Washington's farewell address: Fourteen points and the league of nations

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George Washington was the first president of the United States of America. He has made a long journey in his life, by being both a military and a national leader, and by this gained plenty of experience that he was willing to share with the coming generations of a newly formed country. Washington’s Farewell Address appeared in the mass media sources when he declared that he was not going to run the election for the third term in office. For many years his piece of advice was the foundation for the US foreign policy. However, in the early 20th century such events as The Fourteen Points of Woodrow Wilson and creation of the League of Nations were somehow based but at the same time represented imperialistic policies that America had adopted at that time.

         In his Farewell Address, Washington suggested ideas that would benefit the United States of America and help it on the road to a world power. The key idea of his speech was to convince Unites States citizens and future politicians in the need for "good faith and justice toward all nations" and economic rather than political ties with any nation (Gilbert, 35). Economic connection won't give the country any responsibility and won't require any kind of action in case of war. Political ties, on the other hand, will immediately involve the United States in war because the allied countries would need us for backup and we would have to provide them with the needed assistance. Americans, will split the society into groups and weaken the country. More than that, any political attachment can deprive America of certain profitable contracts depending on the relationships between the allied and hostile countries. Countries involved in the conflict would appreciate the neutral position in the world political map and it will provide America with an opportunity to increase trade with both sides. By trying to interfere as minimum as possible, the country would gain more economically.

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        Washington, however, hasn't foreseen the development of arms and world's hunger for the new land that contributed to World War I. United States of America decided to stay neutral in the Great War, even though the country was positioned in another hemisphere, Germans could still influence the lives of people and finally force America to go into the war with them. Unrestricted submarine warfare took the lives of about 200 American citizens (Lusitanian ship and Sussex ship were destroyed by Germany). Zimmerman's note that revealed Germany's plans to attack United States in case they entered the war was among the ...

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