What Was Washington's Contribution To Foreign Policy

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Farewell Address
Perhaps Washington's greatest contribution to US foreign policy came in his farewell address in 1796.
Washington was not seeking a third term (although the Constitution did not then prevent it), and his comments were to herald his exit from public life.
Washington warned against two things. The first, although it was really too late, was the destructive nature of party politics. The second was the danger of foreign alliances. He warned neither to favor one nation too highly over another, and to not ally with others in foreign wars.
For the next century, while the United States did not steer perfectly clear from foreign alliances and issues, it did adhere to neutrality as the major part of its foreign policy.
Neutrality
As well …show more content…
Washington avoided political and military alliances, even though the US had already been the recipient of military and financial foreign aid. In 1778, during the American Revolution, the United States and France signed the Franco-American Alliance. As part of the agreement, France sent money, troops, and naval ships to North America to fight the British. Washington himself commanded a coalition force of American and French troops at the climactic siege of Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781.
Nevertheless, Washington declined aid to France during warfare in the 1790s. A revolution -- inspired, in part, by the American Revolution -- began in 1789. As France sought to export its anti-monarchical sentiments throughout Europe, it found itself at war with other nations, chiefly Great Britain.
France, expecting the US would respond favorably to France, asked Washington for aid in the war. Even though France only wanted the US to engage British troops who were still garrisoned in Canada, and take on British naval ships sailing near US waters, Washington refused.
Washington's foreign policy also contributed to a rift in his own
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