After having been elected to two terms as the first President of the United States of America, George Washington opted to not seek a third. In the last year of his presidency, he enlisted Alexander Hamilton to help him draft a letter to the American people, explaining his decision against running for reelection and to also convey some parting words of advice to the citizens of the still-young republic. It was first published in David C. Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser on September 19, 1796, before being reprinted in newspapers across the nation.—Billy Tooma