Transcripts For CSPAN3 President George Washingtons Farewell

CSPAN3 President George Washingtons Farewell Address August 12, 2017

Signing following this program. So please join me today and welcoming my guess, john. [applause] john i am honored to be here. It is a great thing to talk about George Washington. [laughter] it tells us a lot. John, how did you get interested in the project, and why is it of interest today to think of washingtons farewell address . John imagine if George Alexander set out hamilton in james madison, and wrote a memo to future generations, to us, specifically about the forces he feared that could destroy our democratic republic . Wrote the word lessons of his life and understanding of history . He did not. That is the farewell address. He wrote it a block from here. He wrote it over a period of years as the autobiography of his ideas. And it really was the total of his hard wisdom, drawing on all the aspects of his life. As a soldier, a surveyor, farmer, a statesman, and washington does not always get the respect he deserves as a thinker. As a man of great wisdom. He wasnt the most brilliant of the Founding Fathers. He wasnt a shining wit. He was enormously insecure about his own capacities to serve as president as opposed to the great confidence he felt as a general, farmer. But he really did cultivate his character consciously in an attempt to create the national character. And the farewell address is the enormous gift. It was understood that it was widely reprinted in the declaration of independence for the first 150 years of our republic. It was that foundational, consulted by statesmen and digital moments in history as a lens to which to guide their own decisions. The fact that it fell out of favor and is now almost it was a great opportunity for us to rediscover it at a pivotal moment. People are trying to understand the largest forces of history that we sometimes recklessly play with. And understand it as part of our birthright, this whole center is devoted to that. The city is about it the center is devoted to that. The recognizing we have a responsibility to understand our history, and apply it to the present to pass it to the future. That farewell address is an inspiring contribution. It is durable wisdom. That is why was an honor to write the book. Thee are going to get into real substance of the address in a moment. I want to put it into context first. Maybe a good place to begin doing that is with recognizing that this isnt the First Federal address he gaze. Getting farewell addresses is something he have thought about before. John he had aging is for goodbyes. [laughter] john key understood he understood. It is a measurement of his innate honesty. And his understanding of politics that he new that absence could be a higher form of presence. The person being pursued is always more desirable than the person doing the pursuing. Washingtons first though will address, was when he resigned his commission as commander of the continental army. And you have to understand that in a life full of first, this was really the first decisive moment, and it was famous in its time. George the third in england literally said when being confronted with the fact that washington was about to resign his commission going to private life, he allegedly said, if you do does that, he will be the greatest men of the world. That was not the pattern. The pattern that history had provided over and over again, is that the young rebellious leader would buys up against the tyrant , would topple the king and become a tyrant himself. That was a pattern of history. Almost whether friction as a en as ale almost writt fairytale. And after winning the war, when officers,a mutiny of people trying to get him to take control and become the new king, he steps off the stage, but when he does that, he is stationed in newburgh, new york, fascinating on the hamlet near hudson river, and his headquarters at the end of the revolutionary war still stands. Was inn itself disrepair, but has a wonderful history, but i recommend everyone visited. Spacegton writes in that in this house, his farewell address to the nation, and he cuts his own quells. He was a voluminous writer of letters and he writes a circular letter to the states. It was a letter sent to the legislatures of the state, and disseminated organically that way. He says, look, you all the citizens of this new republic may be celebrating, and that is great, but this is a time of great peril, time of crisis because now it falls to us to show that we can govern ourselves, and every other nation in the world is waiting for us to fail. All the old colonial powers. Advantages of the geography, and he spoke a lot about geography. About our great advantage of being separated by an ocean. About being blessed by a beautiful soil and climate. But it was going to be up to us to hang together because remember, another bit of wisdom was that no democracy could be on the same scale as ours. Collings never 13 colonies. This was a responsibility that american citizens had to show we could succeed as a republic. To do that, we have to find a common purpose, to focus on national unity. HadContinental Congress been hopelessly divided and they could not get their act together with regard to funding the continental army. And they needed to really focus on the responsibility of the civic people to be invested in the success of society and use education and religion as a way of binding the nation together. He talked about the importance of paying your debts, whether it was on the federal level, the state level, crucially to the soldiers. That was a great source of pain leading to his sense of the session. So, already you saw washington , a commitmentkers to national unity, focus on Building National character. An idea that education and religion could help that. A sense the pain down debts was important and contain hyper partisanship. Was inthat wisdom washington. The also recommended that we had an independent executive he also recommended that we have an then heent executive left the stage. That first level was called his farewell for a long time. That was almost as famous as his farewell address, but it predated his presidency. And that was an important document that was largely forgotten, but establishes that the farewell address of washingtons ideas these are not hamilton goes riding this is not hamilton goes riding. Washington was a man of deep ideas and understanding of history. And you get that continuity clearly from his first farewell. Once he has become president , and this is discussed in this wonderful book, by the way, which i wish we could go through page by page, but we will not quite the able to do that, but once he get back onto the stage, he understands something he has to do as president , which are talk about a lot and that is set a series precedents. And so, this farewell address will become a precedent. Before we get to that, what are other precedents he is trying to set in the first and second term . N what is so fascinating when you think about it, as carefully written as the constitution was, and why places like this are inviolable tour civic education, it is a framework. What you fill it with was largely up to the president and the congress to create those precedents. And the First Congress in lower manhattan, and i am probably from new york city with a dual with legal dual citizenship of charleston, south carolina, but in those cramped, new york is a place that reinvents itself. The First Congress took place in federal hall. That building does not exist any longer. They are debating how much the president should be considered a king. John adams considered him at an elevated title. The city of new york ponies up to spruce up their city hall to make it appropriate for congress. The congressional library, the most popular book in a library in the First Congress, is decline and fall of the roman empire. This was onmuch their minds, they were consciously writing the constitution, trying to learn the lessons of history so they did not follow the path of all the filter public before them. Said, therehn adams hasnt been a democracy that has not committed suicide. There is an enormous griping of inefficiencies of congress. An enormous amount of frustration of the partisanship crating deadlocks. They are supportive of the bill of rights, but this is before the Political Parties spoke. Washington is probably not a member of a political party. He is an independent as a matter of principle. What is also fascinating about that First Congress is, the founders assumed the balance of power set up would be enough of a check and balance, and peoples constituencies and personal believes would not provide enough basis of debate. Thing is that going back to the constitutional debate, there is a natural cleaving into two very recognizable groups. Folks from our rural areas are tremendously concerned about the overreach of federal power. They impose ratification of the constitution as a result. That powery felt would impinge upon their freedom and way of life. Then there are folks who favor a much stronger Central Government who come from cities. Dippyivision is reminiscent is deeply reminiscent of red states and blue states today, between urban and rural. Think washington sees himself as someone who can try to bridge the divide because he recognized people on both sides. Even though he is stronger on the central side. He recognizes that both groups are fighting for freedom and he once to bridge that. Wants to bridge that. For thehim in Pain Division of parties under his nose through partisan newspapers, which is a fascinating story. So, washington is tight with madison. Medicine balls that with him when he goes all in with jefferson but madison falls out with him when he goes all in with jefferson. At the same time, he is a man, he is very selfmonitoring. Heat he has a distance. That made him bury that made him very unapproachable by design. That is one of the reasons that hes not as beloved as lincoln today. Click to see these folks as they saw themselves but to see these folks as they saw themselves and understand them on a human scale makes it infinitely fascinating. We put washington on a pedestal because we make their wisdom so much less accessible. But we understand them as flawed people, in pain, full of doubts as to whether they could succeed. It makes a whole exercise of reading history so much more accessible, and more more and much more inspiring. He is moving through the presidency, he is overseeing crises, and is seeing the formation of Political Parties, which he cannot stop. One of the things that is happening is he is trying to get out. He is succeeding come up at the same time, he wants to leave. Ms. Beginning, he is already thinking about his farewell address he is already thinking about his femoral address at the beginning of his first term. Yes, he is already a reluctant president. They are trying to set that up. Washington was elected president. And the only thing jefferson and hamilton could agree on was as washington retired, the nation would degenerate into a civil war. We were that able to sustain a figure like washington. Who presided over the military and had a unique status as being above party as a unifying figure. He had that authority that none of the others did. Even as we believe the founding and their work is inspiring, they were seen as leaders of parties and factions in washington was not. I think that speaks to it by design. The federal party forms around washington. At the end of his first term, he is exhausted, heated is frustrated he is frustrated. He wants to go home to mount vernon. God knows more the want him, too. Martha does not even show up at the first inauguration. She is not too thrilled after given him up at the time of the revolution and then losing him again to politics. But he against work on his first farewell address the james medicine. With james madison. He is both the leader of congress in washingtons chief miracle aid. Heat is writing congressional statements. He is playing a fascinating role. Washington confesses to him that he wants to retire. Madison trusted talk them out of it. Washington hears him and says, i appreciate it, but i am here. What is the best time . Madison says you should publish it in a newspaper, which kita eventually does. And then basically a number of things occur. Madison submits a draft and the real drama of washingtons presidency occurs in the first term. He believes if he leaves, the nation will do generate in the first term. It becomes clear that they had been attacking his presidency in the newspaper. He feels tremendously but trade. When he confronts hamilton, hamilton cops to it. Idea and doese not formally announce it, but the cabinet could sleep easy when he finally gives up the idea. And then she puts the draft on his top shelf and doesnt consult it again until really the spring of february 1796. We are want to move to that period where he is not going to be persuaded to stay. He is perpetually. But he also perceives there is a value in this farewell address. I interest to know why he is so this into to put form . And at the same time, consult with people whom he knows dont get along . Consulting with hamilton and madison . John i think part of the he is constantly trying to build a document beyond faction, beyond parties. He is trying to create a document to unite the nation. If you want to dispel washingtons wisdom, he is very focused on this becoming an independent nation. That was the title of my first book, independent nation. But the deeper wisdom was this natureindependence of a is inseparable from our interdependence as a people. That is the core wisdom, and he is entirely focused on national unity. On creating a national character. Education,t through through religion, through policy prescriptions, and that is what he chooses to do in the farewell. He brings together the greatest team of goes writers in history. Hamilton does the first draft. Madison does the second. And then he brings in john j. At the end. To your point, he gets back the band of brothers. John j. Became governor of new york. There is a wonderful moment through where hamilton and j. Did the final edit before sending it back to washington in july 1796. J. Is sort of the and sort of the leader. He and hamilton had become , liked relationship father and son. Washington tried to really restrain his anger. Hamilton had a harder time doing that because he felt like he did not have a lot of advantages. Musicalou see the hamilton because the song is about the farewell address. There was an assumption by some folks that the president to stay in office forever. That wouldve been perfectly logical, some kind of compromise. President e two term twoterm president. And he decides to make a federal address something that is carried on a carried forward by the power of his example. He could have been a quick victory lap. Look at all of the great things i have done, less nobody forget all of the accomplishments. But he doesnt do that. He specifically writes it as a warning. About the forces he believes could destroy the democratic republic, and that tradition gets carried forward. In almost every major farewell address, most famously eisenhowers farewell address which warns against the rise of the militaryindustrial complex, and even obamas federal address warns about threats to our democracy, right . But washington was really focused on paying it forward, and that is why she doesnt took such care and that is why he took such care. Andld see the minute a former life, i was a speechwriter for new york mayor giuliani. The line see washington is making and he is clearly writing because he is where that it will be judged. You wants to avoid misinterpretation he wants to avoid misinterpretation, but he is writing for us and writing for the big topics, booted in his own experience. Rooted in his own experiences. That he writes the address as a warning is one of his great gifts and one that gets carried forward. Great speech. It requires a great outlet. Andy challenges the local paper. So how does he end up settling in the playset he does as a place to publish it . Fun. This is kind of key chooses the American Daily advertiser, which is several onspapers which is now Market Street philadelphia. With madison, i mean, the model for this to the extent there was a model was a european king bidding goodbye to an assembled Parliament House of lords. Madison suggests he disseminates it in a newspaper because it is more a little r republican. The republican is addressing the American People and the 100 newspapers at the time, and it would disseminate organically and take some time as it did. Months for it to get to vermont is kentucky when hamilton doing the major edits and advice , hamilton is retired from the treasury at this point. Which is fascinating in upon itself. Adviceton asked his about the newspaper and he suggested dunlop. Dunlop had sold the paper, it was a guiding claypool. Why the Daily Advertiser . The federalists had a perfectly dependable pro newspaper they could have given it to. In the broad and different youre at places like the american aurora run by Benjamin Franklins grandson which was brutally attacking the administration over the monarchy and incompetence and etc. Then you had papers that were brutally attacking jefferson and madison and the Republican Party to dohington didnt want that because he explicitly was trying to send a message to the nation that was beyond party. The Daily Advertiser was uniquely committed to that perspective. Say that the reason for that as they had a lot of congressional publishing contracts going back to the declaration. So it didnt make sense. But there was a genuine philosophical point of view that that is where they felt a paper should be. Thependence is key to integrity of a news brand. We always had partisan papers and folks who have tried to rise above the fray as their mission as journalist. Claypool felt that. Fiveon sends out blocks down the road, all the papers are located right next to each other and they hate each others guts. [laughter] he sends out a note down to David Claypool. They meet in the second floor of the executive mansion on these angled sofas by the fireplace. Incidentally washington cap day framed portrait of king louis on the wall after he had been beheaded as a rebuke to jefferson and madison for falling in love with the french revolution naively. He basically delivers the americanscoop in history to David Claypool. , imgoing to retire wri

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