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Summary Of George Washington's Farewell Address

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George Washington delivered a Farewell Address to America at the end of his second term. He did not want to continue being president for a third term and surprisingly did not plan on a second term either but got convinced into it. The whole nation feared the day when Washington would no longer lead their country. Washington’s Farwell Address was a mixture of reassurance to the people that the country would be okay and advice. He advised about the government, budget, many important things but especially U.S. foreign policy. A huge part of his letter addressed foreign policy and went into great detail of what America should do for the future. One thing Washington talked about in his Address was unity and sectionalism. He argued that it was …show more content…

It was bad to have long-term friendships just like it was bad to have rivalries. He also made it a point to state that he thought it was important to honor treaties made with other nations, yet he did not when it came to the 1778 Treaty of Alliance with France during the French Revolutionary Wars. He avoided involvement during that time by passing a Proclamation of Neutrality, which later led to the Neutrality Act of 1794. Washington’s ultimate advice about foreign policy was to stay out of it. He thought it was the best to be in good terms and fair with every nation. He thought that by being in too close of an alliance with specific nations it would cloud the country’s judgment. Giving other countries control of America’s decisions. He also thought it was a bad idea for America to place itself into alliances because it could led to America going into war unnecessarily that would not benefit them in the long run. America’s main reason for not going into war was because they did not want to keep accumulating debt, but if they felt war was necessary they became involved. A final thing that Washington thought would be a good addition to America’s foreign policy was free trade. He talked about how by having free trade it helped for making a stable

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