Bemis Article On Farewell Address

Chris McKay Catawba Cohort Dr. Specht-Early Republic Bemis, Samuel F. “Washington’s Farewell Address: A Foreign Policy of Independence” The American Historical Review, Vol. 39, No. 2 (Jan. 1934), pp. 250-268 Samuel Bemis’s article examines the farewell address of George Washington and concludes that Washington lasting remarks emphasized the president’s apprehension about the future direction of our country’s foreign policy decisions. Bemis’s main argument is that Washington warned future leaders and the American public that in order to preserve our country’s sovereignty, we needed to avoid entangling ourselves in foreign alliances that only benefited the interests of the country in which we were forming an alliance with in this early stage of the republic. In order to prove his point, Bemis addresses the rivalry between the two European powerhouses England and France and explains that each one of those countries were adamantly vying for our friendship and support. In this article, Bemis cites the Genet Affair as a French attempt to win our support in their struggles against England. Bemis states, “The Neutrality of the United States, even though it could not serve as a base for such projects as Genet attempted, was far more serviceable than American military assistance.” Bemis cites the Jay’s Treaty as a stumbling block in Franco-American relations. Bemis has a strong conviction that Washington purpose in sending James Monroe to France was to distract France’s attention on our intentions to mend relations with England with the passage of the Jay’s Treaty. The French were angered by the treaty and wanted to throw their support behind a new administration led by what they referred to as the “patriot party” which included the Democratic Republicans Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. As a reaction to the

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French attempt to side with the Democratic Republicans, many Americans feared French meddling in our affairs and caused some to throw their support behind George Washington and the Federalists. Bemis remarks that this French involvement actually presented Washington an opportunity to address the issue of foreign entanglements in his foreign address and to warn the American public that the our new republic would not completely have full sovereignty if we allow other countries to run our affairs foreign and domestic. Bemis believes that this farewell address sent a message to the world that we intended to remain independent and were fond of making permanent alliances.

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