My mistake. Your quote was from his farewell speecth in 1796, not his speech resigning command of the army in 1783.
Hell,I was just quoting someone else.I assumed it was his farewell speech without even looking.In either case,the 14th amendment makes it all moot.
I've been reading Scott v. Sanford.I once saw a quote from Sam Adams,who was disgusted at the idea that the preamble of the constitution mentioned "we the people" instead of something like "we,the representatives in congress assembled".I have not been able to find this quote.But the sentiment expressed was that the states were the citizens of the new country.In the beginning,the people only elected house members.Now,with the 17th amendment,and the push to eliminate the Electoral College,direct democracy threatens us all.