PODCAST · arts

Presidential Farewell and Last Addresses by Various

by ciesse

This collection will put in one place, all the Farewell (or last) Addresses made by each of the 43 ex-US presidents.The first, George Washington's "Farewell Address", issued as a public letter in 1796, was one of the most influential statements of republicanism. Drafted primarily by Washington himself, with help from Hamilton, it gives advice on the necessity and importance of national union, the value of the Constitution and the rule of law, the evils of political parties, and the proper virtues of a republican people. He called morality "a necessary spring of popular government". He said, "Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."Washington's public political address warned against foreign influence in domestic affairs and American meddling in European affairs. He warned against bitter part