In 1792, George Washington was prepared to retire as the first president of the United States. To that end, Washington, with James Madison, wrote a farewell address to the public of the United States of America. Faced with the unanimous objections of his Cabinet, however, Washington agreed to stand for another term. Finally, in 1796, Washington refused a third term. Dusting off his previous address, Washington and Alexander Hamilton rewrote it. Technically speaking, it was not an address, or a speech, but an open letter to the public published in almost all American newspapers. Washington’s fellow Americans gave it its title as the first president’s valedictory to public service for the new republic.
