The warnings George Washington made in his farewell address — about hyperpartisanship, excessive debt and foreign wars — have incredible resonance today, says John Avlon, the author of “Washington’s Farewell.” He speaks with Jimmy about what we can learn from the address and how its message was once appropriated by Nazis, in 1939.
Plus: John reveals that President Washington had bad credit.
Avon also tells us that “As president, Washington had a bully pulpit and he devoted much time to writing to various religious denominations, assuring them of their welcome place in the new nation.” One of Washington’s most enduring letters was to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, R.I., in 1790.
