The Great Warning: Washington's Farewell Address

Rosie Jayde Uyola
Oct 10
3 min read

Learning Target (Aim)

I can identify George Washington's main warnings to the nation by analyzing excerpts from his Farewell Address.

Key Vocabulary

Farewell Address: A speech given by a public figure when they are leaving office.
Political Faction: A group of individuals, like a political party, united by a common political purpose.
Entangling Alliances: Long-term, binding treaties with foreign nations that could draw the U.S. into wars.
Precedent: An earlier action that is seen as an example or guide for the future (e.g., Washington set the precedent of serving only two terms).
Neutrality: The state of not supporting or helping either side in a conflict.

Part 1: Do Now (5 minutes)

Directions: A respected senior is graduating and giving final advice to younger students.

What two major warnings would they give to help the students succeed and avoid trouble? In a complete paragraph, explain why their advice would be important.

Sentence Starters (Optional):

If a respected student were graduating, their two main warnings would likely be about _______________ and ________________. First, they might warn about ________________ because ________________. Second, they would probably advise students to avoid ________________ since it could lead to ________________.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Part 2: Washington's Final Advice - Analyzing the Sources

Directions: Read the two excerpts from George Washington's Farewell Address. The table provides the original text and a simplified version to help your understanding.

Source 1: George Washington's Farewell Address, 1796 (On Political Parties)

Original Text

Simplified Text

"The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension... is itself a frightful despotism... It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another... It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption..."

The constant fighting for power between political parties, driven by revenge, is a form of tyranny. It distracts the government and makes it weaker. It stirs up the community with baseless jealousy and false fears, and it turns different groups of citizens against each other. It also opens the door for foreign countries to corruptly influence our government.

Source 2: George Washington's Farewell Address, 1796 (On Foreign Policy)

Original Text

Simplified Text

"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... Europe has a set of primary interests which to us have none... Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns... It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances... Why... entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition...?"

Our main rule when dealing with other countries is to focus on business and trade, while having as few political connections as possible. Europe has its own set of interests and problems that have nothing to do with us. Therefore, our best policy is to avoid permanent alliances with any foreign country. Why should we risk our own peace and success by getting tangled up in Europe’s ambitions and problems?

Think-Ink-Pair-Share

1. Think & Ink: In your own words, summarize each of Washington's two main warnings.

Sentence Starters (Optional):

For Political Parties: Washington warns against political parties because... / The main problem with parties, according to Washington, is that they...

For Foreign Alliances: Regarding foreign policy, Washington's advice was to... / He argued that the U.S. should avoid alliances because...

Washington's Warning about Political Parties: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Washington's Warning about Foreign Alliances: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Pair & Share: Turn to a partner and discuss:

Why do you think Washington was so worried about political parties?
Why was he so concerned about alliances with Europe?

Part 3: Exit Ticket (5 minutes)

Directions: George Washington's Farewell Address was his final warning to the nation. Write a paragraph of at least 5-8 sentences where you choose ONE of his warnings (about political parties or foreign alliances) and argue whether or not modern America has listened to his advice.

Provide one specific example from current events or recent history to support your argument.

Sentence Starters & Paragraph Frame (Optional):

Washington warned against ____________________________________ because he feared ____________________________________________. In my opinion, America today (has / has not) followed this advice. For example, _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. This shows that ________________________________________________________________________________________________.