Washington's farewell address has never not been famous. There were some people at the time who thought it was just anti-French and weren't big fans, but even by 1798, it was being cited as evidence that the United States should be more like China and stop making foreign alliances altogether. (Source)

By 1829, Martin Van Buren, then vice president, said its ideas had become "cardinal traits of the foreign policy of this government." Leading up to the Civil War, both sides used it, as they interpreted his ideas about patriotism and liberty in very different ways—the secessionists saw Washington as placing liberty above all else, while people in the North, including Abraham Lincoln, debated its vision of the American character among themselves. (Source)

The address was read aloud in the Senate chamber for the first time in 1862, as a morale boost during the Civil War. Then, in the year of its centennial, 1896, the tradition of reading the address in the Senate every year on Washington's birthday began, and it has been an annual tradition ever since. The readers come from alternating parties, and they get to write their names in a nifty old leather ledger. (Source)

Today, Washington's warnings are still super relevant, which is why people bring them up when American politics get, let's say, difficult. When Barack Obama left office in January 2017, there were comparisons between his farewell speech and Washington's, including one by a guy who wrote an entire book on Washington's farewell address. (Source)

The wisdom of Washington's advice has always been pretty obvious, and yet almost immediately, the problems he predicted became ingrained in American politics. So, we keep referencing the address's great advice…but can't seem to actually follow its suggestions.