George Washington's Farewell Address Research Paper

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Pages: 5

After living a successful life as the first president of the United States, George Washington felt that in order to keep the nation running as stable as it was when he was running, he needed to warn the people of issues that they needed to solve. George Washington was born in 1732 in Virginia, who would grow up to become a successful farmer, general, and the president between 1789 and 1797(Deverell & White, pp. 82). He wrote a farewell address to signify his resignation of office and to “[warn] the nation to work out its differences and protect its independence”(Deverell & White, pp. 211). George Washington warned against political parties, foreign alliances, and war, debt, and taxes in his farewell address.
One thing Washington warned about
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To facilitate to them the performance of their duty, it is essential that you should practically bear in mind, that towards the payment of debts there must be Revenue; that to have Revenue there must be taxes, which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant”(Washington, 1796). The government needed to pay back the debt caused by the Revolutionary War, the war that gave American colonists the freedom they desired, and in order to do that, they taxed the people. The taxes were not fun, but it was necessary in order to pay for the country’s debt. Washington advised the people to cooperate with taxes because when he served as the first president of the United States, Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of Treasury, helped pass a tax on whiskey so that the government could pay for the debt caused by the Revolutionary War. The problem with this tax was that some farmers relied on whiskey to make a living and used it as if it was a form of currency, thus, they were extremely angry with the new tax. Certain farmers started the Whiskey Rebellion, where farmers “lashed out against the tax on whiskey” through refusing to pay the tax and for some, even tar and feathering tax collectors(Deveall & White, pp. 209). The Whiskey Rebellion was later put down by General Washington after he commanded several thousand troops to the heart of the Whiskey Rebellion, by the time they got there, “most of the rebels had fled”(Deverall & White, pp. 209). Washington advised the people to pay their taxes because the government has the right to do so, and has the power to force you to