Presidential Farewell and Last Addresses: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Presidential Farewell and Last Addresses, credited to Various, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of Presidential Farewell and Last Addresses by Various. Read in English by John Greenman This collection will put in one place, all the Farewell (or last) Addresses made by each of the 43 ex-US presidents. The first, George Washington's "Farewell Address", issued as a public letter in 1796, was one of the most influential statements of republicanism. Drafted primarily by Washington himself, with help from Hamilton, it gives advice on the necessity and importance of national union, the value of the Constitution and the rule of law, the evils of political parties, and the proper virtues of a republican people. He called morality "a necessary spring of popular government". He said, "Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." Washington's public political address warned against foreign influence in domestic affairs and American meddling in European affairs. He warned against bitter partisanship in domestic politics and called for men to move beyond partisanship and serve the common good. He warned against "permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world", saying the United States must concentrate primarily on American interests. He counseled friendship and commerce with all nations, but warned against involvement in European wars and entering into long-term "entangling" alliances. The address quickly set American values regarding foreign affairs. ( Wikipedia) All of the other presidential addresses were collected from available on-line sources and, while there may be disagreement among some as to which, exactly, was the "last address" of a particular president, great effort has been made to be as accurate as possible. (summary by John Greenman)

Recording facts

• Recording title: Presidential Farewell and Last Addresses
• Author credits: Various
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 51
• Listed recording duration: 9:42:16

Catalogue topics

• president of usa
• farewell addresses

Opening tracks: first 24 of 51

1. 01 - George Washington — 51:02
2. 02 - John Adams — 12:37
3. 03 - Thomas Jefferson — 22:21
4. 04 - James Madison — 28:07
5. 05 - James Monroe — 1:06:28
6. 06 - John Quincy Adams — 1:00:30
7. 07 - Andrew Jackson — 1:03:02
8. 08 - Martin Van Buren — 1:09:48
9. 09 - William Henry Harrison — 1:03:04
10. 10 - John Tyler — 1:10:41
11. 11 - James K. Polk - Part 1 — 1:15:05
12. 12 - James K. Polk - Part 2 — 1:15:06
13. 13 - James K. Polk - Part 3 — 11:26
14. 14 - Zachary Taylor — 59:36
15. 15 - Millard Filmore — 1:16:39
16. 16 - Franklin Pierce - part 1 — 50:46
17. 17 - Franklin Pierce - part 2 — 30:40
18. 18 - James Buchanan - part 1 — 48:29
19. 19 - James Buchanan - part 2 — 53:58
20. 20 - Abraham Lincoln — 16:47
21. 21 - Andrew Johnson - part 1 — 52:40
22. 22 - Andrew Johnson - part 2 — 26:50
23. 23 - Ulysses S. Grant — 51:17
24. 24 - Rutherford B. Hayes - part 1 — 1:05:31

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Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.