chiefs to new york to negotiate a treaty and treated them like foreign dignitaries. knox and mcgillivray concluded the treaty of new york on august 7, 1790, in federal hall, which provided the tribes with agricultural supplies and mcgillivray with the rank of brigadier general and an annual salary of $1,200, equivalent to $26,301 in 2021. in 1790, washington sent brigadier general josiah harmar to pacify the northwest tribes, but little turtle routed him twice and forced him to withdraw. the northwestern confederacy of tribes used guerrilla tactics and were an effective force against the sparsely manned american army. washington sent major general arthur st. clair from fort washington on an expedition to restore peace in the territory in 1791. on november 4, st. clair's forces were ambushed and soundly defeated by tribal forces with few survivors, despite washington's warning of surprise attacks. washington was outraged over what he viewed to be excessive native american brutality and execution of captives, including women and children. st. clair resigned his commission, and washington replaced him with the revolutionary war hero major general anthony wayne. from 1792 to 1793, wayne instructed his troops on native american warfare tactics and instilled discipline which was lacking under st. clair. in august 1794, washington sent wayne into tribal territory with authority to drive them out by burning their villages and crops in the maumee valley. on august 24, the american army under wayne's leadership defeated the northwestern confederacy at the battle of fallen timbers, and the treaty of greenville in august 1795 opened up two-thirds of the ohio country for american settlement. second term portrait of the uss constitution commissioned and named by president washington in 1794 washington initially planned to retire after his first term, while many americans could not imagine anyone else taking his place. after nearly four years as president, and dealing with the infighting in his own cabinet and with partisan critics, washington showed little enthusiasm in running for a second term, while martha also wanted him not to run. james madison urged him not to retire, that his absence would only allow the dangerous political rift in his cabinet and the house to worsen. jefferson also pleaded with him not to retire and agreed to drop his attacks on hamilton, or he would also retire if washington did. hamilton maintained that washington's absence would be "deplored as the greatest evil" to the country at this time. washington's close nephew george augustine washington, his manager at mount vernon, was critically ill and had to be replaced, further increasing washington's desire to retire and return to mount vernon. when the election of 1792 neared, washington did not publicly announce his presidential candidacy. still, he silently consented to run to prevent a further political-personal rift in his cabinet. the electoral college unanimously elected him president on february 13, 1793, and john adams as vice president by a vote of 77 to 50. washington, with nominal fanfare, arrived alone at his inauguration in his carriage. sworn into office by associate justice william cushing on march 4, 1793, in the senate chamber of congress hall in philadelphia, washington gave a brief address and then immediately retired to his philadelphia presidential house, weary of office and in poor health. on april 22, 1793, during the french revolution, washington issued his famous neutrality proclamation and was resolved to pursue "a conduct friendly and impartial toward the belligerent powers" while he warned americans not to intervene in the international conflict. although washington recognized france's revolutionary government, he would eventually ask french minister to the united states edmond-charles genêt be recalled over the citizen genêt affair. genêt was a diplomatic troublemaker who was openly hostile toward washington's neutrality policy. he procured four american ships as privateers to strike at spanish forces (british allies) in florida while organizing militias to strike at other british possessions. however, his efforts failed to draw america into the foreign campaigns during washington's presidency. on july 31, 1793, jefferson submitted his resignation from washington's cabinet. washington signed the naval act of 1794 and commissioned the first six federal frigates to combat barbary pirates. in january 1795, hamilton, who desired more income for his family, resigned from office and was replaced by washington appointment oliver wolcott jr. washington and hamilton remained friends. however, washington's relationship with his secretary of war henry knox deteriorated. knox resigned from office due to a rumor that he profited from contracts for the construction of u.s. frigates. in the final months of his presidency, washington was assailed by his political foes and a partisan press who accused him of being ambitious and greedy, while he argued that he had taken no salary during the war and had risked his life in battle. he regarded the press as a disuniting, "diabolical" force of falsehoods, sentiments that he expressed in his farewell address. at the end of his second term, washington retired for personal and political reasons, dismayed with personal attacks, and to ensure that a truly contested presidential election could be held. he did not feel bound to a two-term limit, but his retirement set a significant precedent. washington is often credited with setting the principle of a two-term presidency, but it was thomas jefferson who first refused to run for a third term on political grounds. farewell address washington's farewell address, published september 19, 1796 in 1796, washington declined to run for a third term of office, believing his death in office would create an image of a lifetime appointment. his retirement established a precedent for a two-term limit on the u.s. presidency. in may 1792, in anticipation of his retirement, washington instructed james madison to prepare a "valedictory address", an initial draft of which was entitled the "farewell address". in may 1796, washington sent the manuscript to his secretary of treasury alexander hamilton who did an extensive rewrite, while washington provided final edits. on september 19, 1796, david claypoole's american daily advertiser published the final version of the address. washington stressed that national identity was paramount, while a united america would safeguard freedom and prosperity. he warned the nation of three eminent dangers: regionalism, partisanship, and foreign entanglements, and said the "name of american, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations." washington called for men to move beyond partisanship for the common good, stressing that the united states must concentrate on its own interests. he warned against foreign alliances and their influence in domestic affairs, and bitter partisanship and the dangers of political parties. he counseled friendship and commerce with all nations, but advised against involvement in european wars. he stressed the importance of religion, asserting that "religion and morality are indispensable supports" in a republic. washington's address favored hamilton's federalist ideology and economic policies. washington closed the address by reflecting on his legacy: though in reviewing the incidents of my administration i am unconscious of intentional error, i am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that i may have committed many errors. whatever they may be, i fervently beseech the almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. i shall also carry with me the hope that my country will never cease to view them with indulgence, and that, after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest. after initial publication, many republicans, including madison, criticized the address and believed it was an anti-french campaign document. madison believed washington was strongly pro-british. madison also was suspicious of who authored the address. in 1839, washington biographer jared sparks maintained that washington's "... farewell address was printed and published with the laws, by order of the legislatures, as an evidence of the value they attached to its political precepts, and of their affection for its author." in 1972, washington scholar james flexner referred to the farewell address as receiving as much acclaim as thomas jefferson's declaration of independence and abraham lincoln's gettysburg address. in 2010, historian ron chernow reported the farewell address proved to be one of the most influential statements on republicanism. post-presidency (1797–1799) retirement washington retired to mount vernon in march 1797 and devoted time to his plantations and other business interests, including his distillery. his plantation operations were only minimally profitable, and his lands in the west (piedmont) were under indian attacks and yielded little income, with the squatters there refusing to pay rent. he attempted to sell these but without success. he became an even more committed federalist. he vocally supported the alien and sedition acts and convinced federalist john marshall to run for congress to weaken the jeffersonian hold on virginia. washington grew restless in retirement, prompted by tensions with france, and he wrote to secretary of war james mchenry offering to organize president adams' army. in a continuation of the french revolutionary wars, french privateers began seizing american ships in 1798, and relations deteriorated with france and led to the "quasi-war". without consulting washington, adams nominated him for a lieutenant general commission on july 4, 1798, and the position of commander-in-chief of the armies. washington chose to accept, and he served as the commanding general from july 13, 1798, until his death 17 months later. he participated in planning for a provisional army, but he avoided involvement in details. in advising mchenry of potential officers for the army, he appeared to make a complete break with jefferson's democratic-republicans: "you could as soon scrub the blackamoor white, as to change the principles of a profest democrat; and that he will leave nothing unattempted to overturn the government of this country." washington delegated the active leadership of the army to hamilton, a major general. no army invaded the united states during this period, and washington did not assume a field command. washington was known to be rich because of the well-known "glorified façade of wealth and grandeur" at mount vernon, but nearly all his wealth was in the form of land and slaves rather than ready cash. to supplement his income, he erected a distillery for substantial whiskey production. historians estimate that the estate was worth about $1 million in 1799 dollars, equivalent to $16.29 million in 2021. he bought land parcels to spur development around the new federal city named in his honor, and he sold individual lots to middle-income investors rather than multiple lots to large investors, believing they would more likely commit to making improvements. final days and death washington on his deathbed by junius brutus stearns (1799) miniature portrait of washington by robert field (1800) on december 12, 1799, washington inspected his farms on horseback. he returned home late and had guests over for dinner. he had a sore throat the next day but was well enough to mark trees for cutting. that evening, washington complained of chest congestion but was still cheerful. on saturday, however, he awoke to an inflamed throat and difficulty breathing and ordered estate overseer george rawlins to remove nearly a pint of his blood; bloodletting was a common practice of the time. his family summoned doctors james craik, gustavus richard brown, and elisha c. dick. a fourth doctor, william thornton, arrived some hours after washington died. brown initially believed washington had quinsy; dick thought the condition was a more serious "violent inflammation of the throat". they continued the process of bloodletting to approximately five pints, but washington's condition deteriorated further. dick proposed a tracheotomy, but the other physicians were not familiar with that procedure and therefore disapproved. washington instructed brown and dick to leave the room, while he assured craik, "doctor, i die hard, but i am not afraid to go." washington's death came more swiftly than expected. on his deathbed, out of fear of being entombed alive, he instructed his private secretary tobias lear to wait three days before his burial. according to lear, washington died between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on december 14, 1799, with martha seated at the foot of his bed. his last words were "'tis well", from his conversation with lear about his burial. he was 67. congress immediately adjourned