ignorance and superstition, but at an epoch when the rights of mankind
were better understood and more clearly defined than at any former
period. The researches of the human mind after social happiness have
been carried to a great extent; the treasures of knowledge, acquired by
the labors of philosophers, sages, and legislators through a long
succession of years, are laid open for our use, and their collected
wisdom may be happily applied in the establishment of our forms of
government."
From the same:
"The free cultivation of letters, the unbounded extension of commerce,
the progressive refinement of manners, the growing liberality of
sentiment, and, above all, the power and benign light of revelation,
have had a meliorating influence on mankind, and increased the blessings
of society. An indissoluble union of the states under one federal
head--a sacred regard to public justice--the adoption of a proper peace
establishment, and the prevalence of that pacific and friendly
disposition among the people of the United States which will induce them
to forget their local prejudices and politics; to make those mutual
concessions which are requisite to the general prosperity, and in some
instances to sacrifice their individual advantages to the interest of
the community--these are the pillars on which the glorious fabric of our
independence and national character must be supported. Liberty is the
basis, and whoever would dare to sap the foundation or overturn the
structure, under whatever specious pretext he may attempt it, will merit
the bitterest execration, and the severest punishment which can be
inflicted by his injured country."
From the same:
"I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you and the State
over which you preside in His holy protection, that He would incline the
hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and
obedience to the government; to entertain a brotherly affection and love
for one another and for their fellow-citizens of the United States at
large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in the field,
and finally that He would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all
to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity,
humility, and pacific temper of mind, which were the characteristics of
the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without an humble
imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a
happy nation."
_Washington on Slavery_
"There is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a
plan adopted for the abolition of slavery; but there is only one proper
and effectual mode by which it can be accomplished, and that is by
legislative authority, and this as far as my suffrage will go shall
never be wanting."
_In a Letter to Lafayette, Washington Expresses His Views on Commerce_
"Although I pretend to no peculiar information respecting commercial
affairs, nor any foresight into the scenes of futurity, yet, as a member
of an infant empire, as a philanthropist by character, and if I may be
allowed the expression, as a citizen of the great republic of humanity
at large, I cannot help turning my attention sometimes to this subject.
I would be understood to mean I cannot avoid reflecting with pleasure on
the probable influence that commerce may hereafter have on human manners
and society in general. On these occasions I consider how mankind may be
connected like this one great family of fraternal ties. I indulge a
fond, perhaps an enthusiastic idea, that as the world is evidently much
less barbarous than it has been, its melioration must still be
progressive; that nations are becoming more humanized in their policy,
that the subjects of ambition and causes for hostility are daily
diminishing, and in fine, that the period is not very remote when the
benefits of a liberal and free commerce will pretty generally succeed to
the devastations and horrors of war.
"Men's minds are as varied as their faces, and where the motives to
their actions are pure, the operation of the former is no more to be
imputed to them as a crime than the appearance of the latter; for both
being the work of nature, are equally unavoidable. Liberality and
charity, instead of clamor and misrepresentation, which latter only
serve to foment the passions without enlightening the understanding,
ought to govern in all disputes about matters of importance."
_From a Letter, 1793_
"If it can be esteemed a happiness to live in an age productive of great
and interesting events, we of the present age are very highly favored.
The rapidity of national revolutions appears no less astonishing than
their magnitude. In what they will terminate is known only to the Great
Ruler of events; and confiding in His wisdom and goodness, we may safely
trust the issue to Him, without perplexing ourselves to seek for that
which is beyond human ken, only taking care to perform the parts
assigned to us in a way that reason and our own conscience approve."
_From a Speech to Both Houses of Congress, 1790_
"To administer justice to and receive it from every power with whom they
are connected will, I hope, be always found the prominent feature in the
administration of this country; and I flatter myself that nothing short
of imperious necessity can occasion a breach with any of them.
"Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness. In
one of which the measures of government receive their impression so
immediately from the sense of the community as in ours, it is
proportionably essential. To the security of a free constitution it
contributes in various ways; by convincing those who are entrusted with
the public administration that every valuable end of government is best
answered by the enlightened confidence of the people, and by teaching
the people themselves to know and to value their own rights; to discern
and to provide against invasions of them; to distinguish between
oppression and the necessary exercise of lawful authority; to
discriminate the spirit of liberty from that of licentiousness,
cherishing the first, avoiding the latter, and uniting a speedy but
temperate vigilance against encroachment with an inviolable respect to
the laws."
_From a Speech to Both Houses of Congress, 1794_
"Let praise be given to every description of citizens. Let them
persevere in their affectionate vigilance over that precious depository
of American happiness, the Constitution of the United States. Let them
cherish it, too, for the sake of those, from every clime, daily seeking
a dwelling in our land.
"Let us unite, therefore, in imploring the Supreme Ruler of nations to
spread His holy protection over these United States; to enable us at all
times to root out internal seditions and put invasion to flight; to
perpetuate to our country that prosperity which His goodness has already
conferred; and to verify the anticipations of this government being a
safeguard to human rights."
* * * * *
WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL TO THE ARMY
_Dated at Rocky Hill, near Princeton, New Jersey, November 2, 1783_
It is universally acknowledged that the enlarged prospects of happiness,
opened by the confirmation of our independence and sovereignty, almost
exceed the power of description. And shall not the brave men who have
contributed so essentially to these inestimable acquisitions, retiring
from the field of war to the field of agriculture, participate in all
the blessings which have been obtained? In such a republic, who will
exclude them from the rights of citizens and the fruits of their labors?
To those hardy soldiers who are actuated by the spirit of adventure, the
fisheries will afford ample and profitable employment, and the
extensive and fertile regions of the West will yield a most happy asylum
to those who, fond of domestic employment, are seeking personal
independence.
Little is now wanting to enable the soldier to change the military
character into that of a citizen but that steady and decent behavior
which has distinguished not only the army under this immediate command,
but the different detachments and separate armies through the course of
the war. To the various branches of the army the general takes this last
and solemn opportunity of professing his inviolable attachment and
friendship. He can only again offer in their behalf his recommendations
to their grateful country and his prayers to the God of armies. May
ample justice be done them here, and may favors, both here and
hereafter, attend those who, under the divine auspices, have secured
innumerable blessings for others!
With these wishes and this benediction the commander-in-chief is about
to retire from service. The curtain of separation will soon be drawn,
and the military scene to him will be closed forever!
* * * * *
PRESIDENT WASHINGTON'S RESPONSE TO THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR ON RECEIPT OF
THE COLORS OF FRANCE, 1769
Born, sir, in a land of liberty, having early learned its value, having
engaged in a perilous conflict to defend it, having, in a word, devoted
the best years of my life to secure it a permanent establishment in our
own country, my anxious recollections, my sympathetic feelings, and my
best wishes are irresistibly excited whensoever, in any country, I see
an oppressed nation unfurl the banners of freedom. But above all, the
events of the French Revolution have produced the deepest solicitude as
well as the highest admiration. To call your nation brave were to
pronounce but common praise. Wonderful people! Ages to come will read
with astonishment the history of your brilliant exploits.
I rejoice that the period of your toils and of your immense sacrifices
is approaching. I rejoice that the interesting revolutionary movements
of so many years have issued in the formation of a constitution
designated to give permanency to the great object for which you have
contended. I rejoice that liberty, which you have so long embraced with
enthusiasm, liberty, of which you have been the invincible defenders,
now finds an asylum in the bosom of a regularly organized government; a
government which, being formed to secure the happiness of the French
people, corresponds with the ardent wishes of my heart, while it
gratifies the pride of every citizen of the United States by its
resemblance to their own. On these glorious events accept, sir, my
sincere congratulations.
In delivering to you these sentiments, I express not my own feelings
only, but those of my fellow-citizens, in relation to the commencement,
the progress, and the issue of the French Revolution; and they will
cordially join with me in purest wishes to the Supreme Being that the
citizens of our sister republic, our magnanimous allies, may soon enjoy,
in peace, that liberty which they have purchased at so great a price,
and all the happiness which liberty can bestow.
I receive, sir, with lively sensibility, the symbol of the triumphs and
of the enfranchisements of your nation, the colors of France, which you
have now presented to the United States. The transaction will be
announced to Congress, and the colors will be deposited with those
archives of the United States which are at once the evidences and the
memorials of their freedom and independence. May these be perpetual; and
may the friendship of the two republics be commensurate with their
existence!
* * * * *
WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS
_To the People of the United States. September 17, 1796_
Friends and 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 clothed 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, and 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; but mature reflection on the then
perplexed and 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; and 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. 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
outset, 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 increasing 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.
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 acknowledgment 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
steadfast confidence with which it has supported me; and for the
opportunities I have thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable
attachment, by services faithful and 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, amidst
appearances sometimes dubious, vicissitudes 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 vows
that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence;
that your union and brotherly affection may 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 for 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 bias his counsel. Nor can I forget, as an encouragement to it, your
indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and not dissimilar
occasion.
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 tranquillity 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 and 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 and insidiously) directed, it is of
infinite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense value of
your national Union to your collective and individual happiness; that
you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it;
accustoming yourself 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, and political principles. You have in a
common cause fought and triumphed together; the Independence and Liberty
you possess are the work of joint counsels, 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 and 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, great additional resources of maritime and commercial
enterprise and precious materials of manufacturing industry. The
_South_, in the same intercourse, benefiting by the agency of the
_North_, sees its agriculture grow and its commerce expand. Turning
partly into its own channels the seamen of the _North_, it finds its
particular navigation invigorated; and, while it contributes in
different ways, to nourish and 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 and water, will more and 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 and 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,
influences, 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 separate strength, or from an
apostate and unnatural connection with any foreign power, must be
intrinsically precarious.
While, then, every part of our country thus feels an immediate and
particular interest in Union, all the parts combined cannot fail to find
in the united mass of means and efforts greater strength, greater
resource, proportionally 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 frequently afflict
neighboring countries not tied together by the same Governments, which
their own rivalships alone would be sufficient to produce, but which
opposite foreign alliances, attachments, and intrigues would stimulate
and embitter. 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 and
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. It is well worth a fair and full
experiment. 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.