drafts included pointedly sharp criticism of the newspapers and the press of the day, something subsequently not included in the final, finished letter. The final product, wrote Hamilton biographer Marie Hecht, "was a true marriage of minds, the peak of amity and understanding between the two men." Most historians believe that while the language is primarily Hamilton's, the ideas are essentially Washington's. The address was published on September 19, 1796, in David Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser. It was immediately reprinted in newspapers and as a pamphlet throughout the United States. Washington makes clear at the outset that he is not running for a third term, and then thanks his fellow citizens for the opportunity to serve as their president. He then writes about the preservation of the Union, the core of American nationhood and which, along with the Constitution, binds all Americans together and provides for the popular well-being. Concerned about the obstacles and potential hazards that lay ahead for the nation, Washington urges the nation's people to cherish and safeguard their hard-won system of republican government despite their many differences. The address is largely a statement of his policies while in office, with some comments mixed in to highlight certain points, in which he builds a case for the steps needed to perpetuate the union, a concept that began to germinate among and between the states during the Revolutionary War. In doing so he lifts a well-formed and functioning Constitution (the rule of law), along with the proper habits and dispositions (both intellectual and religious) of the people as essential. Washington also lays out the greatest threats he sees to the Union, warning Americans to distrust the passions of political factionalism, be wary of foreign interference in the nation's domestic affairs, and avoid an entangling foreign policy. After Washington died in 1799, the address was reprinted in newspapers, and included in schoolbooks and collections of Washington's writings and biographies throughout the country. A quarter-century later, both Jefferson and Madison placed it on the primary reading list at the University of Virginia, describing it as one of the "best guides" to the "distinctive principles" of American government. It became one of the "great state papers of American history", often read in classrooms and other venues long after Washington left office. The U.S. Senate observes Washington's Birthday (February 22) each year by selecting one of its members, alternating parties, to read