George Washington is remembered as the general who won the Revolutionary War and the first president of a new republic. He is less often thought of as a great orator. Nevertheless, Washington’s “Farewell Address,” delivered as he left the presidency to return to private life, won admirers when Washington first published it in September 1796 and has continued to be widely studied ever since. In this seminar we will consider how Washington’s “Farewell Address” can help us understand the roots of political polarization, America’s place in the world, and how free men and women can preserve a republic. We will also consider the role of rhetoric, as distinct from lawmaking and warfighting, in founding a regime.
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