Addressing America

Jeffrey Malanson

Description

Washington's Farewell Address and the development of the early republicIn his presidential Farewell Address of 1796, George Washington presented a series of maxims to guide the construction of a wise foreign policy. He believed, as did generations of his adherents, that if the United States stayed true to the principles he discussed, the country would eventually attain national greatness and international respectability. These principles quickly became engrained in the DNA of what it meant to be an American in the first half of the nineteenth century, shaping the formation of U.S. foreign policy, politics, and political culture. The Declaration of Independence affirmed American ideals, the Constitution established American government, and the Farewell Address enabled Americans to understand their country and its place in the world. While the Declaration and Constitution have persisted as foundational documents, our appreciation for the Farewell Address has faded with time.By focusing on the enduring influence of the Farewell Address on nineteenth-century Americans, and on their abiding devotion to Washington, author Jeffrey Malanson brings the Address back into the spotlight for twenty-first-century readers. When citizens gathered in town halls, city commons, and local churches to commemorate Washington, engagement with the Farewell Address was a cornerstone of their celebrations. This annual rededication to Washington's principles made the Farewell Address both a framework for the attainment of national happiness and prosperity and a blueprint for national security, and it resulted in its position as the central text through which citizens of the early republic came to understand the connections between the nation's domestic and foreign ambitions.Through its focus on the diplomatic, political, and cultural impacts of Washington's Farewell Address, Addressing America reasserts the fundamental importance of this critical document to the development of the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century.

Sujets

• Histoire
• USA
• History of the Americas
• États-Unis

Informations

• Publié par: The Kent State University Press
• Date de parution: 26 juin 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781631011603
• Langue: English

Extrait

Addressing America
NEW STUDIES IN U.S. FOREIGN RELATIONS Mary Ann Heiss, editor
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Addressing America: George Washington’s Farewell and the Making of National Culture, Politics, and Diplomacy, 1796–1852
JEFFREY J. MALANSON
Addressing America
George Washington’s Farewell and the Making of National Culture, Politics, and Diplomacy, 1796–1852

J EFFREY J. M ALANSON
The Kent State University Press
Kent, Ohio
For Katie
© 2015 by The Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio 44242
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2014049291
ISBN 978-1-60635-251-9
Manufactured in the United States of America
A portion of chapter four appeared originally in Diplomatic History 30:5 (November 2006) and appears courtesy of Oxford University Press.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Malanson, Jeffrey J., 1980–
Addressing America : George Washington’s Farewell and the making of national culture, politics, and diplomacy, 1796–1852 / Jeffrey J. Malanson.
pages cm. — (New studies in U.S. foreign relations)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-60635-251-9 (hardcover : alk. paper) ∞
1. Washington, George, 1732–1799. Farewell address. 2. Washington, George, 1732–1799—Influence. 3. United States—Foreign relations—1783–1865. 4. National characteristics, American. I. Title.
E312.952.M35 2015
973.4'1092—dc23
2014049291
19  18  17  16  15        5  4  3  2  1
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Constructing the Farewell Address
2 Washington’s Farewell in the American Mind, 1796–1817
3 John Quincy Adams and the Legacy of the Farewell Address
4 America’s Fundamental Principles of Foreign Policy and the Panama Congress of 1826
5 The Revaluing of American Principles, 1826–1850
6 “Washington or Kossuth?”: The Farewell Address in the American Mind at Midcentury
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
This project began in fall 2004 with a research paper for one of my first classes in graduate school at Boston College. My professor, Seth Jacobs, was highly supportive of the work I did on the Congress of Panama, and he encouraged me to submit a revised version to Diplomatic History . Parts of chapter 4 originally appeared as “The Congressional Debate over U.S. Participation in the Congress of Panama, 1825–1826: Washington’s Farewell Address, Monroe’s Doctrine, and the Fundamental Principles of U.S. Foreign Policy” in the November 2006 issue of the journal. It was in that project that I started to fully see the attachment to and conflict over George Washington’s Farewell Address that ultimately blossomed into my dissertation and this book. My dissertation committee, David Quigley and Seth Jacobs of Boston College, and Drew McCoy of Clark University, went to great lengths to help me reshape my sprawling early drafts into slightly more coherent (but often still sprawling) dissertation chapters. A graduate student could not ask for better mentors. A budding historian also could not ask for a more supportive and encouraging environment than Boston College. Drew McCoy, who was my undergraduate advisor many years ago, played a special role in my development as a historian. It was while sitting in his classes and talking about the historians’ craft in his office as we debated my honors’ thesis that I became convinced that I wanted to be a historian.
I have found an inspiring level of support and encouragement in the Department of History at Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne. My colleagues are some of the friendliest, smartest, most helpful people that I have ever had the pleasure to meet. The staffs of both the O’Neill Library at Boston College and Helmke Library at IPFW have been incredibly helpful in tracking down books, articles, chapters and other materials as I searched far and wide for information relevant to my work.
In addition to the many graduate students, faculty members, and colleagues who have read various drafts and versions of this material over the years and who have offered invaluable feedback, I want to extend a special thanks to John Belohlavek, François Furstenberg, R. B. Bernstein, Edward Lengel, and the many other editors and anonymous reviewers who, on this project and others, have pushed me to think more critically about both my subject matter and my writing. I am a better historian and a better communicator as a result of their efforts. Any errors remaining in this book are mine and mine alone.
At Kent State University Press, Ann Heiss showed early and unwavering interest in my project. Joyce Harrison has been a fount of support and very graciously put up with a great many questions from a first-timer. I am also grateful to Mary Young, Susan Cash, and many others at the press who, while unknown to me, helped usher my book through the publication process. Finally, I must recognize the efforts of my copy editor, Marian Buda, who went to great lengths to help me improve the manuscript. It is a well-kept secret that historians can be a wordy bunch, and Marian helped to cut through a little bit of that.
In addition to the many intellectual debts associated with this project, I am fortunate to have multiple financial ones to acknowledge as well. A Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati Fellowship from the Massachusetts Historical Society and a Kate B. and Hall J. Peterson Fellowship from the American Antiquarian Society enabled me to conduct extended research at two of the nation’s foremost archives for the study of early American history. A Summer Research Stipend from the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy at Boston College allowed me to spend time with the collections of the Library Company of Philadelphia, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Library of Congress, and the National Archives at College Park. A university fellowship and a teaching fellowship from Boston College made it possible to support myself through graduate school and gain valuable teaching experience, and a dissertation fellowship from the BC Graduate School of Arts and Sciences gave me a year off from teaching to finish writing most of my dissertation. At IPFW, a Summer Faculty Research Grant funded a follow-up trip to the Library of Congress and a brief trip to the Newberry Library in Chicago.
Last, but certainly not least, there is family. My parents and sister have been unwavering sources of support, always cheering me along and taking great pride in my accomplishments, even when they aren’t quite sure what it is I’m up to. My wife’s parents and siblings are among the best people that I know, and I feel blessed to be able to call them family. Jim, Lynn, Kim, Dave, Francis, Marian, Stephen, Matthew, Lisa, and Eric: thank you for everything.
My wife and I had our first child, Andrew, in June 2013, just after Kent State University Press expressed interest in my book manuscript. The Boston Red Sox also won the World Series in October 2013. I’m not saying that Andrew is my good luck charm, but I’m not saying that he’s not either. I look forward to regaling him with stories about George Washington and John Quincy Adams for many years to come.
Finally there is Katie, my wife and, much more importantly, my best friend. Without her nothing else would matter. From asking me to talk to her about my research when she was having trouble sleeping while we were both in graduate school, to being more excited than I was when this book was accepted for publication, she helps me keep things in perspective and is also my most enthusiastic supporter. Katie keeps me motivated to always be the best possible version of myself. I may not always achieve that best version (I often don’t), but I will always strive to, and I will always strive for her. Thank you for everything, but most of all thank you for being you.
Introduction
In 1847, author, academic, and pastor Joseph Alden wrote a book for children, The Example of Washington Commended to the Young, to illustrate the great importance of George Washington to the United States. Reading that book today, it is evident that even half a century after Was