George's Washington's Farewell

George Washington is a very important person in American history. Not only was he commander in chief of the Continental army during the American Revolution and the first president of the United States, but also before leaving office he wrote what is now called, "George Washington's Farewell Address," that has been recognized as an important statement of American political purposes. Although it is the most famous and best-known of Washington's speeches, it was never actually delivered orally by Washington. In George Washington's Farewell Address he clearly warns us about certain things such as; he cautions us about political parties, he warns us against permanent foreign alliances and he warns us about a powerful military.

Throughout George's Washington's Farewell address he keeps cautioning us about political parties. Washington saw the two major threats to the nation being, one domestic and the other foreign. To Washington political parties were a deep threat to the health of the nation for they allowed, "a small, but artful and enterprising minority." Washington accepts the fact that it is natural for people to organize and operate within groups like political parties, but he also argues that every government has recognized political parties as an enemy because of their tendency to seek more power. George Washington said, that political parties must be controlled in a democratically elected government because of their tendency to distract the government from their duties, they create jealousy among groups and regions and they raise false alarms amongst the people.

George Washing also told the country, "It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world…" Foreign nations, he explained, could not be trusted to do anything more than pursue their own interests when entering international treaties. George Washington argues that they