Donald Trump, George Washington and Joe Biden (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images) Facebook X Reddit Email Save It was the first anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol .

It used to be one of the most widely read political documents in the country, but President George Washington’s farewell address has now become largely forgotten by the public.

President George Washington issued his Farewell Address on this day in history, Sept. 19, 1796. He spoke proudly of the new nation but also warned of the dangers of party politics.

Each year, President Washington's Farewell Address is read in its entirety by a U.S. Senator on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Clip 1 Clip 2 Clip 3. George Washington's Farewell Address.

George Washington used the light of this brass candle stand while laboring over his farewell address in 1796. Richard Strauss / NMAH George Washington was a man of many talents.

In 1796, George Washington struck six pointed sentences from his Farewell Address. I’d largely forgotten about them—the final address contains enough wisdom to fill volumes—until, on a whim ...

On September 19, 1796, a Philadelphia newspaper published one of the greatest documents in American history: George Washington’s Farewell Address.

Senator Shaheen (D-NH) read George Washington's 1796 Farewell Address. The reading is done annually in the Senate.

On George Washington’s birthday, his farewell address unites a divided Senate. The annual reading of the Founder’s nonpartisan speech began in violently partisan times and continues in them today.

As the United States inaugurates Joseph R. Biden as our 46th president, we look to the prescient words of President George Washington’s Farewell Address.