===Farewell Address===
Washington reluctantly served a second term, beginning in 1793, but by 1796 he was exhausted and insisted on not running again. (Since then, no President except [[Theodore Roosevelt]] and [[Franklin Roosevelt]] has ever tried for a third term; the [[Twenty-Second Amendment]] makes this two-term limit into law.) His [[Farewell Address]], partly drafted by [[Alexander Hamilton and Jefferson]], remains a classic statement of republicanism, calling on Americans to practice civic virtue and avoid alliances with the warring parties in Europe.
[[File:Life of George Washington - The Christian death.jpg|thumb|Washington on his death bed]]
===Retirement and death: 1797-99===
Washington returned to his beloved Mount Vernon, but his health continued to decline. In 1798 he accepted appointment as nominal head of a new national army designed to fight the French in a threatened war. (President John Adams chose him as the one man who would command respect from all factions.) His role was nominal, as Hamilton was in effective command.