...American Studies 17 December 2013 Washington’s Farewell Address No person in history has ever taken on such as strenuous a role as George Washington did as the first President of the newly formed United States of America. The country had just gained independence from the greatest power in the world at the time, but the biggest challenge would come ahead; the making of a country. This journey began with the creation of the Constitution and the first President of the United States taking office; George Washington. Although he did not willingly accept his duty, he ended up serving eight terms as the first President. In his farewell address to the nation, Washington warned the young country of what he believed to be the downfall for the nation. These warnings included the exclusion of foreign affair, a way to conserve and prosper financially, and no political parties. Even though Washington was such a successful President, these warnings were not followed by any means, and even today America does offend every single one of these warnings, although not each one proving costly to the nation. Washington lived in a time where people gave their lives to be independent from a mother country. By experience, he knew that a country operates better when it is unaltered by other countries. In his farewell address, Washington says that it is understandable to have commercial relations with a country, but America should “have with them as little political connection as possible” (Farewell...
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...Topic: What are the strengths and weaknesses of John Adams and George Washington? Many people view our Founding Fathers as brave, intelligent men and I would not dare disagree with them. The men that started our nation were brave enough to stand up to the most powerful country in the world at that time with very little resources or people to back them up. They transformed the hardships of the original colony, Jamestown, into our fifty states we have today. Although I will give them credit in saying that what the Founding Fathers did is something that no one in history has ever dared to do or ever will again, these men were still human. Historians do not like to focus on the impurities of the originators of our nation but they, three hundred years...
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...The Father of America: George Washington James Butler, a founding father of America, stated during the first Presidential elections, that “many of the members cast their eyes towards General Washington, as President, and shaped their ideas of the powers to be given a President, by their opinions of his virtue” (“George Washington” 127). In saying this, he meant that George Washington was a man that, in the eyes of all the chair-holders, fit all the characteristics that a President should have. For over 150 years before George Washington’s time, America was a colony of the British Empire that controlled the do’s and don’ts of the people living there. However, with the accumulation of laws and acts set forth by the distant British Empire, the...
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...George Washington’s “Farewell Address” George Washington wrote a farewell speech in 1796, marking the retirement of his leadership of the United States of America. He published his goodbye, titled his “Farewell Address,” in many papers. The long, revised copy of his speech, originally intended to be read at the end of his first term, tells of how he wanted to retire four years previous, but how he had been begged to stay on. He states that he never considered himself to be worthy of leading the country, and then goes on to give his thoughts and opinions of many matters in the government. Looking at the way he had led the country for the previous eight years, and the 45 he had given to serving it, should only make this country want to heed his warnings and advice. George Washington was a great man, with the country’s best interest at heart and mind, and only gave his honest opinion regarding many subjects such as the importance of national union and the constitution. He also spoke of the evils and dangers of political parties and debt, and stressed the importance of religion and morality in our government. In all honesty, no man ever left a more dignified farewell. Many people fought and died to make this country a nation; a whole....
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...Abstract Though some of the greatest political minds of the time, including Alexander Hamilton and John Jay assisted in the effort, the final draft was Washington’s. Without question the address portrayed his ideals and principals. 1) The Benefits of Unity Washington encourages the American people to stay united “That your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual” His desire was for them to protect the sanctity of the Constitution, and to insure that it is administered with wisdom and virtue. He addresses the unity of government with the people. Washington states that unity is what will hold America together and in fact is the very foundation that supports it. "The unity of government...is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence...of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize." The American people should never take for granted the “Collective and individual happiness” and they should watch for, and take every measure at their disposal to protect these liberties from threats both from within, and outside the United States. Washington encouraged a strong infrastructure for the Union “Here every portion of our country finds the most commanding motives for carefully guarding and preserving the union of the whole” Washington foresaw the importance of a common government and unified laws, that would encourage commercial enterprise and trade between the different geographical...
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...The First Party System: Why Thomas Jefferson was Responsible American History to 1877 Thomas Jefferson is responsible for dividing the Federalist party of the late 1700s and creating what is known today as the first party system. Thomas Jefferson, who supported a small national government and individual rights, changed American politics by advocating rights of small planters and western farmers to divide the nation once united behind Federalist ideals. By dividing the once united Federalist party into two separate groups, he was able to gain the support needed to take the office of the President away from the Federalist party. This feat was more than a challenge for Jefferson and would shape the structure of American political parties forever. (1) In 1788, George Washington was the first President of the United States and he chose two men with contrasting views on what the fate of the United States should be as part of his advisory board. Thomas Jefferson was chosen by Washington as the head of Department of State. Jefferson was a Virginian and diplomat, known for his views on small national government and representing the small planters and western farmers of America. George Washington then chose Alexander Hamilton as his secretary of the Treasury. Born and raised in the Caribbean, he worked for Washington as his aid during the revolutionary war and was a lawyer. Hamilton was known for his views on a strong national government. He favored merchants and financiers...
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...George Washington’s Farewell address is a letter of resignation written to the American people stating his advice and warnings of long term safety and happiness. Washington’s letter was released to the public in September 1796 but “drafted in 1792, with the help of James Madison,” as he prepared to retire to Mount Vernon following his first term. Wikipedia.com/Washington’s farewell address. Washington’s main concerns were unity of the states, upholding the constitution, foreign alliances, government spending, religion, morality and education. UNITY OF THE STATES. Washington begins his warnings that their independence, at home and abroad, safety, prosperity, and liberty all depend on the unity of states. That their union will come under attack by foreign and domestic enemies of America “as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed”, to be suspicious and look down upon anyone who seeks to abandon the union or weaken the Constitution, to look beyond any slight differences between them in religion and politics and place their independence and freedom above all else, “With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles”, and the dangers of sectionalism arguing that the true motives are to create distrust or rivalries between regions and people to gain power and take control of...
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...Washington’s Farewell Address George Washington decided that he was done with being president in 1796 . Washington had many important decisions to make and had immense pressure to set good examples for a young and fragile nation. He had to set precedents for how the nation’s government would run and how they would deal with foreign affairs. Washington had many different and new experiences as president, and those experiences led him to warn America of three things not to do. His three warnings in his farewell address were creating political parties, staying debt free, and doing only your job in government. In his farewell address, George Washington warned about creating political parties. When he advised Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, he could see that they had opposing views on how to run the new country. He thought that political parties would lead to division in the United States, according to this quote: ”It is justly so, for it is the main pillar in the edifice of your real independence…” Washington could tell that opposing views could lead to division, and could cause the nation to implode, or leave it vulnerable to attack. The newly formed nation was too fragile to break apart again....
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...GEORGE WASHINGTON “THE FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY” BORN: February 22, 1732 in Westmorland, Virginia, British America DIED: December 17, 1799 in Mount Vernon, Virginia, United States SPOUSE: Martha Dandridge Custis Washington RELIGION: Anglican/Episcopal GEOGRE WASHINGTON “THE FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY” Introduction: George Washington was born on February 22 “February 11, Old Style,” 1732 in Westmoreland county, Virginia and died on December 14, 1799, in Mount Vernon, Virginia. Washington was an American General and Commander in Chief of the Colonial Armies in the American Revolution War “1775–1783” and subsequently became the first president of the United States within the years “1789–1797.” Augustine Washington, Washington’s father, attended school in England, tasted seafaring life, and then settled down to manage his growing Virginia estates. George’s mother was Mary Ball Washington, whom Augustine, a widower, had married early the previous year. Washington’s paternal lineage had some distinction; an early forebear was described as a “gentleman,” Henry VIII later gave the family lands, and its members held various offices. But family fortunes fell with the Puritan revolution in England, and John Washington, grandfather of Augustine, migrated in 1657 to Virginia. The ancestral home at Sulgrave, Northamptonshire, is maintained as a Washington memorial. Little definite information exists on any of the line until Augustine. He was an energetic, ambitious man who acquired much...
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...As the second president of the newly independent United States, John Adams faced many trials both in political dilemmas and in gaining the trust and respect of the population. As the successor George Washington, Adams was challenged by the judgement and criticism of his citizens, because he and his decisions were constantly compared to that of Washington, who was universally admired as a leader. Adams also faced challenges with foreign countries such as France, which tested the United States foreign policy of neutrality as the country developed its international identity. Similarly, Adams contended with the balance of power of political parties at the end of his Presidential term. These trials defined Adams’ presidency as they demonstrated...
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...American Revolution, Presidents and the roots of American foreign policy. His works include American Sphinx, His Excellency: George Washington and Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence. As well as essays and book reviews that appear in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, and The New Yorker. Founding Brothers is a Pulitzer Prize winning book that discusses the prominent men in the political atmosphere of America after the Constitutional Convention and the issues that they faced. The book starts off with the infamous duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton on July 11, 1804. The outcome of this duel is that Burr shoots Hamilton and...
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...Jefferson vs Hamilton Argumentative Essay 2024 A political party is an organization made up of people with similar views on how the country should be run. Political parties work to elect people who share their beliefs. Jefferson and Hamilton both had different opinions, and they decided to go against each other and try to get people on their side. Jefferson wanted more farming, Hamilton wanted more factories. They play a big role in our political parties today. Hamilton has more realistic beliefs that will keep our nation in line, he believed that for the nation to “survive” we needed a strong federal government, with a small group of elite people for the best outcome possible. Hamilton had a clearer vision of his economic and constitutional beliefs. Body Paragraph #1: What is a Body Para...
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...over the colonies. Americans had become so used to having control over their own local government so they objected to the new laws and protested against being tax without their consent. This was the sudden and unfair taxation of the colonists that led to the Revolutionary War. The American Revolution was the result of a series of social, political, and intellectual transformations in early American society and government, collectively referred to as the American Enlightenment. Americans rejected the oligarchies common in aristocratic Europe at the time, championing instead the development of republicanism based on the Enlightenment understanding of liberalism. Among the significant results of the revolution was the creation of a democratic elected representative government responsible to the will have of the people. However, sharp political debates erupted over the appropriate level of democracy desirable in the new government, with a number of Founders. Seventeen sixty-three was a year of great celebration; it was the year of the French and Indian War’s end. The British defeated the French and their Native American allies, in North America. The colonists were pleased with the British victory, because they could now live in peace. However, as time passed and the costs of the war were being charged to the colonies, the 13 began to feel enmity toward England. The...
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...America: A Nation Divided. In George Washington’s Farewell Speech on September 19, 1796, he warned against political parties as follows: The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissention, which in different ages & countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders & miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security & repose in the absolute power of an Individual: and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty (J.E. Quidam, 2008). This ideology seems to have evolved and held truth for the past 227 years as now Americans are even more divided by political parties than any other stature. According to Edward S. Greenberg and Benjamin I. Page’s “The Struggle for Democracy”, political ideology is defined as a system of interrelated and coherently organized political beliefs and attitudes, which include conservatives, liberals, populists, and libertarians (145). Greenburg and Page further describe that the “two dimensions” that Americans generally divide along are government’s roles in economy and society (147). Conservatism can be defined as the disposition to preserve or restore what is established...
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...figured out. Conventional wisdom starts the saga in 1763 when Britain, saddled with debt at the close of the Seven Years' War, levied new taxes that prompted her American colonists to resist, and then to reject, imperial rule. Having declared independence and defeated the British, American patriots then drafted the constitution that remains the law of the land to this day. With George Washington's inauguration as president in 1789, the story has a happy ending and the curtain comes down. This time-honored script renders the road from colonies to nation clear, smooth, and straight, with familiar landmarks along the way, from Boston's Massacre and Tea Party through Lexington and Concord, then on to Bunker Hill and Yorktown before reaching its destination: Philadelphia in 1787, where the Founders invented a government worthy of America's greatness. Those Founders are equally familiar. Washington and Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and James Madison, Sam and John Adams, Patrick Henry and Alexander Hamilton: in the popular mind this band of worthies, more marble monuments than mere mortals, guides America towards its grand destiny with a sure and steady hand. "[F]or the vast majority of contemporary Americans," writes historian Joseph Ellis, the birth of this nation is shrouded by "a golden haze or halo."(1) So easy, so tame, so much "a land of foregone conclusions" does America's Revolution appear that we tend to honor and ignore it rather than study it. In 1976, the 200th birthday...
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