Free Essay. George Washington Farewell Address

President Washington’s farewell address was issued as a public letter in the year 1796 and was drafted first by James Madison and then later by Hamilton. However, the president still went ahead and offered a final edit in the 32-page letter wherein the letter Washington was strict and gave out a stern warning against domestic affairs with international influence and the United States taking sides when it comes to European issues. President Washington's farewell address was one of the official letters that were written specifically to address the citizens of the United States because he was almost going to retire from office. President Washington served in the office for two terms consecutively, which totaled eight years of service to the people of America (Washington & Field, 2010). The letter starts in an official way by thanking all the people of the United States for the full support they provided the president when he was leading the country for the past eight years. However, there were some strict warnings that Washington had to make to the public and United States politicians before he went on to retire. This paper will analyze some of the crucial points that President Washington addresses in his farewell address.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Free of International Entanglement

President Washington's significant point was the international address issue, where he insisted on warning the United States to stay free from global entanglement and make sure that they always put American objectives first above other nations. Also, President Washington was so much into making sure that the public understood very well the importance of first handling their interest before considering those of other countries since not all the states or trading partners were much happy about the economic and other developments that the United States was making (Washington & Field, 2010). However, the letter did not warn the United States from interacting or trading with other countries since trade and commerce with different countries were among the significant reasons for the development of the country. For instance, President Washington warned the country politicians and leaders against getting so much involved in the European wars or even starting the long term alliance because the union would destroy the United States and make it to be among the influential traders in the world.

Political Party Factions

President George Washington gave out warnings against the political parties factions and insisted that Americans remain united, and they all serve the common good for the country. The president knew that when the country had or support many political parties, there will be more conflicts among the leaders and the citizens, which later will make them lose focus on developing the nation. Having two loud parties was the only way to make Americans focused and united towards accomplishing or developing the country’s interests or objectives (Washington & Field, 2010). Moreover, the president also emphasized the essence of having few political parties and how this, in return, will help the citizens to elect leaders based on the party manifestation and how they would contribute towards making America great or superpower in the universe. Through the adoption or staying with few political parties, it means that the Americans would concentrate on which party to support depending on their preferred type of the leader irrespective of their ethnicity. Therefore, the only way to have a peaceful nation forever was by initiating or having two major political parties, which means that the politicians had to belong to one of the parties when seeking a legislative office in any region within the United States.

Warning against Selfish Governmental Changes

Washington believed in America as the country which should act as a symbol or role model to the world when it comes to the practice of democracy. The president addressed the issue of making selfish changes in the government to benefit a section of the people instead of serving the whole nation. Also, Washington emphasized that when the political leaders or other people in the government start making changes to fit in their goals, it mean that there is a large section of the public that will suffer or will not enjoy the benefits of the government apart from the few individuals who make the changes (Washington & Field, 2010). The politicians and other influential leaders should always come with a strategic way on how to introduce some changes to the government that are meant to benefit the public and not a few selfish individuals who do not care about the welfare of the other citizens.

In conclusion, President Washington addressed so many essential topics in the farewell address letter. Still, the main focus was on the unification of the United States and also making sure they stay away from foreign affairs. The president also had to remind the public that being in the United States or being an American and always staying patriotic was essential than any other disagreements that the nation would experience or endure. Moreover, Washington wrote the letter knowing that at some particular point in life United States would rise to become a great nation, but this would not be possible if they did not have a stable government to execute some changes.

Reference

Washington, G., & Field, R. (2010). George Washington's farewell address. Mission Audio.