To announce his decision not to seek a third term as President,
George
Washington presented his Farewell Address in a newspaper article
September 17, 1796.
George Washington
Frustrated by French meddling in U.S. politics, Washington warned the nation to
avoid permanent alliances with foreign nations and to rely instead on temporary
alliances for emergencies. Washington's efforts to protect the fragile young
republic by steering a neutral course between England and France during the
French Revolutionary Wars was made extremely difficult by the intense rhetoric
flowing from the pro-English Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, and the
pro-French, personified by Thomas Jefferson. In his farewell address, Washington
exhorted Americans to set aside their violent likes and dislikes of foreign
nations, lest they be controlled by their passions: "The nation which indulges
toward another an habitual hatred or an habitual fondness is in some degree a
slave." Washington’s remarks have served as an inspiration for American
isolationism, and his advice against joining a permanent alliance was heeded for
more than a century and a half.
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