Govt 200
Washington’s Farewell Address 1796
Liberty University
Govt 200 - B26
In the years of 1789 to 1797, George Washington, a military general and Founding
Father, dedicated eight years of his life toward America when he accepted the position to become
the first president of the United States. The American people were loyal and respected their
great president, however, that was not enough to keep Washington in office for a third term. At
the end of Washington's second term, he wrote a letter to his beloved American people. In this
intimate letter, he not only expresses his desire to retire, but uses the American citizens' support
and respect to his advantage and writes the importance of unity, independence, and patriotism.
Washington's attempt to keep our country from division was not left for assumption. He
clearly states,
"However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the
course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and
unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for
themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have
lifted them to unjust dominion"(Washington’s Farewell Address, 1796).
Although Washington tried his hardest to keep America in unity, after the signing of the
Constitution in 1787, tension between the two parties began to grow. The friction started with
the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. “The Federalists, led by Secretary of Treasury
Alexander Hamilton, wanted a strong central government, while the Anti-Federalists, led by
Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, advocated states’ rights instead of centralized power.
Federalists coalesced around the commercial sector of the country while their opponents drew
their strength from those favoring an agrarian society. The ensuing partisan battles led George
Washington’s Farewell Address 1796
Liberty University
Govt 200 - B26
In the years of 1789 to 1797, George Washington, a military general and Founding
Father, dedicated eight years of his life toward America when he accepted the position to become
the first president of the United States. The American people were loyal and respected their
great president, however, that was not enough to keep Washington in office for a third term. At
the end of Washington's second term, he wrote a letter to his beloved American people. In this
intimate letter, he not only expresses his desire to retire, but uses the American citizens' support
and respect to his advantage and writes the importance of unity, independence, and patriotism.
Washington's attempt to keep our country from division was not left for assumption. He
clearly states,
"However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the
course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and
unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for
themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have
lifted them to unjust dominion"(Washington’s Farewell Address, 1796).
Although Washington tried his hardest to keep America in unity, after the signing of the
Constitution in 1787, tension between the two parties began to grow. The friction started with
the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. “The Federalists, led by Secretary of Treasury
Alexander Hamilton, wanted a strong central government, while the Anti-Federalists, led by
Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, advocated states’ rights instead of centralized power.
Federalists coalesced around the commercial sector of the country while their opponents drew
their strength from those favoring an agrarian society. The ensuing partisan battles led George
