His decision to remain neutral during the French Revolutionary War set a groundbreaking precedent of neutrality for years to come. Owl Eyes is an improved reading and annotating experience for classrooms, book clubs, and literature lovers. (Credit: Mark Wilson/Newsmakers), In his farewell from the Oval Office in January 2001, Bill Clinton stressed the accomplishments of his presidency (chief among them a booming U.S. economy) and urged the nation to treat its diverse population with “fairness and dignity, regardless of their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation and regardless of when they arrived in our country, always moving toward the more perfect union of our founders’ dreams.”, George W. Bush opened his farewell address on January 15, 2009, by calling the election of his successor, Barack Obama, “a moment of hope and pride for our whole nation.” He referred back to the first time he addressed the nation from the White House, after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The 32-page, over 6,000-word handwritten address was printed in Philadelphia’s American Daily Advertiser. In the modern era, as radio and television made it possible for the president to address the nation more directly and immediately, the frequency of the farewell address increased greatly. He reluctantly stayed on for a second term, for which he was unanimously elected. Truman also invoked the horrors of a potential third world war, this time with nuclear weapons: “Starting an atomic war is totally unthinkable for rational men.”, President Dwight D. Eisenhower presenting his farewell address to the Nation. To announce his decision not to seek a third term as President, George Washington presented his Farewell Address in a newspaper article September 17, 1796. “You may not agree with some of the tough decisions I have made. "Belligerent Powers..."  In his “Farewell Address,” Washington devotes a good deal of effort to advancing the policy of isolationism: remaining uninvolved in the affairs of other nations. One of the first was George Washington's Farewell Address, the final address given to the American people by George Washington. During the French Revolutionary Wars, which lasted between 1792 and 1802, France engaged in wars all across Europe and eventually, across the world. In 1796, Washington asked Hamilton to revise Madison’s first draft and amend the section on foreign affairs and neutrality. This lesson was created by 2016-2017 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Joanne Howard.

Privacy | Terms of Service, Endpaper from Journeys Through Bookland, Charles Sylvester, 1922, "the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest....", "In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, my Proclamation of the 22d of April 1793, is the index to my Plan....", "Religion and Morality are indispensable supports....", "those overgrown military establishments...", "The North, in an unrestrained intercourse with the South...", "unanimous advice of persons entitled to my confidence impelled me to abandon the idea....", "had even led to the preparation of an address to declare it to you...", "Philadelphia Daily American Advertiser...", "to the permanency of your felicity as a people...". Richard Nixon, who resigned in disgrace in 1974 after the Watergate scandal, didn’t neglect to make a farewell speech—two of them, in fact. Washington's Farewell Address is a letter written by American President George Washington as a valedictory to "friends and the fellow-citizens" after 20 years of public service to the United States. See in text (Text of Washington's Address). See in text (Text of Washington's Address). "honesty is always the best policy...."  | 106-21 - Washington's Farewell Address to the People of the United States - January 2000 PDF Details The 32-page address, originally published in the American Daily Advertiser on September 19, 1796, opened by explaining his rationale for leaving the presidency, despite pressure from the public and others in government to seek a third term in office. On December 14, 1799, only about three years after this farewell address, Washington died in Mount Vernon. He turned to James Madison (1751–1836), then a Representative from Virginia, to draft a message for the American people. 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