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What Did Washington's Farewell Address Actually Say? - George Washington and the Two-Term Precedent | Sleepy Facts About History
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In 1796, the modern republic faced a question it had never yet answered: would a powerful chief executive voluntarily surrender his office, or would he cling to power until death? George Washington, a sixty-four-year-old man with failing health and a battered reputation, chose to step down. By returning to Mount Vernon, he transformed the American presidency from a potential lifetime appointment into an institutional, temporary office.
This episode examines the political calculations…
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