••IN HIS FAREWELL ADDRESS IN PHILADELPHIA
IN 1796, GEORGE WASHINGTON
WARNED AGAINST THE ADVENT OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN NATIONS WITH
POPULACE-ELECTED
GOVERNMENTS.
DO YOU BELIEVE OUR NATION'S HISTORY
SUPPORTS HIS VIEWS? EXPLAIN."
Natasha Chowdry
301 Northwynd Cir. No.309
Lynchburg, VA. 24502
(434) 2388711
[email protected]
Natasha Chowdry- 301 Northwynd
Cir. No.309 Lynchburg, VA. 34502
In his farewell address, George Washington advised our country not to
accumulate much debt, stay away from permanent foreign alliances, and avoid building
up an over-powerful military. Needless to say, he was right about all of it. In only the
year of 1796, Washington was able to predict what the future of America was going to
look like, therefore taking the utmost care in warning our country's future leaders from
letting it turn out that way. (Washington) Three centuries later and we have a massive
national debt, many permanent allies thanks to groups like the UN and NATO, and one of
the most powerful militaries in the world, which is now spread across the several
different nations. George Washington was wise in warning our nation against political
parties in his 1796 farewell address because they are the catalyst that lead to all these
problems. (George Washington's Farewell Address)
Americans tend to favor whichever party is not in the majority during the
recessionary period in our economic cycle. Statistics show that during more recent
economic times [2009-present] the Democratic Party is becoming less favorable than the
Republican Party at a slow, but steady, rate. (GALLUP) It is also important to note that
during expansionary periods our country has favored the party in power. For example, in
1993 Americans favored the Democratic Party (GALLUP) because Clinton's
strategically implemented fiscal policy, which turned our national deficit into a surplus.
(The White House) The growing national debt is accumulations of all our past
presidencies letting our country run a deficit each year; but then why do we automatically
blame the party in power for our current economic situation? Without political parties
having someone else to blame for the problem maybe someone would then rise up and
Natasha Chowdry- 301 Northwynd
Cir. No.309 Lynchburg, VA. 34502
take responsibility for the current situation. It is because we let our politicians remain
divided that they cannot work together in finding a solutionl to our massive debt.
(Economics)
The reason Washington warned us against making ~ermanent alliances was to
avoid the conflict that happened after the French and Indilnl War. Jefferson and the
Republicans wanted the U.S. to remain close allies with Fr
ce in order to ensure that
Great Britain would not encroach on American soil ever agLn. However, the Loyalists,
who remained faithful to Britain, did not want to create a 1nnanent
alliance with France.
This type of fighting between two opposing groups is what can tear a newborn country
apart. This type of fighting is what Washington was trying ~oavoid. (Encyclopedia of the
New American Nation)
Today the United States has one of the most powerfhl militaries in the world.
Each new presidency comes in with a new foreign policy,
II
d with that comes new plans
for the military. The statistics show that military spending h s changed each time a new
party has come into power. (World Bank, World Developmlnt Indicators - Google public
I
data) Without the creation of political parties each new lea1er of the U.S. would not be
trying to trump the accomplishments of his predecessor. It if because we have competing
parties with different views on foreign policy that military spending continues to fluctuate
so much. This has contributed to other problems such as our growing national debt.
(World Bank, World Development Indicators - Google public data )
Washington foresaw that the advent of political parties would result in a sort of
domino effect, where one problem just leads to the next. His farewell address was able to
outline that once political parties were established politicians would try to out do their
Natasha Chowdry- 301 Northwynd
Cir. No.309 Lynchburg, VA. 34502
opponents by broadening foreign policy to include more permanent alliances. "It [a party
system] opens the door to foreign influence and corruption." (Washington) These
alliances would then lead to competition over which party can rid
up our military the
best. "It [a party system] ... kindles the animosity of one part against another."
(Washington) Finally, all the increased military spending woul
I
lead to an
insurmountable national debt. Based on our history in these out ined areas, it is needless
to say that George Washington was right to warn America agai st establishing a party
system.
Natasha Chowdry- 301 Northwynd Cir. No.309 Lynchburg, VA.34502
Bibliography
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Economics, San Jose State University-Department of. The Economic History of the
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<http:j /www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/useconhist.htm#RECESSIONS>.
Encyclopedia of the New American Nation. What washington and jefferson
(eventually) agreed on - The National Interest. 11 January 2011
<http://www.americanforeignrelations.com/EN/The- National- Interest- Whatwashington-and-jefferson-eventually-agreed-on.html>.
GALLUP.Party Images. 201111-January
<http://www.gallup.comjpoll/24655/Party-Images.aspx>.
George Washington's Farewell Address. 2011 13-January
<http://www.earlyamerica.comjearlyamerica/milestones/farewellj>.
The White House. The Clinton-Gore Administration: A Record of Progress. 2011 10<http://clinton5.nara.gov /WH/ Accomplishments/eightyears-03.html>.
I January
Washington, George. "Washington's Farewell Address 1796." 1796. Avalon ProjectWashington's Farewell Address 1796. 2011 5-January
<http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century
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