05-16-06
Some of you who follow American History might have heard at one time or another that George Washington warned his countrymen of "entangling foreign alliances" in his farewell address given as he prepared to retire from his second presidential term. You may have heard that he issued a neo-isolationist concept about how the USA should treat its foreign policy ideas.
Here is a relevant section of Washington's farewell address:
"The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop."Unfortunately, too many view Washington's warning of foreign entanglements incorrectly. Though it is a very common misconception, Washington was absolutely not saying we should never have anything to do with other nations or that we should forever steer clear of "foreign entanglements". Washington was not proposing an isolationist policy.
Instead, Washington was worried about the pervasive split between Americans backing England and those standing up for France that had appeared in the US during Washington's last term in office. This split was causing heavy fractionalization on the American political scene, and faction was one of the chief bugaboos in American political philosophy at the time. It should be remembered that during Washington's terms the Party system had yet to be created and it was hoped by the Founders that a political system free of Parties could be sustained as a permanent American convention.
Washington meant only to steer clear of European alliances and entanglements only for as long as it took to get the USA consolidated and strong and to strengthen the Federal Union in the face of superior European power.
In a letter to Gouverneur Morris on Dec. 22, 1795, Washington mentioned how he envisioned that the USA would be strong enough to hold its own about 20 years after the country's birth, that, until that time, he wanted his country to be left alone and clear of European meddling so that the USA's position would be unassailable.
So, while much of the advice about foreign policy is sound, Washington's warning was one of the immediate future not one of a permanent nature.
It should also be remembered that the US was fully involved in trade negotiations with every European nation at the time Washington issued his farewell address, so even as he was warning about foreign entanglements, the country was already so entangled.
A clear and concise monograph on this subject can be seen in the book, "To the Farewell Address", by Felix Gilbert. (1961 Princeton Press)
Lastly, just on a point of clarification, the Farewell Address was initially drafted by Madison, with revisions by both Washington and Hamilton.
By Warner Todd Huston
Warner Todd Huston's thoughtful commentary, sometimes irreverent often historically based, is featured on many websites such as townhall.com, opinioneditorials.com and americandaily.com among many, many others. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book "Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture" which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston
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