In the fall of 1796, nearing the end of his term, George Washington published a farewell address, intended to serve as a guide to future statecraft for the American public and his successors in office. Washington worked closely with Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, and James Madison, then a Congressional leader, who both provided Washington with drafts of the address. Washington’s address argued for a careful foreign policy of friendly neutrality that would avoid creating implacable enemies or international friendships of dubious value, nor entangle the United States in foreign alliances
