風蕭蕭_Frank
以文會友
美國讀本 (The American Reader)
喬治．華盛頓 George Washington 告別演說 Farewell Address
https://usinfo.org/zhcn/gb/pubs/BasicReadings/49.htm#:~:text=
(American Memory Collection, Library of Congress)
我們處理外國事務的最重要原則，就是在與它們發展商務關係時，盡量避免與它們發生政治聯係。
喬治．華盛頓(1732一1799)在領導革命軍取得勝利並主持了成功的製憲會議之後，毫無異議地被選爲新國家的第一任總統。他勉強接受第二任四年的任期，但他拒絕連任第三任。在一個還是由國王、世襲酋長和小暴君們統治的世界裏，華盛領作出放棄權力，讓給民選繼承人的決定表明美國的民主實驗有了一個良好的開端。
在1796年9月17日向他的內閣所發表的告別演說中，華盛頓提出以下忠告：一、反對地方主義的危險；二、反對政治派係之爭；三、保持宗教和道德作爲“人類幸福之重要支柱”，並促進建立“普及知識的機構”；四、與其它國家保持中立關係。他對於卷入國外爭端的警告後來被稱爲是“華盛頓的偉大法規”。直至第一次世界大戰爲止，這條“偉大法規”一直是美國外交政策的主旨。
我們重新選舉一位公民來主持美國政府的行政工作已爲期不遠了，實際上，現在已經到了必須運用你們的思想來考慮將此重任付托給誰的時候了。因此，我覺得我應當向大家表明，尤其是因爲這樣做可能使得公衆意見表達得更明確，那就是我已下定決心，謝絕把我列爲候選人……
政府的統一使大家結成一個民族，現在也爲你們所珍視。各位理應如此，因爲它是支撐你們真正獨立的主要支柱，也是保證你們國內安定、國外和平、安全、繁榮以及你們所珍惜的自由的基石。然而，不難預見，會有某些力量試圖削弱你們心裏對這個真理的信念，這些力量起因不一，來源各異，但均煞費苦心，千方百計地産生作用。其所以如此，是因爲統一是你們政治堡壘中的一個攻擊重點，內外敵人的炮火，會不斷加緊(雖然常是隱蔽地和陰險地)攻擊。因此，當前最重要的是你們應當正確估量民族團結對於你們集體和個人幸福的巨大價值。對於它你們應當懷有誠摯的、一貫的和堅定不移的忠誠；你們在思想上和言談中應習慣於把它當作政治安定和繁榮的保護神，你們要小心翼翼地維護它。如果有人提到這種信念在某種情況下可以拋棄，即使那隻是猜想，也不應當表示支持，如果有人企圖使我國的一部分脫離其餘部分，或想削弱現在聯係各部份的神聖紐帶，隻要他們一提出來，你們就應當予以怒斥。
你們有對此給予同情和關懷的一切理由。既然你們因出生或歸化而成爲同一國家的公民，這個國家就有權集中你們的情感。美國人這個稱號是屬於你們這些有國民身份的人，這個稱號一定會提高你們愛國的光榮感，遠勝過任何地方性的稱號。你們之間除了極細微的差別之外，還有相同的宗教、禮議、習俗和政治原則。你們曾爲了一個共同的目標而奮鬥，並共同獲得勝利。你們所擁有的獨立和自由，乃是你們群策群力，同甘苦、共患難的成果……
在研究那些可能擾亂我們聯邦的種種原因時，使人想到一件令人嚴重關切的事，即以種種理由使黨派具有地理差別的特征──北方的和南方的，東部的和西部的──企圖這樣做的人可能力圖要借此造成一種信念，使人以爲地方之間真的存在著利益和觀點的差異。一個黨派想在某些地區獲得影響而采取的功利手段之一，就是歪曲其它地區的觀點和目標。這種歪曲引起的妒忌和不滿，是防不勝防的，使那些本應親如兄弟的人變得互不相容……．
爲了使你們的聯邦有效力，能持久，一個代表全體的政府是不可少的。各地區結成的聯盟，不論怎樣嚴密，都不能充分代表這樣的政府。這些聯盟必定會經曆古往今來所有聯盟都曾經曆過的背約和中斷盟約的遭遇。由於明白了這個重要的真理，所以你們在最初嚐試的基礎上進行改善，通過了一部勝過從前的政府憲法，以期密切聯合並更有效地管理大家的共同事務。這個政府是我們自己選擇的，不曾受人影響，不曾受人威脅，是經過全盤研究和深思熟慮而建立的，它的原則和它的權力分配是完全自由的，它把安全和活力結合在一起，而且本身就含有修正其自身的規定。這樣一個政府有充分的理由要求得到你們的信任和支持。尊重它的權威，服從它的法律，遵守它的規則，這些都是真正自由的基本準則所責成的義務。我們政治製度的基礎是人民有權製定和變更其政府的憲法。可是憲法在經全民采取明確和正式的行動加以修改之前，任何人都對之負有神聖的履行義務。人民有權力和權利來建立政府，可這一觀念是以每人有義務服從所建立的政府爲前提的……..
要保存你們的政府，要永久維持你們現在的幸福，你們不僅應當不斷地反對那些不時發生的反對公認的政府的行爲，而且對那種要更新政府原則的風氣，即使其借口看似有理，也應謹慎地予以抵製。他們進攻的方法之一，可能是采取改變憲法的形式，以損害這種體製的活力，從而把不能直接推翻的東西，暗中加以破壞。在你們可能被邀參與的所有變革中，應當記住，要確定政府的真正性質就像確定其它人類機構的性質一樣，至少需要時間和習慣；應當記住，要檢驗一國現存政體的真正趨勢，經驗是最可靠的標準；應當記住，僅憑假設和意見便輕易變更，將會因假設和意見之無窮變化而招致無窮的變更；還要特別記住，在我們這樣遼闊的國度裏，要想有效地管理大家的共同利益，一個充滿活力並能充分保障自由的政府是必不可少的……
我已經告訴你們在這個國家裏存在著派係之爭的危險，並特別提到以地區差別來分黨立派的危險。現在讓我以更全麵的角度，以最鄭重的態度告誡你們全麵警惕派性的惡劣影響。不幸的是，這種派性與我們的本性是不可分割的，並紮根於人類思想裏最強烈的欲望之中。它以各種不同的形式存在於所有政府機構裏，盡管多少受到抑製、控製或約束；但那些常見的派性形式，往往是最令人厭惡的，而且確實是政府最危險的敵人…
它總是幹擾公衆會議並削弱公衆的行政管理能力。它在社區裏煽起毫無根據的猜忌和莫須有的驚恐；挑撥一派與另一派對立；有時還鼓起騷亂和暴動。它還爲外國影響和腐蝕打開方便之門，使之可輕易地通過派性的渠道深入到政府中來。這樣，一個國家的政策和意誌就得受製於另一國家的政策和意誌……
在導致政治昌盛的各種意向和習慣中，宗教和道德是必不可少的支柱。那種想竭力破壞人類幸福的偉大支柱──人類與公民職責的最堅強支柱──的人，卻妄想別人讚他愛國，必然是枉費心機。純粹的政治家應當同虔誠的人一樣，尊重並珍惜宗教和道德。它們與個人的和公衆的幸福之間的關係，即便寫一本書也說不完。我們隻須簡單地問一句，如果宗教責任感不存在於法院藉以調查事件的誓言中，那麽那裏談得上財産、名譽和生命的安全呢?我們還應當告誡自己不要耽於幻想，以爲道德可以不靠宗教維持。盡管高尚的教育對於特殊結構的心靈可能有所影響，但根據理智和經驗，不容許我們期望在排除宗教原則的情況下，國民道德仍能普遍存在。
說道德是一個民意所歸的政府所必需的原動力，這話實質上一點不錯。這條準則可或多或少地適用於每一種類型的自由政府。凡是自由政府的忠實朋友，對於足以動搖它組織基礎的企圖，誰能熟視無睹呢?因此，大家應當把促進發展普及知識的機構作爲一個重要的目標。政府組織給輿論以力量，輿論也應相應地表現得更有見地，這是很重要的。
我們應當珍惜政府的財力，因爲這是力量和安全的重要源泉。保存財力的辦法之一是盡量少動用它，並維護和平以避免意外開支；但也要記住，爲了防患於未然而及時撥款，往往可以避免支付更大的款項來消災弭禍。我們同樣也要避免債台高築，爲此，不僅要減少開支，而且在和平時期要盡量去償還不可避免的戰爭所帶來的債務，不可吝嗇摳搜，把我們自己應承受的負擔留給後代……
一個自由民族應當經常警覺，提防外國勢力的陰謀詭計(同胞們，我懇求你們相信我)，因爲曆史和經驗證明，外國勢力乃是共和政府最致命的敵人之一。不過這種提防，要想做到有效，就必須不偏不倚，否則它會成爲我們所要擺脫的勢力的工具，而不是抵禦那種勢力的工事。過度偏好某一國和過度偏惡另一國，都會使受到這種影響的國家隻看到一方麵的危險，而掩蓋甚至縱容另一方麵所施的詭計。當我們所偏好的那個國家的爪牙和受他們蒙蔽的人，利用人民的讚賞和信任，而把人民的利益拱手出讓時，那些會抵製該國詭計的愛國誌士，反而極易成爲懷疑和憎惡的對象。
我們處理外國事務的最重要原則，就是在與它們發展商務關係時，盡量避免與它們發生政治聯係。我們已訂的條約，必須忠實履行，但以此爲限，不再增加。
歐洲有一套基本利益，這些利益對於我們毫無或極少關係。歐洲經常發生爭執，其原因基本上與我們毫不相幹。因此，如果我們卷進歐洲事務，與他們的政治興衰人爲地聯係在一起，或與他們友好而結成同盟，或與他們敵對而發生衝突，都是不明智的。
我國獨處一方，遠離它國，這種地理位置允許並促使我們奉行一條不同的路線。如果我們在一個稱職的政府領導下，保持團結一致，那麽，在不久的將來，我們就可以不怕外來幹擾所造成的物質破壞；我們就可以來取一種姿態，使我們在任何時候決心保持中立時，都可得到它國的嚴正尊重；好戰國家不能從我們這裏獲得好處時，也不敢輕易冒險向我們挑舋；我們可以在正義的指引下，依照自己的利益，在和平和戰爭問題上作出自己的抉擇。
我們爲什麽要摒棄這種特殊環境帶來的優越條件呢?我們爲什麽要放棄自己的立場而站到外國的立場上去呢?爲什麽要把我們的命運同歐洲任何一部分的命運交織在一起，致使我們的和平與繁榮陷入歐洲的野心、競爭、利益關係、古怪念頭，或反複無常的羅網之中呢?
雖然在檢討本人任期內所做的各事時，我未發覺有故意的錯誤，但我很明白我的缺點，並不以爲我沒有犯過錯誤。不管這些錯誤是什麽，我懇切地祈求上帝免除或減輕這些錯誤所可能産生的惡果。我也將懷著一種希望，願我的國家永遠寬恕這些錯誤，我秉持正直的熱忱，獻身效勞國家已經四十五載，我希望因爲能力薄弱而犯的過失，會隨著我不久以後長眠地下而湮沒無聞。
對於這件事也和其它事一樣，均須仰賴祖國的仁慈。由於受到強烈的愛國之情的激勵，──這種感情對於一個視祖國爲自己及曆代祖先的故土的人來說，是很自然的。──我懷著歡欣的期待心情，指望在我切盼實現的退休之後，能與我的同胞們愉快地分享自由政府治下完善法律的溫暖──這是我一直衷心向往的目標，並且我相信，這也是我們相互關懷、共同努力和赴場蹈火的理想報酬。
George Washington
"However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion."
George Washington FAREWELL ADDRESS | SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1796
EDITORIAL NOTES
Washington is warning the American people against the negative impact that opposing political parties could have on the country. During his presidency he witnessed the rise of the Democratic-Republican party in opposition to the Federalists and worried that future political squabbles would undermine the concept of popular sovereignty in the United States.
Farewell Address, 19 September 1796
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-20-02-0440-0002
United States 19th September 1796
Friends & Fellow-Citizens
The period for a new election of a Citizen, to Administer the Executive government of the United States, being not far distant, and the time actually arrived, when your thoughts must be employed in designating the person, who is to be cloathed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those, out of whom a choice is to be made.
I beg you, at the same time, to do me the justice to be assured, that this resolution has not been taken, without a strict regard to all the considerations appertaining to the relation, which binds a dutiful citizen to his country—and that, in withdrawing the tender of service which silence in my situation might imply, I am influenced by no diminution of zeal for your future interest; no deficiency of grateful respect for your past kindness; but am supported by a full conviction that the step is compatible with both.
The acceptance of, & continuance hitherto in, the office to which your Suffrages have twice called me, have been a uniform sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty, and to a deference for what appeared to be your desire. I constantly hoped, that it would have been much earlier in my power, consistently with motives, which I was not at liberty to disregard, to return to that retirement, from which I had been reluctantly drawn. The strength of my inclination to do this, previous to the last Election, had even led to the preparation of an address to declare it to you;1 but mature reflection on the then perplexed & critical posture of our Affairs with foreign Nations, and the unanimous advice of persons entitled to my confidence, impelled me to abandon the idea.
I rejoice, that the state of your concerns, external as well as internal, no longer renders the pursuit of inclination incompatible with the sentiment of duty, or propriety; & am persuaded whatever partiality may be retained for my services, that in the present circumstances of our country, you will not disapprove my determination to retire.
The impressions with which I first undertook the arduous trust, were explained on the proper occasion.2 In the discharge of this trust, I will only say, that I have with good intentions, contributed towards the Organization and administration of the government, the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment was capable. Not unconscious, in the out set, of the inferiority of my qualifications, experience in my own eyes, perhaps still more in the eyes of others, has strengthened the motives to diffidence of myself; and every day the encreasing weight of years admonishes me more and more, that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome. Satisfied that if any circumstances have given peculiar value to my services, they were temporary, I have the consolation to believe, that while choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it.3
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 acknowledgement of that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country, for the many honors it has conferred upon me; still more for the stedfast confidence with which it has supported me; and for the opportunities I have thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable attachment, by services faithful & persevering, though in usefulness unequal to my zeal. If benefits have resulted to our country from these services, let it always be remembered to your praise, and as an instructive example in our annals, that, under circumstances in which the Passions agitated in every direction were liable to mislead,4 amidst appearances sometimes dubious, viscissitudes of fortune often discouraging, in situations in which not unfrequently 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 vows5 that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence—that your Union & brotherly affection my 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, in fine, 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 adoption of every nation which is yet a stranger to it.
Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me on an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments; which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me all important to the permanency of your felicity as a People. These will be offered to you with the more freedom, as you can only see in them the disinterested warnings of a parting friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to biass his counsel. Nor can I forget, as an encouragement to it, your endulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and not dissimilar occasion.6
Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment.
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 tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very Liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee, that from different causes & from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly & insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national Union, to your collective & individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual & immoveable attachment7 to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the Palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our Country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts.
For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of AMERICAN, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference, you have the same Religion, Manners, Habits & political Principles. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together—the independence & Liberty you possess are the work of joint councils, and joint efforts—of common dangers, sufferings and successes.
But these considerations, however powerfully they address themselves to your sensibility are greatly outweighed by those which apply more immediately to your Interest. Here every portion of our country finds the most commanding motives for carefully guarding & preserving the Union of the whole.
The North, in an unrestrained intercourse with the South, protected by the equal Laws of a common government, finds in the productions of the latter,8 great additional resources of maritime & commercial enterprise and precious materials of manufacturing industry. The South in the same Intercourse, benefitting by the Agency of the North, sees its agriculture grow & its commence expand. Turning partly into its own channels the seamen of the North, it finds its particular navigation envigorated; and while it contributes, in different ways, to nourish & increase the general mass of the national navigation, it looks forward to the protection of a maritime strength, to which itself is unequally adapted. The East, in a like intercourse with the West, already finds, and in the progressive improvement of interior communications, by land & water, will more & more find a valuable vent for the commodities which it brings from abroad, or manufactures at home. The West derives from the East supplies requisite to its growth & comfort—and what is perhaps of still greater consequence, it must of necessity owe the secure enjoyment of indispensable outlets for its own productions to the weight, influence, and the future maritime strength of the Atlantic side of the Union, directed by an indissoluble community of Interest as one Nation. Any other tenure by which the West can hold this essential advantage, whether derived from its own seperate strength, or from an apostate & unnatural connection with any foreign Power, must be intrinsically precarious.9
While then every part of our country thus feels an immediate & particular Interest in Union, all the parts combined cannot fail to find in the united mass of means & efforts greater strength, greater resource, proportionably greater security from external danger, a less frequent interruption of their Peace by foreign Nations; and, what is of inestimable value! they must derive from Union an exemption from those broils and Wars between themselves, which so frequently10 afflict neighbouring countries, not tied together by the same government; which their own rivalships alone would be sufficient to produce, but which opposite foreign alliances, attachments & intriegues would stimulate and imbitter. Hence likewise they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which under any form of Government are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to Republican Liberty: In this sense it is, that your Union ought to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear to you the preservation of the other.
These considerations speak a persuasive language to every reflecting & virtuous mind, and exhibit the continuance of the UNION as a primary object of Patriotic desire. Is there a doubt, whether a common government can embrace so large a sphere? Let experience solve it. To listen to mere speculation in such a case were criminal. We are authorized to hope that a proper organization of the whole, with the auxiliary agency of governments for the respective Subdivisions, will afford a happy issue to the experiment. ’Tis well worth a fair and full experiment.11 With such powerful and obvious motives to Union, affecting all parts of our country, while experience shall not have demonstrated its impracticability, there will always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those, who in any quarter may endeavor to weaken its bands.12
In contemplating the causes wch may disturb our Union, it occurs as matter of serious concern, that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties by Geographical discriminations—Northern and Southern—Atlantic and Western;13 whence designing men may endeavour to excite a belief that there is a real difference of local interests and views. One of the expedients of party to acquire influence, within particular districts, is to misrepresent the opinions & aims of other Districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heart burnings which spring from these misrepresentations. They tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection. The Inhabitants of our Western country have lately had a useful lesson on this head. They have seen, in the Negociation by the Executive, and in the unanimous ratification by the Senate, of the Treaty with Spain, and in the universal satisfaction at that event, throughout the United States, a decisive proof how unfounded were the suspicions propagated among them of a policy in the General Government and in the Atlantic states unfriendly to their Interests in regard to the Mississippi. They have been witnesses to the formation of two Treaties, that with G: Britain and that with Spain, which secure to them every thing they could desire, in respect to our Foreign relations, towards confirming their prosperity.14 Will it not be their wisdom to rely for the preservation of these advantages on the Union by wch they were procured? Will they not henceforth be deaf to those advisers, if such there are, who would sever them from their Brethren and connect them with Aliens?
To the efficacy and permanency of Your Union, a Government for the whole is indispensable. No Alliances however strict between the parts can be an adequate substitute. They must inevitably experience the infractions & interruptions which all Alliances in all times have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved upon your first essay, by the adoption of a Constitution of Government, better calculated than your former for an intimate Union, and for the efficacious management of your common concerns. This government, the offspring of our own choice uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full investigation and mature deliberation, completely free in its principles, in the distribution of its powers, uniting security with energy, and containing within itself a provision for its own amendment, has a just claim to your confidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance with its Laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true Liberty. The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government. But the Constitution which at any time exists, ’till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole People, is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of the People to establish Government presupposes the duty of every Individual to obey the established Government.
All obstructions to the execution of the Laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, controul counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the Constituted authorities are distructive of this fundamental principle and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force—to put in the place of the delegated will of the Nation, the will of a party; often a small but artful and enterprizing minority of the Community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the Mirror of the ill concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the Organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common councils and modefied by mutual interests. However combinations or Associations of the above description may now & then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the Power of the People, & to usurp for themselves the reins of Government; destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.
Towards the preservation of your Government and the permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite, not only that you steadily discountenance irregular oppositions to its acknowledged authority, but also that you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its principles however specious the pretexts. One method of assault may be to effect, in the forms of the Constitution, alterations which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown. In all the changes to which you may be invited, remember that time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of Governments, as of other human institutions—that experience is the surest standard, by which to test the real tendency of the existing Constitution of a country—that facility in changes upon the credit of mere hypotheses & opinion exposes to perpetual change, from the endless variety of hypotheses and opinion: and remember, especially, that for the efficient management of your common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a Government of as much vigour as is consistent with the perfect security of Liberty is indispensable—Liberty itself will find in such a Government, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, its surest Guardian. It is indeed little else than a name, where the Government is too feeble to withstand the enterprises of faction, to confine each member of the Society within the limits prescribed by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the rights of person and property.15
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, & warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the Spirit of Party, generally.
This spirit, unfortunately, is inseperable 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, controuled, or repressed; but in those of the popular form it is seen in its greatest rankness and is truly their worst enemy.16
The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissention, which in different ages & 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 & miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security & 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 & 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 & insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence & corruption, which find a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country, are subjected to the policy and will of another.
There is an opinion that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the Administration of the Government and serve to keep alive the spirit of Liberty. This within certain limits is probably true—and in Governments of a Monarchical cast Patriotism may look with endulgence, if not with favour, upon the spirit of party. But in those of the popular character, in Governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tendency, it is certain there will always be enough of that spirit for every salutary purpose. And there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be, by force of public opinion, to mitigate & assuage it. A fire not to be quenched; it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest instead of warming it should consume.
It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free Country should inspire caution, in those entrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective Constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the Powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create whatever the form of government, a real despotism. A just estimate of that love of power, and proneness to abuse it, which predominates in the human heart is sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of this position. The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power; by dividing and distributing it into different depositories, & constituting each the Guardian of the Public Weal against invasions by the others, has been evinced by experiments ancient & modern; some of them in our country & under our own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. If in the opinion of the People, the distribution or modification of the Constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. The precedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit which the use can at any time yield.
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 labour to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men & citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man ought to respect & to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private & 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 may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure—reason & experience both forbid us to expect that National morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
’Tis 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?17
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.
As a very important source of strength & security cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible: avoiding occasions of expence by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it—avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expence, but by vigorous exertions in time of Peace to discharge the Debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burthen which we ourselves ought to bear. The execution of these maxims belongs to your Representatives, but it is necessary that public opinion should cooperate.18 To facilitate to them the performance of their duty, it is essential that you should practically bear in mind, that towards the payment of debts there must be Revenue—that to have Revenue there must be taxes—that no taxes can be devised which are not more or less inconvenient & unpleasant—that the intrinsic embarrassment inseperable from the selection of the proper objects (which is always a choice of difficulties) ought to be a decisive motive for a candid construction of the conduct of the Government in making it, and for a spirit of acquiescence in the measures for obtaining Revenue which the public exigencies may at any time dictate.
Observe good faith & justice towds all Nations cultivate peace & harmony with all—Religion & morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be that good policy does not equally enjoin it? It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great Nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a People always guided by an exalted justice & benevolence. Who can doubt that in the course of time and things the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary advantages wch might be lost by a steady adherence to it? Can it be, that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a Nation with its virtue? The experiment, at least, is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human Nature. Alas! is it rendered impossible by its vices?
In the execution of such a plan, nothing is more essential than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular Nations and passionate attachments for others should be excluded; and that in place of them just & amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The Nation, which indulges towards another an habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in one Nation against another19 disposes each more readily to offer insult and injury, to lay hold of slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and intractable, when accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur. Hence frequent collisions, obstinate envenomed and bloody contests. The Nation, prompted by ill will & resentment sometimes impels to War the Government, contrary to the best calculations of policy. The Government sometimes participates in the national propensity, and adopts through passion what reason would reject; at other times, it makes the animosity of the nation subservient to projects of hostility instigated by pride, ambition and other sinister & pernicious motives. The peace often, sometimes perhaps the Liberty, of Nations has been the victim.
So likewise, a passionate attachment of one Nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favourite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest, in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels & Wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or justification: It leads also to concessions to the favourite Nation of priviledges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure the Nation making the concessions—by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained—& by exciting jealousy, ill will, and a disposition to retaliate, in the parties from whom eql priviledges are withheld: And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens (who devote themselves to the favourite Nation) facility to betray, or sacrifice the interests of their own country, without odium, sometimes even with popularity; gilding 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. How many opportunities do they afford to tamper with domestic factions, to practice the arts of seduction, to mislead public opinion, to influence or awe the public Councils! Such an attachment of a small or weak, towards a great & powerful Nation, dooms the former to be the satellite of the latter.
Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me fellow citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake; since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of Republican Government. But that jealousy to be useful must be impartial; else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defence against it. Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another, cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. Real Patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the favourite, are liable to become suspected and odious; while its tools and dupes usurp the applause & confidence of the people, to surrender their interests.
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 with20 perfect good faith. Here let us stop.
Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none, or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence therefore it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves, by artificial ties, in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations & collisions of her friendships, or enmities.
Our detached & distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different course. If we remain one People, under an efficient government, the period is not far off, when we may defy material injury from external annoyance; when we may take such an attitude as will cause the neutrality we may at any time resolve upon to be scrupulously respected; when21 belligerent nations, under the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provocation;22 when we may choose peace or War, as our interest guided by justice shall counsel.
Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, Rivalship, Interest, Humour or Caprice?
’Tis 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 patronising infidility to existing engagements. (I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy). I repeat it therefore, 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 temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies.
Harmony, liberal intercourse with all Nations, are recommended by policy, humanity and interest. But even our Commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand: neither seeking nor granting exclusive favours or preferences; consulting the natural course of things; diffusing & diversifying by gentle means the streams of Commerce, but forcing nothing; establishing, with Powers so disposed—in order to give trade a stable course, to define the rights of our merchants, and to enable the Government to support them—conventional rules of intercourse, the best that present circumstances and mutual opinion will permit, but temporary, & liable to be from time to time abandoned or varied, as experience and circumstances shall dictate; constantly keeping in view; that ’tis folly in one Nation to look for disinterested favors from another—that it must pay with a portion of its Independence for whatever it may accept under that character—that by such acceptance, it may place itself in the condition of having given equivalents for nominal favours and yet of being reproached with ingratitude for not giving more. There can be no greater error than to expect, or calculate upon real favours from Nation to Nation. ’Tis an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard.
In offering to you, my Countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression, I could wish—that they will controul the usual current of the passions, or prevent our Nation from running the course which has hitherto marked the Destiny of Nations: But if I may even flatter myself, that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good, that they may now & then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign Intriegue, to guard against the Impostures of pretended patriotism—this hope will be a full recompence for the solicitude for your welfare, by which they have been dictated.
How far in the discharge of my Official duties, I have been guided by the principles which have been delineated, the public Records and other evidences of my conduct must witness to You and to the world. To myself, the assurance of my own conscience is, that I have at least believed myself to be guided by them.
In relation to the still subsisting War in Europe, my Proclamation of the 22d of April 1793 is the index to my Plan. Sanctioned by your approving voice and by that of your Representatives in both Houses of Congress, the spirit of that measure has continually governed me; uninfluenced by any attempts to deter or divert me from it.23
After deliberate examination with the aid of the best lights I could obtain24 I was well satisfied that our country, under all the circumstances of the case, had a right to take, and was bound in duty and interest, to take a Neutral position. Having taken it, I determined, as far as should depend upon me, to maintain it, with moderation, perseverence & firmness.
The considerations which respect the right to hold this conduct, it is not necessary on this occasion to detail. I will only observe, that according to my understanding of the matter, that right, so far from being denied by any of the Belligerent Powers has been virtually admitted by all.25
The duty of holding a Neutral conduct may be inferred, without any thing more, from the obligation which justice and humanity impose on every Nation, in cases in which it is free to act, to maintain inviolate the relations of Peace and amity towards other Nations.
The inducements of interest for observing that conduct will best be referred to your own reflections & experience. With me, a predominant motive has been to endeavour to gain time to our country to settle & mature its yet recent institutions, and to progress without interruption, to that degree of strength & consistency, which is necessary to give it, humanly speaking, the command of its own fortunes.
Though in reviewing the incidents of my Administration, I am unconscious of intentional error—I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that my Country will never cease to view them with indulgence; and that after forty five years of my life dedicated to its Service, with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest.26
Relying on its kindness in this as in other things, and actuated by that fervent love towards it, which is so natural to a man, who views in it the native soil of himself and his progenitors for several Generations; I anticipate with pleasing expectation that retreat, in which I promise myself to realize, without alloy, the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in the midst of my fellow Citizens, the benign influence of good Laws under a free Government—the ever favourite object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I trust, of our mutual cares, labours and dangers.27
Go: Washington
ADS, NN; LB (dated 17 Sept.), DLC:GW. The address was first printed in Claypoole’s American Daily Advertiser for 19 Sept. 1796, where it was given a date of 17 September. Except for the date change and variations in capitalization, punctuation, and spelling, the published version reproduced the ADS.
The most important of the various deletions and alterations on the manuscript are indicated in the notes below. For the other changes, see Paltsits, Farewell Address, 105–36 (facsimile), and 139–59 (transcription).
On a copy of Claypoole’s American Daily Advertiser now at NNGL, GW wrote a note, apparently providing directions for its entry into a letter book: “The Letter containd in this Gazette—Addressed to the People of the United States is to be Recorded and in the Order of its da⟨te⟩.
“Let it have a blan⟨k⟩ Page before & after so as to stand distinct as it were. Let it be wrote with a letter larger & fully than the common recordi⟨n⟩g hand—And where words are Printed with capital letters it is to be done so in Recording ⟨th⟩is ⟨letter⟩ and those other wo⟨rd⟩s that are printed in Italicks, must ⟨be d⟩rew underneath and streight by a Ruler.”
1. For that draft, see the enclosure printed with James Madison to GW, 20 June 1792.
2. GW alluded to his first inaugural address, 30 April 1789.
3. At this point GW struck out eleven lines of text and a marginal note with an explanation: “obliterated to avoid the imputation of affected modesty.” The deleted text reads: “May I also have that of knowing in my retreat, that the involuntary errors, I have probably committed, have been the sources of no serious or lasting mischief to our country. I may then expect to realise, without alloy, the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in the midst of my fellow citizens, the benign influence of good laws under a free government; the ever favorite object of my heart, and the happy reward, I trust, of our mutual cares, dangers & labours.”
4. The preceding word replaced three words—“wander & fluctuate”—that GW had struck out.
5. At this point GW struck a parenthetical phrase: “the only return I can henceforth make.”
6. GW is referring to his circular letter to the states announcing his resignation from the army in June 1783 (see GW’s Draft for a Farewell Address, n.8, printed as an enclosure with GW to Alexander Hamilton, 15 May).
7. The remainder of this paragraph replaced text that read: “that you should accustom yourselves to reverance it as the palladium of your political safety and prosperity, adapting constantly your words and actions to that momentous idea that you should watch for its preservation with jealous anxiety, discountenance whatever may suggest a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned; and frown upon the first dawning of any attempt to alienate any portion of our Country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the several parts.”
8. GW struck out “many of them peculiar” at this point.
9. Here GW struck the following elaboration: “liable every moment to be disturbed by the fluctuating combinations of the primary interests of Europe, which must be expected to regulate the conduct of the Nations of which it is composed.”
10. GW inserted the preceding two words to replace “inevitably,” which he struck out.
11. Here GW struck the following sentences: “It may not impossibly be found, that the spirit of party, the machinations of foreign powers, the corruption and ambition of individual citizens, are more formidable adversaries to the unity of our Empire, than any inherent difficulties in the scheme. Against these, the mounds of national opinion, national sympathy and national jealousy ought to be raised.”
12. At this point GW struck the following paragraph and a marginal note with an explanation: “not important enough.” The paragraph reads: “Besides the more serious causes already hinted as threatening our Union, there is one less dangerous, but sufficiently dangerous to make it prudent to be upon our guard against it. I allude to the petulence of party differences of opinions. It is not uncommon to hear the irritations which these excite vent themselves in declarations, that the different parts of the United States are ill affected to each other in menaces, that the Union will be dissolved by this or that measure. Intimations like these are as indiscreet as they are intemperate. Though frequently made with levity, & without any really evil intention, they have a tendency to produce the consequence which they indicate. They teach the minds of men to consider the Union as precarious—as an object to which they ought not to attach their hopes and fortunes, and thus chill the sentiment in its favor. By alarming the pride of those to whom they are addressed, they set ingenuity at work to depreciate the value of the thing and to discover reasons of indifference towards it. This is not wise. It will be much wiser to habituate ourselves to reverence the Union as the palladium of our national happiness—to accomodate constantly our words and actions to that idea—and to discountenance whatever may suggest a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned.”
The surviving draft in Hamilton’s writing continued with another sentence at this point, preceding the paragraph deleted by GW. That omitted sentence reads: “And by all the love I bear you My fellow Citizens I conjure you as often as it appears to frown upon the attempt.”
13. GW completed this sentence with words inserted to replace two struck-out sentences: “These discriminations, the mere contrivance of the spirit of Party, (always dexterous to seize every handle by which the passions can be wielded, and too skilful not to turn to account the sympathy of neighbourhood), have furnished an argument against the Union, as evidence of a real difference of local interests and views; and serve to hazard it, by organizing large districts of country under the leaders of contending factions, whose rivalships, prejudices & schemes of ambition, rather than the true Interests of the Country, will direct the use of their influence. If it be possible to correct this poison in the habit of our body politic, it is worthy the endeavors of the moderate and the good to effect it.”
14. In Article IV of the 27 Oct. 1795 Treaty of San Lorenzo, Spain agreed that navigation of the Mississippi River “in its whole breadth from it source to the Occean” would be free to U.S. citizens, and in Article XXII of the treaty Spain granted to U.S. citizens for three years the right to deposit their merchandise at New Orleans and reship it “without paying any other duty than a fair price for the hire of the stores” with a further promise to continue that right or to offer “an equivalent establishment” on the Mississippi (Miller, Treaties, 321–22, 337). For the Jay Treaty of 19 Nov. 1794 with Great Britain, GW may have been referring to Article II, promising British withdrawal from frontier posts, and Article III, reaffirming that navigation of the Mississippi River would remain open to citizens of both countries with the right to cross borders and freely carry on commerce, except within the limits of Hudson’s Bay Company (Miller, Treaties, 246–48).
15. GW inserted this sentence to replace one that he struck out: “Owing to you as I do, a frank and free disclosure of my heart, I shall not conceal from you the belief I entertain, that your Government as at present constructed is far more likely to prove too feeble than too powerful.”
16. Here GW struck six sentences: “In Republics of narrow extent, it is not difficult for those who at any time hold the reins of Power, and command the ordinary public favor, to overturn the established Constitution, in favor of their own aggrandisement. The same thing may likewise be too often accomplished in such Republics, by partial combinations of men, who though not in Office, from birth, riches or other sources of distinction, have extraordinary influence & numerous adherents. By debauching the military force, by surprising some commanding citadel, or by some other sudden & unforeseen movement, the fate of the Republic is decided. But in Republics of large extent, usurpations can scarcely make its way through these avenues. The powers and opportunities of resistance of a wide extended and numerous nation, defy the successful efforts of the ordinary military force, or of any Collections which wealth and patronage may call to their aid. In such Republics, it is safe to assert, that the conflicts of popular factions are the chief, if not the only inlets, of usurpation and Tyranny.”
17. At this point GW struck out a paragraph and a marginal note with an explanation: “not sufficiently important.” The paragraph reads (text in angle brackets is from the transcription by Paltsits): “Cultivate industry and frugality, as auxiliaries to good morals ⟨& sources of private & public prosperity. Is there no room to regret that our propensity to expence exceeds our means for it? Is there not more luxury among us, and more diffusively, than suits the actual stage of our national progress?⟩ Whatever may be the apology for luxury in a country, mature in the arts which are its ministers, and the ⟨cause⟩ of national opulence—Can it promote the advantage of a young country, almost wholly Agricultural, in the infancy of the Arts, and certainly not in the maturity of wealth?” The portion of the deleted text following the word “frugality” was at the top of a page, and GW used wafers to attach over that deleted text the paragraph that now follows.
18. The preceding sentence does not appear in the surviving Hamilton draft. It may, however, have been influenced by a marginal note that Hamilton had written beside an earlier paragraph: “ordinary management of affairs to be left to Represent” (Hamilton Papers, 20:275).
19. GW struck text reading “begets of course a similar sentiment in that other” at this point.
20. GW struck out a qualifying phrase—“circumspection indeed, but with”—at this point.
21. GW struck out “neither of two” at this point.
22. GW struck out “to throw our weight into the opposite scale” at this point.
23. GW is referring to the Neutrality Proclamation.
24. At this point, GW struck a parenthetical phrase: “and from men disagreeing in their impressions of the origin progress and nature of that war.”
25. This paragraph was attached by wafers above a paragraph on the original page. A marginal note explains: “This is the first draught and it is questionable which of the two is to be preferred.” The final text includes two minor edits made by GW: the insertion of “it is not necessary” to replace “some of them of a delicate nature, would be improperly the subject of explanation,” which he struck out, and the insertion of the words “to detail” after “this occasion.” On the original page, GW had started with the same base text and edited it more extensively to read: “The considerations, which respect the right to hold this conduct, would be improperly the subject of particular discussion on this occasion.—I will barely observe, that to me they appeared warranted by well established principles of the Laws of Nations, as applicable to the nature of our alliance with France in connection with the circumstances of the War and the relative situations of the contracting parties” (the transcription is taken from Paltsits).
This paragraph and the two paragraphs following do not appear on the surviving draft in Hamilton’s writing.
26. Following this paragraph, GW deleted a paragraph and a marginal note with an explanation: “This paragraph may have the appearance of self distrust and mere vanity.” To draw the printer to the final paragraph of the address, he wrote here “Relying &a” with a bracketed note “see the other side.” The deleted paragraph reads: “May I, without the charge of ostentation, add, that neither ambition nor interest has been the impelling cause of my actions—that I have never designedly misused any power confided to me, nor hesitated to use one, where I thought it could redound to your benefit? May I, without the appearance of affectation, say that the fortune with which I came into office is not bettered otherwise than by that improvement in the value of property, which the quick progress & uncommon prosperity of our country have produced? May I still further add, without breach of delicacy, that I shall retire without cause for a blush, with sentiment alien to the fervor of those vows for the happiness of his country so natural to a citizen who sees in it the native soil of his progenitors and himself for four generations.”
27. This paragraph has a bracketed note in the right margin that reads: “continuation of the paragraph preceeding the last, ending with the word rest.”
