George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796

br George Washington , Farewell Address , 1796

George Washington , Farewell Address , 1796 The reaction of the modern reader to George Washington 's 1796 Farewell Address might well be amazement coupled with awe . And justifiably so -- as Washington 's remarks has proven to be not only eloquent , but startlingly prescient , regarding the challenges that the American constitution and American Democracy would likely face during its immediate , post-revolutioin future , as well as its far-flung future which includes the political turbulence of the present day . The sensitive reader would also , no doubt , reach the

conclusion that America would be in a far stronger and much more authentically democratic state had Washington 's perceptive Farewell Address been taken heed of by those who followed in his footsteps

Foremost among the many important assertions made by Washington in the Farewell Address is the concept that American principles and the tenants which inform the American government are cultural traditions that tie together very different geographical , political , and economic concerns Therefore , according to Washington , the greatest threat to America lies in the erosion or perversion of the cultural ties which bind these disparate parts together . this cultural association is , of course , a tradition of liberty and individual pursuit of happiness which is directly expressed in the democratic form of government itself However ,beyond laws and government institutions there must be a shared allegiance in hallowing the principles behind the laws because the laws even the constitution itself , Washington warns , may be susceptible to manipulation and self-interest "one method of assault may be to effect in the forms of the Constitution , alterations which will impair the energy of the system , and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown (Fitzpatrick , 1931 ,

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Washington 's emphasis on the need for Americans to cherish and revere their liberty and their democratic institutions cannot possibly be overstated . It is the primary thrust behind nearly all of his admonishments and advice to the nation in his Farewell Address . The core of his belief was in the principles rather than the institutions of laws of the American democracy and he urged all Americans to share this important reverence and vision "you should cherish a cordial , habitual and immoveable attachment to it accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the Palladium of your political safety (Fitzpatrick 1931 ,

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The unity of reverence for democratic traditions and democratic institutions ties directly to Washington 's emphasis on preserving the wholeness of of and mutual sustenance of the various states of the Union . In a particularly prescient observation , Washington mentions the tensions and also mutual benefits that exist between the geographically apportioned states of the Union , foreshadowing through intensely optimistic language , the American Civil War that would take place more than a century later "The North , in an unrestrained , intercourse with the South protected by the equal Laws of a common government , finds in the productions of the latter , great additional resources of Maratime and commercial enterprise and precious materials of manufacturing industry...