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George Washington on the danger of political parties
From George Washington's Farewell Address to the American people in 1796.
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 alternate 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 incline 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 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. It opens the door to foreign influence and 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 indulgence, if not with favor, 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 and 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.
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Wise words as we have seen what he talked about here coming to fruition. Personally, I think the two party system in this country has run its course. It's time for true Democracy to come back again to America. It is time to give the people a real choice instead of the moneyed choices we get year after year which place standing and connections over reason. Factions do nothing but wear away the Democratic process, and as we have seen right now in America to the point where it is unrecognizable. We cannot even impeach a criminal regime because of political party partisanship standing in the way. The only way to bring real "change" is to then change the process instead of only changing the players. Real choice is real change. Even our founding fathers knew that.
From George Washington's Farewell Address to the American people in 1796. ... more -
Division into political parties and George Washington's farewell address
The framers considered political parties to be self-serving factions that cultivated dissent and were ultimately detrimental to good government. Though the framers had not written provisions into the Constitution dealing with political parties, by the end of George Washington's second term, the issues of national government had divided the nation into two distinct and hostile factions: the Federalists and the Republicans.
The Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, advocated strong central government. Concentrated in the northeast, they preferred a system under which the population would choose their government officials based on merit and reputation rather than politics, and in which elected officials would rule without the direct influence of the people. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and others who found Federalist thought offensive, developed a markedly different view of good government under the Washington administration. With their stronghold in the South, Republicans claimed that liberty could only be protected if political power were rested firmly in the hands of the people and those government officials closest and most responsive to the people
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In the midst of building hostilities, Washington decided to resign from office after his second term. On September 19, 1796, the American Daily Advertiser published Washington's Farewell Address to the nation. The basic premise of the address was a condemnation of political parties. Washington warned that the development of parties would destroy the government, and worried that special interest groups and foreign nations would easily dominate the factions. On this note, he implored future generations to avoid embroilment in the affairs of other nations, and concentrate on the development of "efficient government" at home, free from foreign influence. Washington left office in March 1797, leaving the nation still very much divided.
Commentary
As of the early 1790s, most Americans remained convinced that political parties were a detriment to good government. The framers had neither desired nor planned for the rise of political divisions. In fact, in Federalist No. 10 of the Federalist Papers, James Madison, one of the leaders of the Republican party, had argued that one of the strong points of the Constitution was that it would prevent the formation of political factions. It was commonly assumed that should factions rise to a position of political power, they would act to achieve selfish goals at the expense of the public good. However, this concept of political parties began to crumble as opposition arose to Hamilton's initiatives as Secretary of Treasury. Many political leaders began to view an opposition party as necessary to check the power of the ideological majority in the national government, and as a means to provide a more fully encompassing examination of the issues presented to the national government. Thus, gradually, political parties took their place as an integral part of American government.
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Washington's Farewell Address was a direct response to the fractioning of the American people. From a clearly Federalist point of view he extolled the virtues of neutrality. He pleaded for American political neutrality, that citizens not be forced to choose between political alternatives, but rather choose their leaders on the basis of merit and reputation. He further pleaded for international neutrality, exhorting Americans to avoid "political connection" with Europe, hoping such avoidance would remove the divisiveness of foreign policy from the American political dialogue and allow US leaders to concentrate on domestic goals. While he could not stop the rise of political parties, which had already become a fact of American political life, his plea for neutrality and vision of an isolated America would inform American foreign relations into the twentieth century. The framers considered political parties to be self-serving factions that cultivated dissent and were ultimately detrimental to good g... more -
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