preparation for the first reading will be to recall the
time and circumstances of the address, and to tell what part Madison and
Hamilton had in preparing it.

II. Reading and Study

The first reading should be done, if possible, at a single sitting, and
should enable the student to get the main points of the address and to
appreciate the way in which Washington regarded the people.

The second reading should be made with special attention to the
preparation of a detailed outline; to an analysis of the thought; and to
a study of the paragraph structure.

III. Study of the Address as a Whole

CONTENT.--What were Washington's reasons for declining a third term?

Are they such that all our presidents should follow his example?

Explain what Washington meant by a "unity of government."

Give the various reasons that the people ought to have for cherishing
this idea of unity.

What does Washington say about sectionalism?

To what extent had the country already suffered from it?

Discuss party-spirit,--its nature, its tendencies, its good compared
with its evil.

Compare Washington's remarks with Addison's discussion on party-spirit
in the _Sir Roger de Coverley Papers_.

Do we now suffer from any of the evils that Washington points out as
resulting from party-spirit?

What relation do religion and morality bear to each other and to
government?

How would Washington have us deal with foreign powers?

To what extent do we in our day follow his ideal?

What was his advice concerning political connection with foreign
nations?

To what extent do we follow it?

FORM.--Summarize the introductory paragraphs, compare them with the
introduction in Webster's _First Bunker Hill Oration_, and note the
difference in purpose and method.

What is the purpose in paragraph 7?

Find other paragraphs in the address that have a similar purpose.

Examine several paragraphs (for example, 9, 10, 16, 17), note the topic
sentence, if there is one, and the methods of development.

Compare this address with Webster's _First Bunker Hill Oration_ with
respect to the logical connection of the main topics, the choice of
language, and the effectiveness of the conclusion.

[1] _The Life of Sir Walter Scott_, by J. G. Lockhart, London, 1898.

[2] See suggestions for teaching "The Lay of the Last Minstrel," in _The
Teaching of English_, by Percival Chubb, pp. 161-166.

[3] Though there may be some doubt as to whether _The