Sep 15– George Washington’s Farewell Address (1796)
Summary: Parties+Alliances=Bad, Unity=Good
Commentary: A lot has been made of this address's warnings against political parties and foreign entanglements. What no one seems to mention is that Washington spends better than half the speech saying how important it is to maintain the union, and that our government should work to support the people and people should keep faith in the government.
The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad, of your safety, of your prosperity, of that very liberty which you so highly prize.
I think we often see the founders portrayed as only uniting the colonies out of convenience or reluctantly, trying to keep them as separate as possible. Washington is clearly very supportive of America as a single country, not just a loose confederation of states.
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