Answer:
Washington counseled the public to be wary of foreign influence. He argued for impartial commercial treaties, but against treaties of permanent alliance, although the United States should fulfill any existing agreements "with perfect good faith." Temporary alliances would be acceptable in "extraordinary emergencies."
Washington's foreign policy focused on protecting the independence of the new nation and avoiding expensive and deadly wars. During Washington's first term, European powers sought every opportunity to undermine American sovereignty.
In the fall of 1796, nearing the end of his term, George Washington published a farewell address, intended to serve as a guide to future statecraft for the American public and his successors in office. Washington worked closely with Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, and James Madison, then a Congressional leader, who both provided Washington with drafts of the address. Washington’s address argued for a careful foreign policy of friendly neutrality that would avoid creating implacable enemies or international friendships of dubious value, nor entangle the United States in foreign alliances.
Washington had initially considered retiring from the presidency after his first term in office. Therefore, in 1792, he asked James Madison to compose a valedictory address to be delivered at the end of the first term. However, Washington was persuaded by Hamilton, former Secretary of State Edmund Randolph, and other political leaders to remain in office for a second term, and so the draft remained unused. When Washington neared the completion of his second term, he turned to Alexander Hamilton to edit Madison’s draft. Hamilton enlarged the portion relating to foreign affairs, and updated it to reflect the Washington Administration’s revised neutrality policy. Washington then amended Hamilton’s version, and also asked Secretary of State Timothy Pickering for his opinions on the address. Washington then arranged for the address to be published in a Claypool’s American Daily Advertiser, a Philadelphia newspaper, on September 19, 1796. The address was widely reprinted in newspapers throughout the country.
Although the address also dealt with domestic issues, Washington was also interested in outlining future U.S. foreign policy. Washington expressed his views on foreign relations with a warning against "permanent inveterate antipathies against particular Nations," as well as "a passionate attachment of one Nation for another." The first, he argued, would lead to an unnecessary war, while the second would result in unwise treaty concessions, which could arouse the ill-will of other countries expecting fair treatment. Washington counseled the public to be wary of foreign influence. He argued for impartial commercial treaties, but against treaties of permanent alliance, although the United States should fulfill any existing agreements "with perfect good faith." Temporary alliances would be acceptable in "extraordinary emergencies."
