Definition
In 1796, nothing in the Constitution kept George Washington from seeking a third term, but after two terms he chose to retire. He published his Farewell Address in a Philadelphia newspaper on September 19, 1796, with drafting help from Alexander Hamilton, who built on a version James Madison had prepared in 1792. Washington warned against political parties, especially parties divided by region, North against South or East against West, and after four years of quarrels over France and Britain, he warned against permanent foreign alliances. Democratic-Republicans saw the address as an attack on their party and on its friendship with France, and Washington's decision to retire set a two-term custom that lasted until Franklin Roosevelt won a third term in 1940.
Why it matters on the AP exam
The address is the usual source on the origins of the American policy of avoiding permanent alliances, which guided foreign policy until after World War II, when the United States joined NATO in 1949. Questions pair it with the French Revolution, the Proclamation of Neutrality and the rise of parties, and ask what controversy prompted Washington's warnings against foreign influence and permanent alliances. A common mistake is to say the address called for a two-term limit, when the Constitution set none until the Twenty-second Amendment in 1951.
In the sources
“’Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent Alliances”
Connections
- Jay's Treaty: the fight over the treaty hardened the parties Washington warned against
- XYZ Affair: France's demand for a bribe in 1797 showed the kind of foreign pressure Washington had warned about
- Proclamation of Neutrality: the 1793 policy of staying out of the European war on which the address built