Washington's Farewell Address...

Item # 703206

September 29, 1796

UNITED STATES CHRONICLE, Providence, Rhode Island, Sept. 29, 1796

* President George Washington
* Farewell Address (retirement)

If there was a list of the most historic utterances of the post-Revolutionary War era, this issue would have to rank the top.
All of pages 1 and 2, and nearly a column of page 3 are taken up with an address: "To The People of the United States: Friends and Fellow Citizens", more commonly known as Washington's Farewell Address.
The nation's first President announces his retirement from politics and explains why he decided against running for a third term.
In the address, Washington cites many of the achievements of his administration & begins: "The period of a new election of a citizen to administer the executive government of the United States being not far distant...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...".
His decision would also initiate the acid test for the still-young democratic process: a peaceful transfer of power. This was essentially unknown to much of the Western world.
The speech, signed by him in script type on page 3: G. Washington, was never delivered orally by Washington but did appear in various newspapers. We have rarely had the opportunity to offer this in an American newspaper.
Four pages, wide, never-trimmed margins, handsome engravings in the masthead, very nice condition.

AI notes: George Washington’s 1796 Farewell Address announced his decision not to seek a third term and offered key advice to the nation. He urged unity among states, warned against political parties and foreign alliances, emphasized the importance of religion, morality, and education, and advised fiscal responsibility. The address became a lasting guide for American principles and policy.