Why Washington's Farewell Address Still Resonates
By Francis P. Sempa
October 12, 2024
“First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen,” wrote Henry “Lighthorse Harry” Lee of the nation’s first president George Washington. After successfully commanding the colonial and later the American armed forces in the War of Independence against Great Britain, Washington, like Rome’s hero Cincinnatus, returned to his farm only to be summoned back by popular will to lead the nation in peacetime. As President of the United States, Washington spent eight years endeavoring to unify the new nation and keep it out of foreign wars. He succeeded brilliantly. Near the end of his presidency, Washington issued his Farewell Address, which first appeared in the Philadelphia Daily American Advertiser 228 years ago on September 19, 1796. It is truly a document for the ages, and its wisdom and counsel still resonate today.
One of the best books on Washington’s Farewell Address was written in 2017 by John Avlon, the former editor-in-chief of the Daily Beast, former CNN anchor, and currently a candidate for New York’s 1st congressional district. Avlon called the Farewell Address “an autobiography of ideas,” and noted that Alexander Hamilton and James Madison contributed to its content. Though Washington has been compared to Cincinnatus, his favorite classical philosopher was the Roman Seneca, who prized virtue, moderation, and temperance above all else. Avlon wrote that the Farewell Address contained “six broad pillars of liberty”: national unity, political moderation, fiscal discipline, public virtue and religion, education, and foreign policy.
Washington’s 19th century successors as president invariably invoked the Farewell Address when commenting on foreign policy, and since 1893, the U.S. Senate has had a member read the Farewell Address on Washington’s birthday. But in the 20th century and in the 21st century, many of America’s leaders have mostly ignored Washington’s ageless counsel when formulating and implementing domestic and foreign policies. As a result, our nation today is divided and politically polarized, without fiscal discipline, hostile to virtue and religion, under-educated, and over-committed in foreign policy. The cures for these national maladies can be found in the Farewell Address.
https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2024/10/12/why_washingtons_farewell_address_still_resonates_1064780.html
