Editing Excellency (section)

=== United States ===
In the [[United States]], the form ''Excellency'' was commonly used for [[George Washington]] during his service as commander-in-chief of the [[Continental Army]] and later when [[president of the United States]], but it began to fall out of use with his successor [[John Adams]], and today is sometimes replaced in direct address with the simple ''[[Mr. President (title)|Mr. President]]'' or ''the [[The Honourable#United States |Honorable]]''.

Nevertheless, in the protocol of many foreign countries and [[United Nations]], the president and the [[United States Secretary of State|secretary of state]] are usually referred to as ''Excellency''. Diplomatic correspondence to President [[Abraham Lincoln]] during the [[American Civil War]], as during the [[Trent Affair|''Trent'' Affair]], for instance, frequently addressed him as ''Your Excellency''.

The form ''Excellency'' was used for the [[Governor (United States)|governors]] of most of the original [[Thirteen Colonies]], and the practice formally continued after [[American Revolution|independence]]. For example, the term was formerly used in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] on the [[Governor of Georgia|state governor]]'s letterhead, the text of [[executive order]]s, any document that required the governor's signature, and informal settings. However, in most states the practice fell out of use (or was never introduced) and the title ''[[The Honourable#United States of America|Honorable]]'' is now used instead.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.georgia.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Georgia-Protocol-guide-.pdf|title=Georgia Protocol Guide|author=Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD)|website=Georgia Department of Economic Development (Georgia.org)}}</ref>

Though the U.S. president and U.S. ambassadors are traditionally accorded the style elsewhere, the U.S. government does not usually use ''Excellency'' for its own chiefs of missions, preferring ''Honorable'' instead.