Brief Assignment #2. American History I. Fall 1999

I. Assignment:
The assignment was to read Washington's Farewell Address and answer the following questions: 
(a) who did he write it for and why?
(b) what advice did he give his countrymen?
(c) what are the advantages and disadvantages of using this source and of using a textbook?

The purpose of the assignment was to have students think about Washington and his speech, what was happening in the 1790s, and the differences between using a primary source document and secondary source text. The lesson students should learn is that primary source documents are interesting because they are the "real thing," but they can be difficult to understand when read in a vacuum. The textbook, secondary sources in general, provide a necessary context. 

Washington wrote the Farewell Address, which was printed in the newspapers, to state that he would not run for a third term, and to offer advice to his country.

He wrote this in the midst of the development of political parties, which he did not believe in, and while European countries fought a war that came out of the French Revolution. The United States was, under the terms of a Treaty with France signed in 1778, allied with France, but Washington thought the country should stay neutral. He did not want the United States to get caught in this European war -- his fears related to a very specific problem of the moment.

To answer the third part of the question a student needed to read both the document and the textbook, unless both were read it was not possible to compare the two sources. The document provides the original words, the textbook gives the background information needed to understand Washington's points.

II. Sample Answers and Grades

(a) The following paper earned a grade of D.

1. Washington wrote the "Address" for the citizens of the United States when he was leaving office after his last term because he wanted to the people to understand that they would not be controlled by other countries and to stay independent from them.

2. The advice that Washington gave his country is "to have with them as little political connection as possible." He wants his country to not to get to involved with the relations of other country's and stray away of how those other countrys do things.

3. The advantages of using this source is that it is very easy to understand how to use the website. One can go and find the "Farewell Address" and print it out to read it instead of having to find it in the book. The disadvantages of using this source is that one needs to have access to the internet, where one could just use the book to look the information that is needed.

(b) the following paper earned an A (even though it is longer than necessary).

In 1796, George Washington chose to end his presidency of the United States after his second term in office. Upon leaving this prestigious position, Washington addressed the nation with his "Farewell Address." [Actually the Address was sent to newspapers when he decided not to run for a third term] In this speech, Washington attempted to motivate the new country to unite. His concerns grew from the emergence of political parties that followed the ratification of the Constitution (Garraty, 150). As a result of conflicting political opinions, the country began to loose its spirit of unity. The President also saw that because of foreign affairs, the Americans began to divide into those who supported either the French or the English (Garraty, 153). Therefore, Washington gave the speech to enhance feelings of unity, as well as to give the nation advice concerning foreign policies.

For instance, Washington advised the Americans to not show preference or an excessive liking to any specific foreign country. He saw that this line of thinking would only make America a "slave" to another country. This advice was given in an attempt to prevent America from being deprived of its own choices. Additionally, this suggestion reflected that he saw "Americans dividing into 'French' and 'English' factions" (Garraty, 153). This preference towards France and England only threatened to further divide the country, as well as involve American in foreign disputes unnecessarily.

Washington also gave the advice that America should fulfill its obligations to other countries honestly and completely, but should not pursue any additional agreements with nations oversees. He believed that fulfilling current obligations was important so that America "may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies." America should be on good terms with other countries to help would be around as needed, while at the same time being careful not to become too entangled with another country's affairs. America would then be obligated to help the other country, regardless of whether or not the United States had the desire or resources to interfere in that country's affairs.

Additionally, Washington strongly recommended that the people of America "remain one people." He proclaimed that this unity within the country would help the new nation gain the respect of foreign countries. As a result, American will [would] be free of "external annoyance," or other countries attempting to control American affairs. In that sense, according to Washington, American will be able to "choose peace or war." This statement implies that without manipulation from foreign countries, it would less likely for America to be forced into fighting a war for the sole benefit of another country.

Lastly, Washington warns [warned] Americans not to take or give "exclusive favors" to foreign countries. This advice against dealing with other nations was given in an attempt to prevent American from becoming dependent upon another country. Washington also states that "real favors" are an "illusion…which just pride ought to discard." Again, this refers to the sense of unity he suggested prior in the speech. The resulting pride will make the new country stand tall, and therefore not so easily be taken advantage of.

This [the] version of Washington's "Farewell Address" used for this paper was a complete account of the speech that was taken from an online source. There are advantages to reading the complete speech as opposed to a shorter summary. For example, one can get a feel for the language that was used during the time period in which it was written. The details are also present in the complete speech, where they are often absent in a summary. The analogies given in the speech also help to clarify certain ideas that may be difficult to understand, as well as giving the reader an easy way to remember the key points. For example, the dependency of a weak nation upon a stronger nation was compared to a "satellite" in Washington's speech. Here, we are presented with a familiar picture that clarifies the point he was trying to make.

Similarly, using the complete source has its disadvantages as well. For example, the complete version of the speech can be more difficult to understand because the reader is presented with an unfamiliar style of language. Additionally, reading the entire speech might inhibit the reader from determining the key points from the speech. On the other hand, an account of the address in a history book provides a summary of these key points, as well as background information that is important in determining the applications of the material presented. Therefore, reading the complete version of the speech can result in overloooking the implied meanings and applications. A student's best bet is to read an account of the speech to get the general idea of what it is about, then read the speech in irs entirety in order o benefit from the advantages of both sources.