Essay

Washington's farewell address is a bit of a strange one—it's written like a speech, but he never presented it publicly. It was always meant to be published in print. So, the structure mimics a speech, but it's presented in essay format.

The text transitions from subject to subject, but not with dividing headers or the same kind of transition sentences your English teachers taught you to use in your essays. The transitions are sometimes a little abrupt as he changes topics, without any written division between sections.

Also, the way the paragraphs are broken up almost feels like that's where he would have paused if he were speaking the words. And yet, he never did. It's also a bit too fluid and consistently eloquent to be a speech since those generally take the live nature of the event into account.

Granted, old-timey speeches were generally pretty sophisticated. Overall, it's really a hybrid, but since it was published in a written format, we'll have to call it an essay.

How It Breaks Down

Section 1: Washington's Formal Farewell

G.W.'s Rendition of "Hasta la Vista, Baby"

Washington gets some business out of the way right at the start—telling everyone he's stepping down from the presidency and retiring. He throws in some complimentary stuff about the American people and some self-deprecating moments where he claims he's really not that great.

Section 2: Warning Against Political Factions

Try to Avoid Parties—Unless They're the Kind With Cake

The first big section of advice Washington dishes out is about the rise of factions and political parties in the United States and how people should resist it. He talks about how it leads to tyranny and despotism, and how liberty and the strength of the country will be protected by unity, not division.

Section 3: Warning Against Foreign Alliances

We See London, We See France…

One of the divisions in the country in 1796 was about which foreign country the United States should be allied with. Washington talks at length about how the United States shouldn't form allegiances with one foreign country over another because that leads to foreign entanglements that will threaten the nation.

Section 4: Final Farewell

Washington Out

Washington ends in a similar way to his start, but with even more flattery to the American people and self-deprecation. He just hopes that some of his advice is intelligent enough that some people listen to it.