What Are The Consequences Of George Washington's Farewell Address

With George Washington’s departure from the presidency, the former president made sure to take advantage of his popularity to pass on an important message to his nation. Washington’s took this opportunity to state not only guidelines for which he believed the country should be run, but also the dangers that the republic could face. Washington’s first warning was the danger of allowing regional identities to triumph over the single unifying identity that all members of the Union should be under: American (6). To fortify this warning, Washington reminds his audience that they have “fought and triumphed together” and have created the nation through joint effort that should not be ruined by local interests (7). Later on in the farewell address, Washington draws reference to geographical alignments and warns against the dangers of parties. Washington believes that the “Spirit of Party”, albeit inseparable from human nature, can lead individuals to place their own advancements over the republic (17). Although Washington mentions parties can serve as a check on government, he states that an effort should be made to mitigate excess power of parties in elective governments to insure that men should seek election to progress their nation and not their own
The spirit of the party, according to Washington, can open the door to foreign interference and corruption of the Union (18). The way these foreign influences find their way into government are through the passions of party passions; thus, Washington makes note the policy of one country are intermingled with that of another (18). The Union must work accordingly as one to protect against external danger and keep their peace with other nations. Washington believes that to avoid war with foreign powers, the Union must exclude itself from the “broil” and “War” that often foreign countries struggle