George Washington Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

George Washington - Essay Example form of advice to them, to make them aware of political threats the nation might face and to make them understand the political scenario of that time. Analyzed below are the major points of his farewell address. Washington started his address by informing the public that he had declined the presidency for a third term and had decided, according to him, â€Å"to return to that retirement from which I have been reluctantly drawn† (Washington, as cited in Schmitt, 2004, para. 3). He stated how he had decided not to run the second term and how concern about the survival of the nation and his confidants had convinced him to run for the third term. At the same time, he thanked the People for the support, confidence and honor they had him entitled to. Washington urged upon the fact that the survival of the nation depended very much on the unity of people belonging to all the states. This was important to save their liberty, prosperity and independence both at home and abroad. He warned them of threats posed to their unity from internal and external enemies who wanted to destabilize the nation by alienating one state from another. He told the nation to have pride in being Americans and insisted that they should look down upon â€Å"any appellation derived from local discriminations† (as cited in Schmitt, para. 10) because all of them had to fight for the same cause with negligible discriminations of religion, color and race. He insisted that the North, South, East and West of the United States, all complemented one another in order to ensure the security against foreign attacks and sectionalists. He further suggested that only alliances could not serve the purpose as they were always subject to threats. There was the need of a government as a whole. Though the People had the authority to change the government and its constitutions, but once it was established, then it was the firm duty of the nation to obey it and respect its laws. It was their responsibility to fight