[Washington, George] Broadside of Washington's Farewell Address. "Address of the Late General George Washington, to the Citizens of the United States, on Declining Re-election to the Office of President." Hartford: Hudson and Goodwin, [1800]. Folio broadside, 17 x 21 in. Text is printed in five columns. The address was first published in David Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser on Sept. 19, 1796.
In small part: "…In looking forward to the moment, which is intended to terminate the career of my public life, my feelings do not permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country, for the many honors it has conferred upon me…." He expresses the hope that "the free Constitution, which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained--that its administration…may be stamped with wisdom and virtue--that…the happiness of the people of these states, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete, by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing, as will acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affection, and adoption of every nation which is yet a stranger to it.
Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But solicitude for your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger natural to that solicitude, urge me…to offer.the disinterested warnings of a parting friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias his counsels…. The Unity of Government which constitutes you one people…is a main Pillar in the Edifice of your real independence…your tranquility at home; your peace abroad…. But as it is easy to foresee, that, from different causes, and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth…. You should properly estimate the immense value of your national Union to your collective and individual happiness…indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our Country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts…."
The broadside is unevenly toned and margins are trimmed close to the ornamental border; minor paper loss along vertical and horizontal folds affects a few letters; right side has a 10½ in. repaired tear. Evans 38983. Sabin 101596. Another example sold recently for $16,000. Estimated Value $500 - 1,000
U.S. Presidents
