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.

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 ...

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.

In reflecting upon the farewell address, it’s easy to see that the very issues Washington focused on—political rivalry, foreign affairs—“are still relevant today,” Rubenstein said.

Since 1896, the United States Senate has marked Washington's birthday by having a member read the Farewell Address aloud in a legislative session. According to family tradition, President Washington ...

Alexis Coe wants you to read George Washington’s Farewell Address. She calls it a “ shockingly modern document ” for something that was written in a late-18th century agricultural society.

On September 19, 1796, George Washington published his Farewell Address. In it, America’s “founding father” announced his retirement and explained his reasons for not seeking a third term as ...

As President George Washington prepared to leave office after his first term was winding down, he asked his friend James Madison, himself a future president, to help him write a farewell address ...

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 ...

Single page of George Washington's Farewell Address, 1796. (George Washington Relics, New York State Library) George Washington dress sword (detail) from the 18th century.