“the great rule of conduct for us, in regard of foreign nations, is in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible…” – G. Washington
Washington didn’t address his farewell orally. instead he had it printed in Philadelphia on September 19,1796. washington was tired of demands of public life.
the quote above to me signifies that, as a united county now declared of independence, our commercial relations should have the least possible connection with politics due to the fact that we depend on other countries as well as they depend on us.
I think Washington wanted us as a united country to stay neutral because when political issues occur between countries, especially countries that depend on each other, they could stop cooperating with each other. I believe keeping neutrality is one step closer to maintaining peace. if countries declare themselves neutral and stay neutral, that doesn’t mean we cant have commercial relations. it would be better for us, to keep strong commercial relations instead of strong political relations. If Washington would still be alive today I think he would be very disappointed at the fact that some candidates like Donald trump discriminates people and create more political problems instead of advancing our commercial relations.
Washington wanted us to have the least political connection with our commercial relations because if a country hears that another country is doing bad, they wouldn’t want to help and send recourses to help because of the political gossip they’ve heard about the other country. in my opinion I believe Washington has set a great example that we should follow in order to advance our commercial relations with other countries.