George Washington's Warnings Essay

Cara Lee

Mr. Meussner

Period 1

7 February 2023

Washington’s Three Warnings

George Washington was one of the most influential figures in history. He is known for being a wise and virtuous leader to whom the formation of the United States of America is widely attributed. Today, his opinions and advice are still well respected over two hundred years after his death. Washington fought as the general of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War and later became the first president of the newly formed U.S.. He inherited many problems such as enmity within the country, money owed, and foreign wars. After serving two terms, he resigned and gave a Farewell Address as a reflection on his time in office and a message to future leaders. Inside his

Many farmers that lived in the South were Democratic Republicans, and many businesspeople and manufacturers that lived in the North were Federalists because they each shared common beliefs in systems that benefited themselves. Washington believed that political parties would divide America, especially “parties that are founded based on where people live” (Washington). Parties founded based on where people lived would be parties that benefited the people who lived there instead of benefiting America as a whole in a restriction of interest called sectionalism. In sectionalism, they were likely to begin thinking of themselves as separate and might become tempted to turn against each other or even split into separate countries, as was attempted and nearly successful in the Civil War. Washington did not think political parties should be based on where people

He thought foreign alliances would draw America into avoidable wars. Wars were expensive, and fighting alongside one country meant fighting against another. He believed that “we should seek peace and harmony with all nations, but we should have little or no political connection with them” (Washington). He thought that the United States should not have political connections with only certain countries because he wanted to maintain good terms with all countries. If all countries had peaceful, neutral relations with all others, and not biased, political relations, peace could be achieved and wars could be circumvented. During the war between Britain and France in the 1770s and 1780s, the United States attempted to remain neutral. However, due to different political agreements with both sides, the United States was drawn into the war anyway. Washington wanted to remain uninvolved with political conflicts between