphere? Let experience solve it." He demands that the experiment of large-scale democracy continue.