George Washington‘s Farewell Address - 乔治华盛顿告别演说(英文版)

《告别演说》 - 英文原稿GEORGE WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL A DDRESS To the People of the United States . FRIENDS AND FELLOW-CITIZENS: The period for a new election of a citizen， to administer the executive government of the Un ited States， being not far distant， and the ti me actually arrived， when your thoughts mus t be employed designating the person， who is to be clothed with that important trust， it app ears to me proper， especially as it may condu ce to a more distinct expression of the public v oice， that I should now apprize you of the res olution I have formed， to decline being consi dered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made. I beg you at the sa me time to do me the justice to be assured that this resolution has not been taken without a str ict regard to all the considerations appertaining to the relation which binds a dutiful citizen to his country； and that in withdrawing the tend er of service， which silence in my situationmight imply， I am influenced by no diminuti on of zeal for your future interest， no deficie ncy of grateful respect for your past kindness ， but am supported by a full conviction that t he step is compatible with both. The accept ance of， and continuance hitherto in， the of fice to which your suffrages have twice called me， have been a uniform sacrifice of inclinat ion to the opinion of duty， and to a deference for what appeared to be your desire. I constant ly hoped， that it would have been much earli er in my power， consistently with motives，which I was not at liberty to disregard， to ret urn to that retirement， from which I had been reluctantly drawn. The strength of my inclinat ion to do this， previous to the last election，had even led to the preparation of an address t o declare it to you； but mature reflection on t he then perplexed and critical posture of our af fairs with foreign nations， and the unanimou s advice of persons entitled to my confidence i mpelled me to abandon the idea. I rejoice， that the state of your concerns， external as well as internal， no longer renders the pursui t of inclination incompatible with the sentimen t of duty， or propriety； and am persuaded， whatever partiality may be retained for my ser vices， that， in the present circumstances of our country， you will not disapprove my dete rmination to retire. The impressions， wit h which I first undertook the arduous trust， w ere explained on the proper occasion. In the di scharge of this trust， I will only say， that I have， with good intentions， contributed to wards the organization and administration of t he government the best exertions of which a v ery fallible judgment was capable. Not uncons cious， 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 myse lf； and every day the increasing weight of ye ars admonishes me more and more， that the s hade of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome. Satisfied， that， if any circu mstances have given peculiar value to my serv ices， they were temporary， I have the conso lation to believe， that， while choice and pru dence invite me to quit the political scene， pa triotism does not forbid it. In looking forw ard to the moment， which is intended to term inate the career of my public life， my feeling s do not permit me to suspend the deep ackno wledgment of that debt of gratitude， which I owe to my beloved country for the many hono rs it has conferred upon me； still more for the steadfast confidence with which it has support ed me； and for the opportunities I have thenc e enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable attach ment， by services faithful and persevering，though in usefulness unequal to my zeal. If be nefits have resulted to our country from these s ervices， let it always be remembered to your praise， and as an instructive example in our a nnals， that under circumstances in which the passions， agitated in every direction， were liable to mislead， amidst appearances someti mes dubious， vicissitudes of fortune often di scouraging， in situations in which not unfreq uently want of success has countenanced the s pirit of criticism， the constancy of your supp ort was the essential prop of the efforts， and a guarantee of the plans by which they were ef fected. Profoundly penetrated with this idea，I shall carry it with me to my grave， as a stro ng incitement to unceasing vows that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence； that your union and brotherly af fection may be perpetual； that the free constit ution， which is the work of your hands， ma y be sacredly maintained； that its administrat ion in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue； than， in fine， the hap piness of the people of these States， under th e auspices of liberty， may be made complete ， by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing， as will acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause， the affection， and adoption of every natio n， which is yet a stranger to it. Here， pe rhaps I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your welfare which cannot end but with my life， a nd the apprehension of danger， natural to tha t solicitude， urge me， on an occasion like t he present， to offer to your solemn contempl ation， and to recommend to your frequent re view， some sentiments which are the result o f much reflection， of no inconsiderable obser vation， 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 fre edom， as you can only see in them the disint erested warnings of a parting friend， who can possibly have no personal motive to bias his c ounsel. Nor can I forget， as an encourageme nt to it， your indulgent reception of my senti ments on a former and not dissimilar occasion.Interwoven as is the love of liberty with e very ligament of your hearts， no recommend ation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirmthe attachment. The unity of Government ， which constitutes you one people， is also now dear to you. It is justly so； for it is a mai n pillar in the edifice of your real independenc e， 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， t hat， from different causes and from different quarters， much pains will be taken， many a rtifices employed， to weaken in your minds t he conviction of this truth； as this is the point in your political fortress against which the bat teries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often cov ertly and insidiously) directed， it is of infinit e moment， that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national Union to y our collective and individual happiness； that you should cherish a cordial， habitual， and immovable attachment to it； accustoming yo urselves to think and speak of it as of the Palladium of your political safety and prosperity；watching for its preservation with jealous anxi ety； discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion， that it can in any event be a bandoned； and indignantly frowning upon th e first dawning of every attempt to alienate an y portion of our country from the rest， or to e nfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts. For this you have every i nducement 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 bel ongs to you， in your national capacity， mus t always exalt the just pride of Patriotism， m ore than any appellation derived from local dis criminations. With slight shades of difference ， you have the same religion， manners， ha bits， and political principles. You have in a c ommon cause fought and triumphed together ； the Independence and Liberty you possess a re the work of joint counsels， and joint efforts， of common dangers， sufferings， and su ccesses. But these considerations， howev er powerfully they address themselves to your sensibility， are greatly outweighed by those ， which apply more immediately to your inte rest. Here every portion of our country finds th e most commanding motives for carefully guar ding and preserving the Union of the whole.The North， in an unrestrained intercourse wit h the South， protected by the equal laws of a common government， finds， in the producti ons of the latter， great additional resources of maritime and commercial enterprise and preci ous materials of manufacturing industry. The S outh， 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 wa ys， to nourish and increase the general massof the national navigation， it looks forward t o the protection of a maritime strength， to w hich itself is unequally adapted. The East， in a like intercourse with the West， already find s， and in the progressive improvement of inte rior communications by land and water， will more and more find， a valuable vent for the c ommodities which it brings from abroad， or manufactures at home. The West derives from the East supplies requisite to its growth and co mfort， and， what is perhaps of still greater consequence， it must of necessity owe the se cure enjoyment of indispensable outlets for its own productions to the weight， influence， a nd the future maritime strength of the Atlantic side of the Union， directed by an indissolubl e community of interest as one nation. Any oth er tenure by which the West can hold this esse ntial advantage， whether derived from its ow n separate strength， or from an apostate and unnatural connexion with any foreign power， must be intrinsically precarious. While， then， every part of our country thus feels an i mmediate and particular interest in Union， al l the parts combined cannot fail to find in the u nited mass of means and efforts greater strengt h， greater resource， proportionably 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 th ose broils and wars between themselves， whi ch so frequently afflict neighbouring countries not tied together by the same governments，which their own rivalships alone would be suff icient to produce， but which opposite foreign alliances， attachments， and intrigues woul d stimulate and embitter. Hence， likewise， t hey will avoid the necessity of those overgrow n military establishments， which， under an y form of government， are inauspicious to lib erty， and which are to be regarded as particul arly hostile to Republican Liberty. In this sens e 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 pres ervation of the other. These considerations speak a persuasive language to every reflecting and virtuous mind， and exhibit the continu ance of the union as a primary object of Patriot ic desire. Is there a doubt， whether a commo n government can embrace so large a sphere? Let experience solve it. To listen to mere spec ulation in such a case were criminal. We are a uthorized to hope， that a proper organization of the whole， with the auxiliary agency of go vernments for the respective subdivisions， wi ll afford a happy issue to the experiment. It is well worth a fair and full experiment. With suc h powerful and obvious motives to Union， af fecting all parts of our country， while experie nce shall not have demonstrated its impractica bility， there will always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those， who in any quarter m ay endeavour to weaken its bands. In conte mplating the causes， which may disturb ourUnion， it occurs as matter of serious concern ， that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties by Geographical dis criminations， Northern and Southern， Atla ntic and Western； whence designing men ma y endeavour to excite a belief， that there is a real difference of local interests and views. On e of the expedients of party to acquire influenc e， within particular districts， is to misrepres ent the opinions and aims of other districts. Yo u cannot shield yourselves too much against th e jealousies and heart-burnings， which spring from these misrepresentations； they tend to r ender alien to each other those， who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection. The i nhabitants of our western country have lately h ad a useful lesson on this head； they have see n， in the negotiation by the Executive， and in the unanimous ratification by the Senate，of the treaty with Spain， and in the universal satisfaction at that event， throughout the Unit ed States， a decisive proof how unfounded were the suspicions propagated among them of a policy in the General Government and in the Atlantic States unfriendly to their interests in r egard to the mississippi； they have been witn esses to the formation of two treaties， that wi th Great Britain， and that with Spain， whic h secure to them every thing they could desire ， in respect to our foreign relations， toward s confirming their prosperity. Will it not be the ir wisdom to rely for the preservation of these advantages on the union by which they were p rocured? Will they not henceforth be deaf to th ose advisers， if such there are， who would sever them from their brethren， and connect t hem with aliens? To the efficacy and perm anency of your Union， a Government for the whole is indispensable. No alliances， howev er strict， between the parts can be an adequat e substitute； they must inevitably experience the infractions and interruptions， which all al liances in all times have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth， you have improvedupon your first essay， by the adoption of a C onstitution of Government better calculated th an your former for an intimate Union， and fo r the efficacious management of your common concerns. This Government， the offspring of our own choice， uninfluenced and unawed ， adopted upon full investigation and mature deliberation， completely free in its principles ， in the distribution of its powers， uniting s ecurity with energy， and containing within it self a provision for its own amendment， has a just claim to your confidence and your suppo rt. Respect for its authority， compliance with its laws， acquiescence in its measures， are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true Liberty. The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter t heir Constitutions of Government. But the Con stitution which at any time exists， till change d by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people， is sacredly obligatory upon all. The v ery idea of the power and the right of the people to establish Government presupposes the dut y of every individual to obey the established G overnment. All obstructions to the executio n of the Laws， all combinations and associati ons， under whatever plausible character， wi th the real design to direct， control， counter act， or awe the regular deliberation and actio n of the constituted authorities， are destructiv e of this fundamental principle， and of fatal t endency. They serve to organize faction， tog ive it an artificial and extraordinary force； to put， in the place of the delegated will of the nation， the will of a party， often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the commu nity； and， according to the alternate triump hs of different parties， to make the public ad ministration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction， rather than t he organ of consistent and wholesome plans di gested by common counsels， and modified b y mutual interests. However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends， they are li kely， in the course of time and things， to be come potent engines， by which cunning， a mbitious， and unprincipled men will be enab led to subvert the power of the people， and to usurp for themselves the reins of government ； destroying afterwards the very engines， w hich have lifted them to unjust dominion. T owards the preservation of your government， and the permanency of your present happy sta te， it is requisite， not only that you steadily discountenance irregular oppositions to its ack nowledged authority， but also that you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its princ iples， however specious the pretexts. One me thod of assault may be to effect， in the forms of the constitution， alterations， which will impair the energy of the system， and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown . In all the changes to which you may be invite d， remember that time and habit are at least a s necessary to fix the true character of governments， as of other human institutions； that experience is the surest standard， by which t o test the real tendency of the existing constitu tion of a country； that facility in changes， u pon the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion ， exposes to perpetual change， from the end less variety of hypothesis and opinion； and re member， especially， that， for the efficient management of our common interests， in a c ountry so extensive as ours， a government of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty is indispensable. Liberty its elf will find in such a government， with pow ers properly distributed and adjusted， its sure st guardian. It is， indeed， little else than a n ame， where the government is too feeble to withstand the enterprises of faction， to confi ne each member of the society within the limit s prescribed by the laws， and to maintain all i n the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the righ ts of person and property. I have already in timated 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 w arn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party， general ly. This spirit， unfortunately， is insepar able from our nature， having its root in the st rongest passions of the human mind. It exists u nder different shapes in all governments， mo re or less stifled， controlled， or repressed； but， in those of the popular form， it is seen in its greatest rankness， and is truly their wo rst enemy. The alternate domination of one faction over another， sharpened by the spirit of revenge， natural to party dissension， wh ich in different ages and countries has perpetra ted the most horrid enormities， is itself a frig htful despotism. But this leads at length to a m ore formal and permanent despotism. The diso rders and miseries， which result， gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and r epose in the absolute power of an individual；and sooner or later the chief of some prevailin g faction， more able or more fortunate than h is competitors， turns this disposition to the p urposes of his own elevation， on the ruins of Public Liberty. Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind， (which neverthele ss ought not to be entirely out of sight，) the c ommon and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrai n it. It serves always to distract the Public Councils， and enfeeble the Public Administr ation. It agitates the Community with ill-found ed jealousies and false alarms； kindles the an imosity of one part against another， foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption， whi ch find a facilitated access to the government i tself through the channels of party passions. T hus the policy and the will of one country are s ubjected 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 t he spirit of Liberty. This within certain limits i s probably true； and in Governments of a Mo narchical cast， Patriotism may look with ind ulgence， if not with favor， upon the spirit o f party. But in those of the popular character， in Governments purely elective， it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tende ncy， it is certain there will always be enough of that spirit for every salutary purpose. And， there being constant danger of excess， the ef fort ought to be， by force of public opinion ， to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to be q uenched， it demands a uniform vigilance to p revent its bursting into a flame， lest， instea d of warming， it should consume. It is im portant， likewise， that the habits of thinkin g in a free country should inspire caution， in those intrusted with its administration， to con fine themselves within their respective constitu tional spheres， avoiding in the exercise of thepowers of one department to encroach upon a nother. The spirit of encroachment tends to co nsolidate the powers of all the departments in one， and thus to create， whatever the form of government， a real despotism. A just esti mate of that love of power， and proneness to abuse it， which predominates in the human h eart， is sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of t his position. The necessity of reciprocal check s in the exercise of political power， by dividi ng and distributing it into different depositorie s， and constituting each the Guardian of the Public Weal against invasions by the others，has been evinced by experiments ancient and modern； some of them in our country and un der our own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. If， in the opin ion of the people， the distribution or modific ation of the constitutional powers be in any par ticular wrong， let it be corrected by an amen dment in the way， which the constitution des ignates. But let there be no change by usurpation； for， though this， in one instance， ma y be the instrument of good， it is the customa ry weapon by which free governments are dest royed. The precedent must always greatly over balance in permanent evil any partial or transie nt benefit， which the use can at any time yiel d. Of all the dispositions and habits， whic h lead to political prosperity， Religion and M orality are indispensable supports. In vain wou ld that man claim the tribute of Patriotism， w ho should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness， these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens. The mere Politicia n， equally with the pious man， ought to res pect and to cherish them. A volume could not t race all their connexions with private and publi c felicity. Let it simply be asked， Where is th e security for property， for reputation， for li fe， if the sense of religious obligation desert t he oaths， which are the instruments of investi gation in Courts of Justice? And let us with ca ution indulge the supposition， that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined ed ucation on minds of peculiar structure， reaso n and experience both forbid us to expect， th at national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. It is substantially true ， that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule， indeed， e xtends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who， that is a sincere fr iend to it， can look with indifference upon att empts to shake the foundation of the fabric ?Promote， then， as an object of primary imp ortance， institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion，it is essential that public opinion should be enli ghtened. As a very important source of stre ngth and security， cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is， to use it as sparin gly as possible； avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace， but remembering als o that timely disbursements to prepare for dan ger frequently prevent much greater disbursem ents to repel it； avoiding likewise the accumu lation of debt， not only by shunning occasion s of expense， but by vigorous exertions in ti me of peace to discharge the debts， which un avoidable wars may have occasioned， not un generously throwing upon posterity the burthe n， which we ourselves ought to bear. The exe cution of these maxims belongs to your repres entatives， but it is necessary that public opini on should cooperate. To facilitate to them the performance of their duty， it is essential that you should practically bear in mind， that tow ards the payment of debts there must be Reven ue； that to have Revenue there must be taxes ； that no taxes can be devised， which are no t more or less inconvenient and unpleasant； t hat the intrinsic embarrassment， inseparable from the selection of the proper objects (which is always a choice of difficulties)， ought to be a decisive motive for a candid construction of the conduct of the government in making it ， and for a spirit of acquiescence in the meas ures for obtaining revenue， which the public exigencies may at any time dictate. Observ e good faith and justice towards all Nations；cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and Morality enjoin this conduct； and can it be， that good policy does not equally enjoini t? It will be worthy of a free， enlightened， a nd， at no distant period， a great Nation， t o give to mankind the magnanimous and too n ovel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can dou bt， that， in the course of time and things，the fruits of such a plan would richly repay an y temporary advantages， which might be lost by a steady adherence to it ? Can it be， that Providence has not connected the permanent f elicity of a Nation with its Virtue? The experi ment， at least， is recommended by every se ntiment which ennobles human nature. Alas! isit rendered impossible by its vices ? In the execution of such a plan， nothing is more es sential， than that permanent， inveterate anti pathies against particular Nations， and passio nate attachments for others， should be exclud ed； and that， in place of them， just and a micable feelings towards all should be cultivat ed. The Nation， which indulges towards anot her an habitual hatred， or an habitual fondnes s， is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection， either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and i ts interest. Antipathy in one nation against ano ther disposes each more readily to offer insult and injury， to lay hold of slight causes of um brage， and to be haughty and intractable， w hen accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur. Hence frequent collisions， obstinate， envenomed， and bloody contests. The Natio n， prompted by ill-will and resentment， so metimes impels to war the Government， cont rary to the best calculations of policy. The Government sometimes participates in the national propensity， and adopts through passion what reason would reject； at other times， it mak es the animosity of the nation subservient to pr ojects of hostility instigated by pride， ambiti on， and other sinister and pernicious motives . The peace often， sometimes perhaps the lib erty， of Nations has been the victim. So li kewise， a passionate attachment of one Natio n for another produces a variety of evils. Symp athy for the favorite Nation， facilitating the il lusion of an imaginary common interest， in c ases where no real common interest exists， a nd infusing into one the enmities of the other ， betrays the former into a participation in th e quarrels and wars of the latter， without ade quate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite Nation of privile ges denied to others， which is apt doubly to i njure the Nation making the concessions； by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained； and by exciting jealousy， ill-。

Washington‟s Farewell Address1. Good morning, everyone, today we are here to listen to a voice of 200 years ago who made a great beginning of a nation. That voice is from George Washing. As one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, his contribution to America is considerable. During his tenure of office, Washington led American through the Revolutionary war and established the United States. When he left office, he left America with far-sighted and principled suggestions and guidelines for its future in his farewell address. Now we are going to elaborate on this profound address.2. First, let‟s experience Washington‟s mood in making the decision to resign. In an address to Boston Selectmen in July 28th, 1795, he states that“ While I feel the most lively gratitude for the many instances of approbation（认可）from my country; I can no otherwise deserve it, than by obeying the dictates of my conscience.”From this, we can see Washington‟s resolution to leave office.3. Then, we will make some items clear about the address. First it‟s about the time. Near the end of his second term as President of the Unite States and before his retirement to his home at Mount V ernon in 1996, Washington‟s farewell address officially took effect. Actually, the draft was written long before that, near the end of his first term in office in 1992, with the help of James Madison. Four years later, Washington, with the help of Alexander Hamilton, prepared a revision of the original draft to announce his intention to decline a third term in office. Despite those help, the address embodies the thoughts, ideas and principles of the retiring president. However, in his time, Washington was not lucky enough to deliver his farewell address publicly on the radio or in the television as many presidents usually do when they leave office. It was published in a newspaper in Philadelphia. Now I will show you the picture.4. As you can see,```5. Now I am going to give you a general view about the address. In his Address, Washington announces his planned withdrawal from politics “after fo rty-five years of my life dedicated to its (America…s) service.” He then sets forth his reasons against running for a third term. As if to bolster his argument, he states: “While choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does no t forbid it.” From this, we can sense a leader‟s modesty, sincerity and rationality coming out from the bottom of his heart.6. Next is the most important in my presentation, the core of Washington‟s farewell address. They are the profound ideas of an experienced leader. We are going to analyze them one by one. First and foremost, Washington advocated a federal government. This can be seen in the following points. First, “The unity of government...is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize.” from point 9, original text. It is also proved in Point 13, “While, then, every part of our country thus feel s an immediate and particular interest in Union, ... Greater strength, greater resources... greater security from external danger, ...and, what is of inestimable value, they must derive from Union an exemption from those broils and wars between themselves...” if you read the original text carefully, you will find this idea reflected in other sentences. Here I just list the most evident ones.7. Second is about warning against the party system. In point 24, original text, Washington gives his reason. Let‟s read it together, "It serves to distract the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration....agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one....against another....it opens the door to foreign influence and corruption...thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another."8. Next is his emphasis on religion and morality. In point 27, Washington gives his support for religion and morality. "Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice?" America has a godly heritage of religion, which makes American full of belief and faith. These belief and faith, I think, is of vital importance to forming of the American characteristics.9. Washington‟s fourth idea is on stable public credit. This is best embodied in Point 30. (找人读)"...cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible...avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt....it is essential that you...bear in mind, that towards the payments of debts there must be Revenue, that to have Revenue there must be taxes; that no taxes can be devised, which are not...inconvenient and unpleasant..."10. What‟s more, Washington gives his warning against permanent foreign alliances:In point 35, he states “History and experiment prove, that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of Republican Government.” And in point 40, " It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world..."11. Last but not least, Washington gives his advice on an over-powerful military establishment:"...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."12. Even if he is going to resign, Washington leaves America with his sincere advice and warnings. His farewell address, which reflected the president's experiences in war and peace, has become a reference point for American identity and relations with the world.13. As time goes on, America sees his power rising in the changing situation of the world. America's entry into World War II in 1941 marked a new era in the nation's foreign policy. As a result of events more than ambition, the United States became a world power. The war against totalitarianism, the Cold War, and the War on Terror have fundamentally reversed the advice given by Washington in his farewell address. To remain at peace and to ensure trade and prosperity, the nation has abandoned neutrality and detachment from alliances to embrace diplomatic, economic, and military globalism. These changes profoundly affected American identity, society, and culture in the last half of the twentieth century and will continue to do so in the twenty-first.14. That‟s all for my presentation, thank you.。

华盛顿离职演讲1796乔治．华盛顿是美国独立战争时期的武装部队总司令，并任一七八七年制宪会议主席，经一致推选，出任新国家第一任总统，并于一七九二年再度当选连任。

毫无疑问，华盛顿本来可以终身担任总统，因为没有别人比他更受人民敬仰与尊重了。

但是，他认为担任两届总统已经足够，他从第二任总统职位退休时，准备了这篇告别辞，于一七九六年九月十七日向美国人民发布。

告别辞对党争与派系倾轧的警告；对外国影响或卷入国外纠纷的警告；在公共事务方面对道德与忠诚精神的呼吁，都是忠告与诫言，对美国历史影响深远，实非华盛顿自己始料所及。

各位朋友和同胞：我们重新选举一位公民来主持美国政府的行政工作，已为期不远。

此时此刻，大家必须运用思想来考虑这一重任付托给谁。

因此，我觉得我现在应当向大家声明，尤其因为这样做有助于使公众意见获得更为明确的表达，那就是我已下定决心，谢绝将我列为候选人。

关于我最初负起这个艰巨职责时的感想，我已经在适当的场合说过了。

现在辞掉这一职责时，我要说的仅仅是，我已诚心诚意地为这个政府的组织和行政，贡献了我这个判断力不足的人的最大力量。

就任之初，我并非不知我的能力薄弱，而且我自己的经历更使我缺乏自信，这在别人看来，恐怕更是如此。

年事日增，使我越来越认为，退休是必要的，而且是会受欢迎的。

我确信，如果有任何情况促使我的服务具有特别价值，那种情况也只是暂时的；所以我相信，按照我的选择并经慎重考虑，我应当退出政坛，而且，爱国心也容许我这样做，这是我引以为慰的。

当我盼望结束政治生涯之际，我的感情不允许我不对我可爱的祖国表示深切感谢。

我感谢祖国授予了我许多荣誉，并以坚定不移的信心支持我，使我享有一切机会通过坚贞不渝地工作，表现我对祖国的神圣感情。

虽然这在效果上与我的热忱并不相称。

如果我的供职对我的祖国有所裨益，我们要永远记住：当各方面激起的热情容易把我们引入歧途时，当有时出现捉摸不定而又令人泄气的局势时，当因经常失利而大受责难时，你们坚定不移的支持就是战胜艰难的主要支柱，也是使各项计划有效地实施的一项保证，这才是你们应赞扬的，并应视之为有教益的事例列入史册。

华盛顿作文素材English Response:Opening Hook:In the annals of American history, the towering figure of George Washington stands as a beacon of leadership, sacrifice, and unwavering commitment to the ideals of democracy. His profound influence on the shaping of the United States of America cannot be overstated, and his legacy continues to inspire generations.Body Paragraph 1: The Revolutionary War andWashington's Military Leadership。

As the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, Washington's military acumen and strategic brilliance were instrumental in securing American independence from British rule. Despite numerous setbacks and challenges, his unwavering resolve and abilityto rally his troops under adversity played a pivotal rolein the ultimate triumph of the American cause.Body Paragraph 2: The Presidency and the Foundation of American Democracy。

麦克阿瑟将军国会大厦告别演讲Farewell Address toCongressmy country. the issues are global and so interlocked that to consider the problems of one sector, oblivious to those of another, is but to court disaster for the whole. while asia is commonly referred to as the gateway to europe, it is no less true that europe is the gateway to asia, and the broad influence of the one cannot fail to have its impact upon the other. there are those who claim our strength is inadequate to protect on both fronts, that we cannot divide our effort. i can think of no greater expression of defeatism. if a potential enemy can divide his strength on two fronts, it is for us to counter his effort. the communist threat is a global one. its successful advance in one sector threatens the destruction of every other sector. you can not appease or otherwise surrender to communism in asia without simultaneously undermining our efforts to halt its advance in europe.beyond pointing out these general truisms, i shall confine my discussion to the general areas of asia. before one may objectively assess the situation now existing there, he must comprehend something of asia's past and the revolutionarychanges which have marked her course up to the present. long exploited by the so-called colonial powers, with little opportunity to achieve any degree of social justice, individual dignity, or a higher standard of life such as guided our own noble administration in the philippines, the peoples of asia found their opportunity in the war just past to throw off the shackles of colonialism and now see the dawn of new opportunity, a heretofore unfelt dignity, and the self-respect of political freedom.mustering half of the earth's population, and 60 percent of its natural resources these peoples are rapidly consolidating a new force, both moral and material, with which to raise the living standard and erect adaptations of the design of modern progress to their own distinct cultural environments. whether one adheres to the concept of colonization or not, this is the direction of asian progress and it may not be stopped. it is a corollary to the shift of the world economic frontiers as the whole epicenter of world affairs rotates back toward the area whence it started.in this situation, it becomes vital that our own country orient its policies in consonance with this basic evolutionary condition rather than pursue a course blind to the reality thatthe colonial era is now past and the asian peoples covet the right to shape their own free destiny. what they seek now is friendly guidance, understanding, and support -- not imperious direction -- the dignity of equality and not the shame of subjugation. their pre-war standard of life, pitifully low, is infinitely lower now in the devastation left in war's wake. world ideologies play little part in asian thinking and are little understood. what the peoples strive for is the opportunity for a little more food in their stomachs, a little better clothing on their backs, a little firmer roof over their heads, and the realization of the normal nationalist urge for political freedom. these political-social conditions have but an indirect bearing upon our own national security, but do form a backdrop to contemporary planning which must be thoughtfully considered if we are to avoid the pitfalls of unrealism.of more direct and immediate bearing upon our national security are the changes wrought in the strategic potential of the pacific ocean in the course of the past war. prior thereto the western strategic frontier of the united states lay on the littoral line of the americas, with an exposed island salient extending out through hawaii, midway, and guam to the philippines. that salient proved not an outpost of strength butan avenue of weakness along which the enemy could and did attack.the pacific was a potential area of advance for any predatory force intent upon striking at the bordering land areas. all this was changed by our pacific victory. our strategic frontier then shifted to embrace the entire pacific ocean, which became a vast moat to protect us as long as we held it. indeed, it acts as a protective shield for all of the americas and all free lands of the pacific ocean area. we control it to the shores of asia by a chain of islands extending in an arc from the aleutians to the mariannas held by us and our free allies. from this island chain we can dominate with sea and air power every asiatic port from vladivostok to singapore -- with sea and air power every port, as i said, from vladivostok to singapore -- and prevent any hostile movement into the pacific.*any predatory attack from asia must be an amphibious effort.* no amphibious force can be successful without control of the sea lanes and the air over those lanes in its avenue of advance. with naval and air supremacy and modest ground elements to defend bases, any major attack from continental asia toward us or our friends in the pacific would be doomed to failure.under such conditions, the pacific no longer represents menacing avenues of approach for a prospective invader. it assumes, instead, the friendly aspect of a peaceful lake. our line of defense is a natural one and can be maintained with a minimum of military effort and expense. it envisions no attack against anyone, nor does it provide the bastions essential for offensive operations, but properly maintained, would be an invincible defense against aggression. the holding of this littoral defense line in the western pacific is entirely dependent upon holding all segments thereof; for any major breach of that line by an unfriendly power would render vulnerable to determined attack every other major segment.this is a military estimate as to which i have yet to find a military leader who will take exception. for that reason, i have strongly recommended in the past, as a matter of military urgency, that under no circumstances must formosa fall under communist control. such an eventuality would at once threaten the freedom of the philippines and the loss of japan and might well force our western frontier back to the coast of california, oregon and washington.to understand the changes which now appear upon the chinese mainland, one must understand the changes in chinese characterand culture over the past 50 years. china, up to 50 years ago, was completely non-homogenous, being compartmented into groups divided against each other. the war-making tendency was almost non-existent, as they still followed the tenets of the confucian ideal of pacifist culture. at the turn of the century, under the regime of chang tso lin, efforts toward greater homogeneity produced the start of a nationalist urge. this was further and more successfully developed under the leadership of chiang kai-shek, but has been brought to its greatest fruition under the present regime to the point that it has now taken on the character of a united nationalism of increasingly dominant, aggressive tendencies.through these past 50 years the chinese people have thus become militarized in their concepts and in their ideals. they now constitute excellent soldiers, with competent staffs and commanders. this has produced a new and dominant power in asia, which, for its own purposes, is allied with soviet russia but which in its own concepts and methods has become aggressively imperialistic, with a lust for expansion and increased power normal to this type of imperialism.there is little of the ideological concept either one way or another in the chinese make-up. the standard of living isso low and the capital accumulation has been so thoroughly dissipated by war that the masses are desperate and eager to follow any leadership which seems to promise the alleviation of local stringencies.i have from the beginning believed that the chinese communists' support of the north koreans was the dominant one. their interests are, at present, parallel with those of the soviet. but i believe that the aggressiveness recently displayed not only in korea but also in indo-china and tibet and pointing potentially toward the south reflects predominantly the same lust for the expansion of power which has animated every would-be conqueror since the beginning of time.the japanese people, since the war, have undergone the greatest reformation recorded in modern history. with a commendable will, eagerness to learn, and marked capacity to understand, they have, from the ashes left in war's wake, erected in japan an edifice dedicated to the supremacy of individual liberty and personal dignity; and in the ensuing process there has been created a truly representative government committed to the advance of political morality, freedom of economic enterprise, and social justice.politically, economically, and socially japan is now abreast of many free nations of the earth and will not again fail the universal trust. that it may be counted upon to wield a profoundly beneficial influence over the course of events in asia is attested by the magnificent manner in which the japanese people have met the recent challenge of war, unrest, and confusion surrounding them from the outside and checked communism within their own frontiers without the slightest slackening in their forward progress. i sent all four of our occupation divisions to the korean battlefront without the slightest qualms as to the effect of the resulting power vacuum upon japan. the results fully justified my faith. i know of no nation more serene, orderly, and industrious, nor in which higher hopes can be entertained for future constructive service in the advance of the human race.of our former ward, the philippines, we can look forward in confidence that the existing unrest will be corrected and a strong and healthy nation will grow in the longer aftermath of war's terrible destructiveness. we must be patient and understanding and never fail them -- as in our hour of need, they did not fail us. a christian nation, the philippines stand as a mighty bulwark of christianity in the far east, and itscapacity for high moral leadership in asia is unlimited.on formosa, the government of the republic of china has had the opportunity to refute by action much of the malicious gossip which so undermined the strength of its leadership on the chinese mainland. the formosan people are receiving a just and enlightened administration with majority representation on the organs of government, and politically, economically, and socially they appear to be advancing along sound and constructive lines.with this brief insight into the surrounding areas, i now turn to the korean conflict. while i was not consulted prior to the president's decision to intervene in support of the republic of korea, that decision from a military standpoint, proved a sound one, as we -- as i said, proved a sound one, as we hurled back the invader and decimated his forces. our victory was complete, and our objectives within reach, when red china intervened with numerically superior ground forces.this created a new war and an entirely new situation, a situation not contemplated when our forces were committed against the north korean invaders; a situation which called for new decisions in the diplomatic sphere to permit the realistic adjustment of military strategy.such decisions have not been forthcoming.while no man in his right mind would advocate sending our ground forces into continental china, and such was never given a thought, the new situation did urgently demand a drastic revision of strategic planning if our political aim was to defeat this new enemy as we had defeated the old.apart from the military need, as i saw it, to neutralize the sanctuary protection given the enemy north of the yalu, i felt that military necessity in the conduct of the war made necessary: first the intensification of our economic blockade against china; two the imposition of a naval blockade against the china coast; three removal of restrictions on air reconnaissance of china's coastal areas and of manchuria; four removal of restrictions on the forces of the republic of china on formosa, with logistical support to contribute to their effective operations against the common enemy.for entertaining these views, all professionally designed to support our forces committed to korea and bring hostilities to an end with the least possible delay and at a saving of countless american and allied lives, i have been severely criticized in lay circles, principally abroad, despite my understanding that from a military standpoint the above viewshave been fully shared in the past by practically every military leader concerned with the korean campaign, including our own joint chiefs of staff.i called for reinforcements but was informed that reinforcements were not available. i made clear that if not permitted to destroy the enemy built-up bases north of the yalu, if not permitted to utilize the friendly chinese force of some 600,000 men on formosa, if not permitted to blockade the china coast to prevent the chinese reds from getting succor from without, and if there were to be no hope of major reinforcements, the position of the command from the military standpoint forbade victory.we could hold in korea by constant maneuver and in an approximate area where our supply line advantages were in balance with the supply line disadvantages of the enemy, but we could hope at best for only an indecisive campaign with its terrible and constant attrition upon our forces if the enemy utilized its full military potential. i have constantly called for the new political decisions essential to a solution.efforts have been made to distort my position. it has been said, in effect, that i was a warmonger. nothing could be further from the truth. i know war as few other men now livingknow it, and nothing to me is more revolting. i have long advocated its complete abolition, as its very destructiveness on both friend and foe has rendered it useless as a means of settling international disputes. indeed, on the second day of september, nineteen hundred and forty-five, just following the surrender of the japanese nation on the battleship missouri, i formally cautioned as follows:men since the beginning of time have sought peace. various methods through the ages have been attempted to devise an international process to prevent or settle disputes between nations. from the very start workable methods were found in so far as individual citizens were concerned, but the mechanics of an instrumentality of larger international scope have never been successful. military alliances, balances of power, leagues of nations, all in turn failed, leaving the only path to be by way of the crucible of war. the utter destructiveness of war now blocks out this alternative. we have had our last chance. if we will not devise some greater and more equitable system, armageddon will be at our door. the problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advances in science, art, literature, and allmaterial and cultural developments of the past XX years. it must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.but once war is forced upon us, there is no other alternative than to apply every available means to bring it to a swift end.war's very object is victory, not prolonged indecision.in war there is no substitute for victory.there are some who, for varying reasons, would appease red china. they are blind to history's clear lesson, for history teaches with unmistakable emphasis that appeasement but begets new and bloodier war. it points to no single instance where this end has justified that means, where appeasement has led to more than a sham peace. like blackmail, it lays the basis for new and successively greater demands until, as in blackmail, violence becomes the only other alternative."why," my soldiers asked of me, "surrender military advantages to an enemy in the field?" i could not answer.some may say: to avoid spread of the conflict into an all-out war with china; others, to avoid soviet intervention. neither explanation seems valid, for china is already engaging with the maximum power it can commit, and the soviet will not necessarily mesh its actions with our moves. like a cobra, anynew enemy will more likely strike whenever it feels that the relativity in military or other potential is in its favor on a world-wide basis.the tragedy of korea is further heightened by the fact that its military action is confined to its territorial limits. it condemns that nation, which it is our purpose to save, to suffer the devastating impact of full naval and air bombardment while the enemy's sanctuaries are fully protected from such attack and devastation.of the nations of the world, korea alone, up to now, is the sole one which has risked its all against communism. the magnificence of the courage and fortitude of the korean people defies description.they have chosen to risk death rather than slavery. their last words to me were: "don't scuttle the pacific!"i have just left your fighting sons in korea. they have met all tests there, and i can report to you without reservation that they are splendid in every way.it was my constant effort to preserve them and end this savage conflict honorably and with the least loss of time and a minimum sacrifice of life. its growing bloodshed has caused me the deepest anguish and anxiety.those gallant men will remain often in my thoughts and in my prayers always.i am closing my 52 years of military service. when i joined the army, even before the turn of the century, it was the fulfillment of all of my boyish hopes and dreams. the world has turned over many times since i took the oath on the plain at west point, and the hopes and dreams have long since vanished, but i still remember the refrain of one of the most popular barrack ballads of that day which proclaimed most proudly that "old soldiers never die; they just fade away."and like the old soldier of that ballad, i now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as god gave him the light to see that duty.good bye.---来源网络整理，仅供参考。

美国孤立主义英语作文Title: The Impact of American Isolationism: A Reflection。

Isolationism, a recurring theme in American foreign policy, has had profound implications both domestically and internationally. While some argue for its merits in preserving national sovereignty and resources, others critique its potential to weaken global alliances and hinder progress towards collective security. This essay aims to explore the complexities of American isolationism, examining its historical context, contemporary relevance, and implications for the future.To comprehend the roots of American isolationism, one must delve into history. The United States' geographical distance from European conflicts during the 18th and 19th centuries fostered a sense of detachment from Old World affairs. This sentiment crystallized into formal policy during the early 20th century, epitomized by PresidentGeorge Washington's Farewell Address warning against entangling alliances. However, isolationism faced significant challenges during periods of global upheaval, such as World War I and World War II, prompting debates over intervention versus isolation.The aftermath of World War II marked a pivotal shift in American foreign policy. The emergence of the United States as a superpower and the onset of the Cold War with the Soviet Union compelled a reevaluation of isolationist tendencies. The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan symbolized a departure from strict isolationism towards proactive global engagement, driven by the belief in containing communism and promoting democratic ideals worldwide.Despite this shift, isolationist sentiments continued to simmer beneath the surface, resurfacing periodically in public discourse. The Vietnam War era witnessed renewed skepticism towards foreign entanglements, fueled by disillusionment with military interventions and concerns over domestic priorities. This sentiment persisted into the21st century, manifesting in debates over military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, where questions of national interest and global responsibility collided.In recent years, the resurgence of isolationistrhetoric has coincided with socio-political shifts domestically and internationally. The election of populist leaders advocating for "America First" policies reflects a resurgence of isolationist tendencies, coupled with skepticism towards multilateral institutions and free trade agreements. This retreat from international commitments has implications for global governance, as the United States relinquishes its traditional role as a leader in shaping global norms and institutions.The COVID-19 pandemic has further underscored the complexities of isolationism in an interconnected world. While border closures and travel restrictions may initially seem prudent for safeguarding national health, they also highlight the limitations of unilateral action in addressing transnational crises. The pandemic's global spread and economic repercussions necessitate coordinatedresponses and solidarity among nations, challenging isolationist impulses with the imperative for collective action.Critics of American isolationism argue that it undermines global stability and exacerbates security threats. By withdrawing from international agreements and alliances, the United States risks ceding influence torival powers and eroding trust among allies. Moreover, isolationism may fuel perceptions of American indifference or abandonment, weakening diplomatic leverage and soft power projection on the world stage.However, proponents of isolationism contend that it serves to protect national interests and preserve sovereignty in an increasingly volatile world. By prioritizing domestic concerns over foreign entanglements, isolationism offers a path towards fiscal restraint and strategic autonomy. Furthermore, it guards against the pitfalls of overextension and mission creep, preventing the erosion of military readiness and public support for interventionist policies.In conclusion, American isolationism remains a complex and contentious issue, shaped by historical precedent, contemporary challenges, and competing visions of national identity and global responsibility. While advocates emphasize its merits in safeguarding sovereignty and resources, critics caution against its potential to undermine collective security and global stability. As the United States navigates its role in an ever-changing world, the debate over isolationism versus internationalism will continue to shape its foreign policy decisions and global interactions.。

奥巴马卸任告别演说词中英全文奥巴马总统将在告别国家演讲中展现出积极的态度，呼吁美国人民作为公民一同努力，而奥巴马卸任的全文内容是怎么样的呢?有没有奥巴马告别演说的中英对照全文的?下面是店铺精心为你们整理的关于奥巴马卸任演讲原文的相关内容，希望你们会喜欢!奥巴马卸任演讲原文奥巴马告别演说词中英全文WASHINGTON — President Obama will strike an optimistic tone in his farewell address to the nation on Tuesday, calling on the American people to work together as citizens as he prepares to rejoin their ranks.华盛顿——下周二，奥巴马总统将在告别国家演讲中展现出积极的态度，呼吁美国人民作为公民一同努力，而他自己也将“告老还乡”成为他们中的一员。

"The running thread through my career has been the notion that when ordinary people get involved, get engaged, and come together in collective effort, things change for the better," Obama said in a Saturday radio address previewing the speech on Tuesday in Chicago.周六，奥巴马在广播演讲上预演了下周二在芝加哥的演讲：“贯穿我职业生涯的一直是这样一个理念，当普通人参与其中并集体努力时，一切会变得更好。

”"It’s easy to lose sight of that truth in the day-to-day back-and-forth of Washington and our minute-to-minute news cycles. But remember that America is a story told over a longer time horizon, in fits and starts, punctuated at times by hardship, but ultimately written by generations of citizens who’ve somehow worked together, without fanfare, to form a more perfect union."“在日夜交替的华盛顿和生生不息的新闻界，很容易忽视那一事实。

美国总统克林顿在白宫发表离职演说全文FAREWELL ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT CLINTON8:00 P.M. January 18, 2001THE PRESIDENT: My fellow citizens, tonight is my last opportunity to speak to you from the Oval Office as your President. I am profoundly grateful to you for twice giving me the honor to serve -- to work for you and with you to prepare our nation for the 21st century.And I'm grateful to Vice President Gore, to my Cabinet Secretaries, and to all those who have served with me for the last eight years.This has been a time of dramatic transformation, and you have risen to every new challenge. You have made our social fabric stronger, our families healthier and safer, our people more prosperous. You, the American people, have made our passage into the global information age an era of at American renewal.In all the work I have done as President -- every decision I have made, every executive action I have taken, every bill I have proposed and signed, I've tried to give all Americans the tools and conditions to build the future of our dreams in a good society, with a strong economy, a cleaner environment, and a freer, safer, more prosperous world.I have steered my course by our enduring values -- opportunity for all, responsibility from all, a community of all Americans. I have sought to give America a new kind of government, smaller, more modern, more effective, full of ideas and policies appropriate to this new time, always putting people first, always focusing on the future.Working together, America has done well. Our economy is breaking records, with more than 22 million new jobs, the lowest unemployment in 30years, the highest home ownership ever, the longest expansion in history.Our families and communities are stronger. Thirty-five million Americans have used the Family Leave law;8 million have moved off welfare. Crime is at a 25-year low. Over 10 million Americans receive more college aid, and more people than ever are going to college. Our schools are better. Higher standards, ater ccountability and larger investments have brought higher test scores and higher graduation rates.More than 3 million children have health insurance now, and more than 7 million Americans have been lifted out of poverty. Incomes are rising across the board. Our air and water are cleaner. Ou r food and drinking water are safer. And more of our precious land has been preserved in the continental United States than at any time in a hundred years.America has been a force for peace and prosperity in every corner of the globe. I'm very grateful to be able to turn over the reins of leadership to a new President with America in such a strong position to meet the challenges of the future.Tonight I want to leave you with three thoughts about our future.First, America must maintain our record of fiscal responsibility.Through our last four budgets we've turned record deficits to record surpluses, and we've been able to pay down $600 billion of our national debt, on track to be debt-free by the end of the decade for the first time since 1835. Staying on that course will bring lower interest rates, ater prosperity, and the opportunity to meet our big challenges. If we choose wisely, we can pay down the debt, deal with the retirement of the baby boomers, invest more in our future, and provide tax relief.Second, ause the world is more connected every day, in every way, America's security and prosperity require us to continue to lead in the world. At this remarkable moment in history, more people live in freedom than ever before. Our alliances are s tronger than ever. People all around the world look to America to be a force for peace and prosperity, freedom and security.The global economy is giving more of our own people and billions around the world the chance to work and live and raise their families with dignity.But the forces of integration that have created these good opportunities also make us more subject to global forces of destruction --to terrorism, organized crime and narco trafficking, the spread of deadly weapons and disease, the degradation of the global environment.The expansion of trade hasn't fully closed the gap between those of us who live on the cutting edge of the global economy and the billions around the world who live on the knife's edge of survival. This global gap requires more than compassion; it requires action. Global poverty is a powder keg that could be ignited by our indifference.In his first inaugural address, Thomas Jefferson warned of entangling alliances. But in our times, America cannot, and must not, disentangle itself from the world. If we want the world to embody our shared values, then we must assume a shared responsibility.If the wars of the 20th century, especially the recent ones in Kosovo and Bosnia, have taught us anything, it is that we achieve our aims by defending our values, and leading the forces of freedom and peace. We must embrace boldly and resolutely that duty to lead -- to stand with our allies in word and deed, and to cut a human face on the global economy, so that expanded trade benefits all peoples in all nations, lifting lives and hopes all across the world.Third, we must remember that America cannot lead in the world unless here at home we weave the threads of our coat of many colors into the fabric of one America. As we ome ever more diverse, we must work harder to unite around our common values and our common humanity. We must work harder to overcome our differences, in our hearts and in our laws. We must treat all our people with fairness and dignity, regardless of their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, and regardless ofwhen they arrived in our country; always moving toward the more perfect union of our founders' dreams.Hillary, Chelsea and I join all Americans in wishing our very best to the next President, George W. Bush, to his family and his administration, in meeting these challenges, and in leading freedom's marching this new century.As for me, I'll leave the presidency more idealistic, more full of hope than the day I arrived, and more confident than ever that America's best days lie ahead.My days in this office are nearly through, but my days of service, I hope, are not. In the years ahead, I will never hold a position higher or a covenant more sacred than that of President of the United States. But there is no title I will wear more proudly than that of citizen.Thank you. God bless you, and God bless America.。

The Farewell Address（华盛顿《告别词》，1796.9.19）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 cloathed 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 sametime, 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, & 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 & 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; & 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 strengthned the motives to diffidence of myself; and every day the encreasing 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, patriotizm 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 wch I owe to my beloved country, for the many honors it has conferred upon me; still more for the stedfast confidence with which it has supported me; and for the opportunities I have thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable attachment, by services faithful & 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, amidstappearances sometimes dubious, viscissitudes 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 & 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 to 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 biass his counsel. Nor can I forget, as an encouragement to it, your endulgent 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 tranquility 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 & 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 & external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly & insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national Union to your collective & individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual & immoveable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves 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 Religeon, Manners, Habits & political Principles. You have in a common cause fought & triumphed together--The independence & liberty you possess are the work of joint councils, 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 & 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 Maratime & commercial enterprise and--precious materials of manufacturing industry. The South in the same Intercourse, benefitting by the Agency of the North, sees its agriculture grow & its commerce expand. Turning partly into its own channels the seamen of the North, it finds its particular navigation envigorated; and while it contributes, in different ways, to nourish & increase the general mass of the National navigation, it looks forward to the protection of a Maratime 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 & water, will more & 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 & 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, influence, 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 seperate strength, or from an apostate & unnatural connection with any foreign Power, must be intrinsically precarious.While then every part of our country thus feels an immediate & particular Interest in Union, all the parts combined cannot fail to find in the united mass of means & efforts greater strength, greater resource, proportionably 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 neighbouring countries, not tied together by the same government; which their own rivalships alone would be sufficient to produce, but which opposite foreign alliances, attachments & intriegues would stimulate & imbitter. 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 & 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. 'Tis 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.In contemplating the causes wch may disturb our Union, it occurs as matter of serious concern, that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties by Geographicaldiscriminations--Northern and Southern--Atlantic and Western; whence designing men may endeavour to excite a belief that there is a real difference of local interests and views. One of the expedients of Party to acquire influence, within particular districts, is to misrepresent the opinions & aims of other Districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies & heart burnings which spring from these misrepresentations. They tend to render Alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal Affection. The Inhabitants of our Western country have lately had a useful lesson on this head. They have Seen, in the Negociation by the Executive, and in the unanimous ratification by the Senate, of the Treaty with Spain, and in the universal satisfaction at that event, throughout the United States, a decisive proof how unfounded were the suspicions propagated among them of a policy in the General Government and in the Atlantic States unfriendly to their Interests in regard to the Mississippi. They have been witnesses to the formation of two Treaties, that with G: Britain and that with Spain, which secure to them every thing they could desire, in respect to our Foreign relations, towards confirming their prosperity. Will it not be their wisdom to rely for the preservation of these advantages on the Union by wch they were procured? Will they not henceforth be deaf to those Advisers, if such there are, who would sever them from their Brethren and connect them with Aliens?To the efficacy and permanency of Your Union, a Government for the whole is indispensable. No Alliances however strict between the parts can be an adequate substitute. They must inevitably experience the infractions & interruptions which all Alliances in all times have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved upon your first essay, by the adoption of a Constitution of Government, better calculated than your former for an intimate Union, and for the efficacious management of your common concerns. This government, the offspring of our own choice uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full investigation & mature deliberation, completely free in its principles, in the distribution of its powers, uniting security with energy, and containing within itself a provision for its own amendment, has a just claim to your confidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance with its Laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true Liberty. The basis of our political Systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government. But the Constitution which at any time exists, 'till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole People, is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of the People to establish Government presupposes the duty of every Individual to obey the established Government.All obstructions to the execution of the Laws, all combinations and Associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, controul counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the Constituted authorities are distructive of this fundamental principle and of fatal tendency. They serve to Organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force--to put in the place of the delegated will of the Nation, the will of a party; often a small but artful and enterprizing minority of the Community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public Administration the Mirror of the ill concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the Organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common councils and modefied by mutual interests. However combinations or Associations of the above description may now & then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the Power of the People, & to usurp for themselves the reins of Government;destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.Towards the preservation of your Government and the permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite, not only that you steadily discountenance irregular oppositions to its acknowledged authority, but also that you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its principles however specious the pretexts. One method of assault may be to effect, in the forms of the Constitution, alterations which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown. In all the changes to which you may be invited, remember that time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of Governments, as of other human institutions--that experience is the surest standard, by which to test the real tendency of the existing Constitution of a Country--that facility in changes upon the credit of mere hypotheses & opinion exposes to perpetual change, from the endless variety of hypotheses and opinion: and remember, especially, that for the efficient management of your common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a Government of as much vigour as is consistent with the perfect security of Liberty is indispensable--Liberty itself will find in such a Government, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, its surest Guardian. It is indeed little else than a name, where the Government is too feeble to withstand the enterprises of faction, to confine each member of the Society within the limits prescribed by the laws & to maintain all in the secure & tranquil enjoyment of the rights of person & property.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, & warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the Spirit of Party, generally.This Spirit, unfortunately, is inseperable 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, controuled, 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 dissention, which in different ages & 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 & miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security & 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 & continual mischiefs of the spirit of Party are sufficient to make it the interest and the 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 & insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence & 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 probablytrue--and in Governments of a Monarchical cast Patriotism may look with endulgence, if not with favour, 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 & 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.It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free Country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its Administration, to confine themselves within their respective Constitutional Spheres; avoiding in the exercise of the Powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create whatever the form of government, a real despotism. A just estimate of that love of power, and proneness to abuse it, which predominates in the human heart, is sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of this position. The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power; by dividing and distributing it into different depositories, & constituting each the Guardian of the Public Weal against invasions by the others, has been evinced by experiments ancient & modern; some of them in our country & under our own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. If in the opinion of the People, the distribution or modification of the Constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. The precedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit which the use can at any time yield.Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labour to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men & citizens. The mere Politican, equally with the pious man ought to respect & to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private & public felicity. Let it simply be asked where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the Oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure--reason & experience both forbid us to expect that National morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.'Tis substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule indeed extends with more or less force to every species of Free Government. Who that is a sincere friend to it, can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric.Promote then as an object of primary importance, Institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.As a very important source of strength & security, cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible: avoiding occasions of expence by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently preventmuch greater disbursements to repel it--avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expence, but by vigorous exertions in time of Peace to discharge the Debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burthen which we ourselves ought to bear. The execution of these maxims belongs to your Representatives, but it is necessary that public opinion should cooperate. 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--that no taxes can be devised which are not more or less inconvenient & unpleasant--that the intrinsic embarrassment inseperable from the Selection of the proper objects (which is always a choice of difficulties) ought to be a decisive motive for a candid construction of the Conduct of the Government in making it, and for a spirit of acquiescence in the measures for obtaining Revenue which the public exigencies may at any time dictate.Observe good faith & justice towds all Nations. Cultivate peace & harmony with all--Religion & morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be that good policy does not equally enjoin it? It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great Nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a People always guided by an exalted justice & benevolence. Who can doubt that in the course of time and things the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary advantages wch might be lost by a steady adherence to it? Can it be, that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a Nation with its virtue? The experiment, at least, is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human Nature. Alas! is it rendered impossible by its vices?In the execution of such a plan nothing is more essential than that permanent inveterate antipathies against particular Nations and passionate attachments for others should be excluded; and that in place of them just & amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The Nation, which indulges towards another an habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in one Nation against another--disposes each more readily to offer insult and injury, to lay hold of slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and intractable, when accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur. Hence frequent collisions, obstinate envenomed and bloody contests. The Nation, prompted by ill will & resentment sometimes impels to War the Government, contrary to the best calculations of policy. The Government sometimes participates in the national propensity, and adopts through passion what reason would reject; at other times, it makes the animosity of the Nation subservient to projects of hostility instigated by pride, ambition and other sinister & pernicious motives. The peace often, sometimes perhaps the Liberty, of Nations has been the victim.So likewise, a passionate attachment of one Nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favourite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest, in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels & Wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or justification: It leads also to concessions to the favourite Nation of priviledges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure the Nation making the concessions--by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained--& by exciting jealousy, ill will, and a disposition to retaliate, in the parties from whom eql priviledges are withheld: And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens (who devote themselves to the favourite Nation) facility。