Washington’s Farewell to The Nation: The Story of America [Ep. 15]

00:00:10
Speaker 1: And we returned to our American Stories. Up next, another installment of our series “About Us,” the “Story of America” series with Bill McLay, Billsdale College professor and author of “Land of Hope.” Up next, a story about Washington’s Farewell Address. Let’s get into it.

00:00:31
Speaker 2: We have the golf between these two visions. The golf between Jefferson and Hamilton—their visions of America were a dramatic golf. The partisanship, the level of conflict, the polemics. They were bitter, extremely bitter bitter, because everyone involved believed the national future was at stake. It was no small thing. This was right at the beginning. Was the country going to fail again with its Constitution, as it failed with the arctics of Confederation? Was it possible that here, at the very outset of getting what we wanted, we were going to blow it and dissolve into quarreling factions, or worse, if it was going to violate the very fundamental principles that brought it into being? Was it going to just produce another monarchical tyranny? Which is what the Jeffersonian faction feared. Their opponents thought about the Jeffersonians, that they were radicals and atheists and believers in all kinds of wild doctrines that would eliminate America as it had formerly been known. Both sides honestly and sincerely believed the other side was going to endanger that future. In addition, there were charlatans, mischievous actors galore, which they always are, lurking around the edges of politics and sometimes occupying the center of politics, and that added to the nature of these divides. But, out of respect to Washington, the parties as such didn’t really come into being in a formal way until after President Washington had stepped down. Everybody knew how Washington felt about parties. Everybody respected him enormously. He was almost a symbol of national unity. To do something offensive to him was quite literally to act against the well-being of the nation. So, Washington managed to hold things together until he stepped down. And Washington had this in mind when he delivered his Farewell Address. It was on September seventeenth, seventeen ninety-six, which, if you remember the date, September seventeenth, this was the ninth anniversary of the Constitution signing. This Farewell Address of Washington was one of the most important speeches in American history and worthy of review, and we’re going to spend a lot of time with it today. It represented Washington’s deepest thoughts about the condition of the country and his hopes and fears for the future. You could say that it’s an effort to project his own influence ahead into the future of the country that he had served in love. He had assistance in writing it from both Hamilton and Madison, but it very much was his product, his baby, his production, his view. So, let’s read some of the passages from this sterling speech, which for most of American history has been studied, memorized in portions, or in its sutality, taken as a guide: “In looking forward to the moment which is intended to terminate the career of my public life, my feelings do not permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country for the many honors that has conferred upon me, still more for the steadfast confidence with which it has supported me, and for the opportunities I’ve thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable attachment by services faithful and persevering, though in usefulness unequal to my zeal.” That’s an amazing sense. Let me continue. “If benefits have exulted to our country from these services, let it always be remembered to your praise, and as an instructive example in our animals, that under circumstances in which the passions agitated in every direction were liable to mislead, amid appearances sometimes dubious, vicissitudes of fortune often discouraging, in situations in which not infrequently want of success has countenanced the spirit of criticism. The constancy of your support was the essential prop of the efforts and a guarantee of the plans by which they were effected. Profoundly penetrated with this idea, I shall carry it with me to my grave, as a strong incitement to unceasing vows that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence; that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual; that the free constitution, which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained; that its administration in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue; That infined.” The happiness of the people of these states under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing as will acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affection, and the adoption of every nation which is yet a stranger to it.’ It’s a wonderful introduction. He’s echoing here the sentiment that we found in Federalist No. 1, expressed by Hamilton: ‘that the success, the happiness of these states under the auspices of liberty will acquire to them the glory of recommending these institutions to the applause, affection, and adoption of every nation which is yet a stranger to it.’ In other words, not only will the rest of the world admire us, but they will seek eventually to adopt institutions that have brought such felicity to us. So, there’s that sense that America is an experiment. The rest of the speech has a very, very clear theme: unity, unity. ‘In contemplating the causes which may disturb our union, it occurs as a matter of serious concern, that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties by geographical discriminations—Northern, Southern, Atlantic, and Western. Whence, designing men may endeavor to excite a belief that there’s a real difference of local interests and views. One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within a particular district is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heart burnings which spring from their misrepresentations. They tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection.’ Washington’s warning us about the fact that when you have parties whose objective is to win, to enact their favored policies; when that’s in the driver’s seat, there’s very little to restrain the description of the enemy—of the other side, of the opponent—as being far worse than they actually are. They’re devils. You could see that possibility ahead if there was not a rigorous attempt to encourage civic virtue. And civic virtue meant the participation by all citizens as citizens, not as Democrats, Republicans, Federalists, whatever the party might be called, but as citizens in the governance of their commonwealth.

00:09:23
Speaker 1: When we come back, more with Bill McLay here on our American Stories. And we returned to our American Stories and our series ‘About Us,’ the ‘Story of America’ series, with Hillsdale College professor and author of ‘Land of Hope,’ Dr. Bill McLay. When we last left off, Dr. McLay was reading from Washington’s Farewell Address, in particular Washington’s section on factionalism. Let’s return to the story. Here again is Bill McLay.

00:10:05
Speaker 2: Now, here’s Washington on the dangers in perils of political parties and political partisanship. I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner, against the baneful effects of the spirit of party. Generally. ‘This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed. But in those of the popular form it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy. The alternative domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party. Dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually inclined the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual. And sooner or later, the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation on the ruins of public liberty, without looking forward to an extremity of this kind, which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight. The common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and the duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. 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; foments occasionally riot and insurrection.’ And now, here’s Washington and some very important words, words that have rung down through the centuries, about the importance of religion and morality; of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity. ‘Religion and morality are indispensable supports in vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism? Who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious men ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, where is the security for property, for reputation, for life? If the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice, and let us, with caution, indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion, whatever it may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule indeed extends with more or less force to every species of free government, who that is a sincere friend to it, can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric? Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion, as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.’ Here’s Washington: what may be the most important part of his Farewell Address, the most consequential. Cautioning Americans against passionate attachment to foreign nations; or, cause of a passionate attachment of one nation for another, produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one of the enmities of the other, betrays the farmer into a participation in the and wars of the latter without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite nation of privileges denied to others, which is abtdoubly to injure the nation making the concessions by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained, and by exciting jealousy and will in a disposition to retaliate in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld. And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens who devote themselves to the favorite nation, facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country without odium, sometimes even with popularity, guilding with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation as avenues to foreign influence. In innumerable ways. Such attachments are particularly alarming to the truly enlightened and independent patriot. ‘It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world, so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it. For let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than private affairs. At honesty is always the best policy. But I repeated therefore that let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But in my opinion, it is unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them. Taking care always to keep ourselves by suitable establishments on a respectably defensive posture, we may safely trust to temper alliances for extraordinary emergencies.’ Dusk includes Washington and what undeniably is one of the great speeches of American history, laying out in his precedent-minded way. Because remember, Washington is always thinking about how the words he utters, the gestures that he performs. Everything he does is laying down a president for those to follow him. And if good presidents beget good behavior, beget a good nation. So he saw this speech, this Farewell Speech, as his way of taking almost and putting in a package the things he tried to do and communicate and established precedence for in his first two terms of office as the very first president. How successful was he? It’s an inter question. Certainly the notions about unity have an evergreen quality about them. We are a fractious nation. We have been a fractious nation. We will continue to be a fractious nation, where the lots of differences of opinion. The key to our national unity is not to suppress the differences of opinion, but to keep them within bounds, to subordinate them to a respect for the fundamental ruling law, that is the Constitution. The Constitution forms that element patterning our unity henceforth for all time. So his message of unity is not lost, nor, I think, is his warning about entangling alliances. As it happens, the United States hasn’t really followed that dictum, certainly in the years of the twentieth century, and made a decisive break from them. But he reminds us when we read the Farewell Address, of what kind of nation the framers and founders envision creating, and why, ideally, a lack of consequential involvement of attachment to other nations’ affairs was something that we should avoid for the sake of our own republican institutions. It’s an interesting and important point from someone who we see as the father of our country, as the founder of this national andre Greate national feast, as the indispensable man. So, when the Indispensable Man is telling us something that is at odds with what we’ve been doing, we ought at least to listen and bought Washington is always there for us.

00:19:51
Speaker 1: Had a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling by our own Monty Montgomery, himself a Hillsdale College graduate, and a special thanks to Professor Bill McLay, who teaches at Hillsdale College. He’s the author of “Land of Hope” and the terrific Young Readers Edition. Go to Amazon or the usual suspects wherever you buy your books. The story of Us: Washington’s Farewell Address here on our American Stories.