Washington’s Farewell Address to the People of the United States.

WASHINGTON, George.

Item Number: 116055

Schenectady: Published For The Washington Benevolent Society, 1810.

Rare 1810 printing of Washington’s famed farewell address. Small octavo, bound in one quarter contemporary calf over marbled boards with gilt titles to the spine, engraved frontispiece portrait of Washington, partially printed certificate admitting James Murdoch as a member of the Washington Benevolent Society of the county of Schenectady. In very good condition. A desirable example.

George Washington wrote the present address near the end of his second term as President, before his retirement to his home in Mount Vernon. It was originally published in David C. Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser on September 19, 1796 under the title "The Address of General Washington To The People of The United States on his declining of the Presidency of the United States," and it was almost immediately reprinted in newspapers across the country and later in a pamphlet form. The work was later named a "Farewell Address," as it was Washington's valedictory after 20 years of service to the new nation. It is a classic statement of republicanism, warning Americans of the political dangers which they must avoid if they are to remain true to their values.