Day 6: 9/17/1796

What Happened:

It is tradition that a departing president gives some parting words of wisdom, a farewell address of sorts. Nowadays, they are generally padded resumes with the history books in mind, a self-serving ad for “look what I did for you” (or “it wasn’t my fault”). There are two that have really stood out, though, and have had a real impact. One was Eisenhower’s parting televised address where he famously warns the American people to beware of the “military-industrial complex.” I spend a whole class period in my AP U.S. History course reading and dissecting that great speech. The other occurred on September 17, 1796, when George Washington said goodbye to the country that he played such a crucial role in creating. Washington wasn’t a fan of public speaking, and so his parting address was actually published in the newspaper on that date rather than given as an actual speech. As usual, he leaned on some talented underlings to do the dirty work. It is believed that it was largely drafted by James Madison and Alexander Hamilton (not working together, as they were bitter political foes by this period), but the ideas and spirit were all Washington.

Why It Is Important:

Naturally it is important for what was said. When Washington spoke, the country listened. Some of the advice given in Washington’s Farewell Address was taken as gospel for at least a century, and it is still cited when it backs up one’s political position on foreign policy. But first it is important for the simple fact that it was given at all.

I’ve got a great powerpoint presentation I give to my APUSH class called “the cult of Washington.” The Bible warns this nation founded in Judeo-Christian ethics not to worship false idols, but we ignored that commandment from the beginning. We have deified our Founding Fathers, and George Washington is our Zeus. Don’t believe me? Check these out…

ABOVE: "The Apotheosis of Washington." This is on the roof of our Capitol building in Washington D.C. (George was instrumental in designing the layout of our capitol city, by the way. He was trained as a surveyor.)

ABOVE: Washington as direct link to the birth of democracy in Greece.

ABOVE: It is interesting that Washington's monument is an obelisk, with all of its ancient symbolism. You've got Lincoln in his chair, FDR in his wheelchair, but Washington's monument is quite different.

ABOVE: Washington doesn't die like normal people do. He is carried directly to the heavens by angels.

Washington was a god in his day too, and many in this country were urging him to run for a third, fourth, fifth term as president, to serve until death. He undoubtedly would have won repeatedly had he run. In fact, there was talk of making him our first monarch, King George I of America. Out of all of his great accomplishments, from commanding the Continental Army during the Revolution to keeping the fragile young Republic from falling apart during its first years through sheer force of will, his greatest act was in stepping down. Washington could have become a dictator, yet he believed in this new Republic. Truth be told, he wanted to step down after his first term, but decided to run again because he was the only one with enough gravitas to referee between the Hamilton and Jefferson factions tearing the new government apart. Therefore he established the two term precedent that only FDR had the stones to defy, and then after him it was enshrined in the 22nd Amendment.

Now to what Washington said. Throughout he is almost begging the American people to give this new experiment in Republicanism a chance. There are some warnings in his Address that were not heeded. He speaks at length about the dangers of sectionalism and the importance of national unity. The Civil War down the road proved that we didn’t (or couldn’t) listen to that warning, and that he was correct in predicting disaster if we succumb to sectionalism. He also famously warns against political parties (“factions”), but that horse had already left the barn, as the first political parties were formed within Washington’s own cabinet, Hamilton’s Federalists and Jefferson’s Democratic-Republicans. He also argues for a balanced federal budget and warns of the dangers of too much debt. Interestingly, Washington also argues that religion is the basis of morality, and that we would be lost without strong religious convictions and traditions.

The most far reaching impact, though, is his advice regarding foreign policy. The crux is here:

“…nothing is more essential than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations and passionate attachments for others should be excluded; and that in place of them just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation, which indulges towards another an habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave…Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another, cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other…the great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible…It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances, with any portion of the foreign world…we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies.”

At the time, Britain and France were still viciously competing in Europe for dominance, and we were being pulled in both directions. Hamilton, ever the Anglophile, favored close alliance with Britain (even committing what today would be seen as treason when he secretly fed the British information to scuttle a possible treaty with France). Jefferson, on the other hand, favored equally strong relations and ties with France, as he was seduced by the bloody glory of the French Revolution. But Washington (and to his credit, John Adams after him) insisted on neutrality and staying out of European squabbles. Washington rightly believed that we must remain aloof and take advantage of our geographic isolation in order to survive and grow as our own independent nation. Trade is fine and should be encouraged, but that is all.

For much of our history after Washington, we doggedly followed an isolationist policy. Washington’s warnings and Address were the philosophical foundation of that policy. It wasn’t until Teddy Roosevelt’s imperialist adventures at the turn of the 20th century that we started to seriously engage the “foreign world” beyond trade. We got pulled into World War I, and afterwards retreated yet again into a cocoon of political isolationism. It wasn’t until World War II, from which we emerged the most powerful nation on earth, that we started to become a real player on the world stage. 1949 was the year that we permanently turned our back on Washington’s warnings when we formed the NATO alliance as the Cold War started to heat up.