Introduction
George Washington was the first American President. He led the Americans towards achieving victory over the Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War when he served as the commander-in-chief of the continental army. He also led his country during the writing of the constitution in 1787. He is regarded as the father of the United States of America. George Washington’s leadership style is still in use to date and many nations have adopted the system of the cabinet system which was originally his idea to run their governments. George Washington addressed the Americans when he was leaving office advising them and encouraging them on some aspects of governance that could ensure the success of the American state. However, some of his warnings have not been heeded to thus resulting into some of the America’s woes like terrorism, increased inflow of immigrants, economic down fall and a waging political contest between the Democrats and the Republicans. In his farewell address letter, he advised on the following:
Foreign Involvements
George Washington discusses foreign relations and the dangers associated with having lasting alliances between the United States and foreign nations. He explains that having long term associations with foreign countries may obscure the government’s judgment in implementing foreign policy. He also argues that having longstanding relations may lead to wars resulting from hatred perception by countries viewed as the enemies of the United States allies. He adds further that such wars are of no benefit to the Americans but may only benefit their allies who have no concern on the welfare of the Americans. According to George Washington, such alliances lead to poor relations with nations who feel that they are not being treated as well as America’s allies. This later threatens to influence the American government to make decisions which are in the interest of their allies and not in the interest of the American people. George Washington further warns against foreign nations who seek to influence the American people and the American government. He says that such nations do not act in the interest of the Americans but in their own interest. (Gilbert, 1961)
Military Establishments
George Washington warns against military establishments as he sees it as threat to the liberty of the Americans. He encourages unity as he sees this as a way that the Americans can benefit from each other. He also believes that it can be easy to protect the nation from foreign attacks and help them avoid wars with their neighbors. He further argues that the security can be best provided by the Union. (Spalding, Matthew & Garrity, 1996) Such unions will help the Americans avoid the creation of overgrown military establishments which can be a source of suppression to the Americans and jeopardizing the peace process between the Americans and their neighbors.
Political Parties
George Washington warns against political parties and the dangers posed by the political parties. He argues that such political parties promote the interest of certain regions and groups of Americans over others. He attributed his argument to the inclination of the Democratic Republican party to France and Great Britain which resulted to the French Revolution. He warns against the establishments of such political parties which oppose the government and decide to collaborate with foreigners and jeopardize the government’s efforts to offer certain services to the citizens. Washington further argues that alternate domination by political parties is one of the worst scenarios in a governing system. In this case, political parties take control of a government in an alternating manner. In the presence of such systems, there will be a waging war of revenge whereby the political parties will always be struggling to offer revenge on the other political parties whenever they are in power. This trend usually leads to lack of development and hostility amongst the warring parties and is what George Washington warned against. He concludes by saying that the political parties may be beneficial towards promoting liberty in monarchies but they should have however, be restrained in a popularly elected governments. This will help control their activities and their interactions with other foreign nations. (Deconde, 1957)
Branches of Government
George Washington encouraged the formation of the three branches of government that helped in the day to day running of the country’s government. The three branches of government included; The Executive, legislative and the Judiciary. These branches according to George Washington could ensure that power is not misused as each branch could check the other for its operations. He encourages the delegation of duties to different branches of the government as one person cannot satisfactorily perform all the functions of the government. (Gilbert, 1961)
Debt
George Washington warns against debt and further encourages for a balanced federal government. He says that the credit of a nation is an important source of strength and security for any nation. He tries to urge the Americans to avoid wars, avoid unnecessary borrowing and pay off any national debt that may have accumulated during war times so as to help the future nations not incur the expenses of debt. He however, states that a nation should not fear spending especially in preparations for any calamity that may befell the nation. Washington also encourages the Americans to support the government by paying their taxes so as to help the government take care of some expenses in the interest of the nation. (Deconde, 1957)
Conclusion
America is currently undergoing certain through certain problems which they couldn’t have experienced if at all Washington’s warnings were taken into consideration. America is currently struggling in order to iron its foreign policy so as to keep immigrants away. George Washington warned against the formation of permanent alliances with foreign nations. However, the alliance that the US has with other nations like Israel and other Muslim unfriendly countries has led to the US becoming a major terror target which has shaken the US security. Failure to take George Washington’s warning on Military establishment and signing the North Atlantic treaty in 1949 has also made the US spend a lot of resources on military operations thus incurring large expenses that may result into debt. (Varg, 1963)
Work Cited list
1. Deconde, Alexander. Washington's Farewell, the French Alliance, and the Election of
1796. Mississippi Valley Historical Review. 1957
2. Gilbert, Felix. To the Farewell Address: Ideas of Early American Foreign Policy. New v
York: Harper and Row. 1961.
3. Kaufman, Burton I. Washington's Farewell Address: The View from the 20th Century.
1969.
4. Pessen, Edward. George Washington's Farewell Address, the Cold War, and the Timeless
National". Journal of the Early Republic. 1987.
5. Spalding, Matthew & Garrity, Patrick J. A Sacred Union of Citizens: George
Washington's Farewell Address and the American Character. Lanham, MD:
Roman & Littlefield.1 996
6. Varg, Paul A. Foreign Policies of the Founding Fathers. Baltimore: Penguin Books. 1963
