Washington’s greatest concern as he turned down his second term of presidency was the development of political parties in the US.
If states had the mindset of acting independently then America would be in a wreck. Washington’s fare well address happened on September 17, 1796 and took place in the capital city of Philadelphia, however, this address was printed everywhere. In this article, he argues the importance of a national union, the value of a constitution, and rules of the law. His intentions are to avoid foreign alliances and the political parties such as Democrats or Republicans. After all, he did not feel that it was necessary to have a debate and fight over America.
Washington felt that due to increasing population of political parties; this would influence sectionalism. Each region would soon develop their own political party and cater to the region’s needs. Furthermore, he thought that sectionalism would not be an ideal idea for the US. If one political party obtained all the power, then the others would abuse the rights and mistreat minorities.
However, in some areas, there was big advantages that relate to resources. For instance, the North utilized manufactured goods then the South had agricultural goods. By working together, these goods would cost the minimum and make the country fortunate through trading. In this article, he also warned the country to remain neutral through foreign affairs. If the US took sides in a foreign issue, the consequences of war would be at risk.
George Washington was well-aware that the United states could not afford to fight. Overall, this fare well address is historically significant for preserving the views of the dangerous consequences on presidency and the qualities that citizens needed to prepare. A fun fact about this fare well address is that it was originally written by James Madison then eventually, Hamilton revised the first draft after Washington’s second term.
