Washington’s Farewell
Since 1862, the United States Senate observes Washington’s birthday by reading his 1796 Farewell Address aloud, and today is that day once again. The Address is usually read by a freshman senator, alternates between political parties, and takes about 45 minutes to read. The senators then sign their name into the black leather book pictured to the left. Senator Mike Johanns of Nebraska read the Address this morning, hopefully leading to much thoughtful contemplation by all members of the Senate.
But why? The tradition began on February 22, 1862, ironically the same day that Jefferson Davis inaugurated himself as the first (and only) President of the Confederate States of America. The reading of the Address was meant to boost morale at one of the darkest times of the Civil War. Tennessee Senator Andrew Johnson, who introduced the petition in the Senate, said, “In view of the perilous condition of the country, I think the time has arrived when we should recur back to the days, the times, and the doings of Washington and the patriots of the Revolution, who founded the government under which we live.”
Washington’s Farewell Address had three themes: first, a warning about harmful “political factionalism in the country,” and a plea to, “unite for the good of the country;” second, a warning to “avoid permanent foreign alliances;” and third, a call for morality as, “a necessary part of popular government.” His words are as relevant now as they were in 1796, and it is this continuing relevancy that leads the United States Senate to devote time every year to Washington’s last words to his “Friends and Citizens.”
