The Farewell Address by George Washington

For starters, in the Farewell Address, George Washington said not to create political parties to avoid separating our country. N0w our country somewhat depends on political parties to decide certain things. The separation of our country could also lead to a higher chance of civil war. This leads to another point in the farewell address, “and the reduced need for an expensive army since civil war would then not be likely”. In the Farewell Address, it warns not to let the army become too powerful.

But as of this year, there are about 1.4 million active troops in the American army. This makes us one of the most powerful fighting forces in the world.

Furthermore, the Farewell Address also says to stay away from permanent alliances. “In the 25 years since the end of the war, however, in a dramatic reversal of national policy, we have allied ourselves with half the world”. At the moment, we are not following that expectation whatsoever.

Not following this could lead to war with non-allied countries. In contrast, allies have helped us in the past wars. For example, France donated needed supplies and help when we needed it most during the revolutionary war. On the other hand, it is in the farewell address to make every citizen feel safe in our country. For some Americans, their race, religion, or views get attacked and/or put down.

Lastly, our country has gotten ourselves pretty deep into debt.

“Wars are expensive and should be avoided. In peace, debt should be paid off as quickly as possible.

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” This is relating to two different points of the Farewell Address, not going into debt and don’t make decisions if you can’t afford them. For example, we got into heavy debt after the revolutionary war which created tax and many problems that came with it. Current day, we have a somewhat steady tax system but are still in debt. In addition, we still spend a lot of money on very unneeded materials and matters. Therefore, the national debt has gotten as bad as $21.4 trillion.

Overall, our country has not followed Washington’s orders from the farewell address to an extent. The farewell address came from on of the best presidents we had to help us build our country but we didn’t follow it. If we would have, the country would most likely have a much lower rate of government and economy issues. Not following it has lead us into great debt, some hatred throughout the country, wars, and many more. In conclusion, our country did not follow the farewell address’ suggestions which is the cause for many of our problems today.

Sources

1. Fromkin, David. ‘Entangling Alliances.’ Foreign Affairs. September 15, 2015. Accessed November 09, 2018. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/1970-07-01/entangling-alliances.

2. Coblenz, Michael. ‘The Two-party System Is Destroying America.’ TheHill. February 01, 2016. Accessed November 09, 2018. https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/267222-the-two-party-system-is-destroying-america.

3. Ellyatt, Holly. ‘Trump’s NATO Criticism Is ‘valid,’ Europe Isn’t Spending Enough on Defense, UK Ex-minister Says.’ CNBC. July 11, 2018. Accessed November 09, 2018. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/11/trumps-nato-criticism-is-valid-europe-isnt-spending-enough-on-def.html.

4. Fromkim, David. ‘A Contemporary Synopsis of Washington’s Farewell Address.’ Providence Forum. Accessed November 09, 2018. https://providenceforum.org/story/washington-farewell-address/.

5. Fromkin, David. ‘Entangling Alliances.’ Foreign Affairs. September 15, 2015. Accessed November 09, 2018. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/1970-07-01/entangling-alliances.

6. ‘The Things George Washington Worried About Are Happening Today.’ History.com. Accessed November 09, 2018. https://www.history.com/news/washington-farewell-address.

7. ‘Trump’s Right, U.S. Does Spend More on Education than Most.’ @politifact. Accessed November 09, 2018. https://www.politifact.com/ohio/statements/2016/sep/21/donald-trump/trump-us-spends-more-almost-any-other-major-countr/.

8. ‘President George Washington’s Farewell Address (1796).’ Our Documents – Interstate Commerce Act (1887). Accessed November 09, 2018. https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=15

9. Avalon, John. ‘The Things George Washington Worried About Are Happening Today.’ History.com. Accessed November 09, 2018. https://www.history.com/news/washington-farewell-address.

10. Napsha, Joe. ‘Washington Farewell Address Still Relevant, Author Says.’ TribLIVE.com. November 18, 2017. Accessed November 09, 2018. https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/12645178-74/washington-farewell-address-still-relevant-author-says.