Washington’s Farewell Address

​🔥 Washington’s Farewell Address: Inquiry, Movement, & Debate

Goal: You will analyze Washington’s warnings and connect them to issues in the U.S. today.

By Isiah Jones

Open Ended

🟥 Unity

Why does this matter in 2025?

What do you think George Washington’s warning might be?

Open Ended

🟦 Political Parties

Why does this matter in 2025?

What do you think George Washington’s warning might be?

Open Ended

🟩 Foreign Alliances

Why does this matter in 2025?

What do you think George Washington’s warning might be?

Washington’s Farewell Address 

Aim: What struggles did the nation face at the end of the 1700s, and what was Washington's blueprint for its survival?

SWBAT evaluate George Washington’s guidance on unity, political parties, and foreign alliances by analyzing excerpts from his Farewell Address and answering five multiple-choice questions that require textual evidence, interpretation, and historical reasoning.

Washington’s Farewell Address: Key Terms

• George Washington: 1st President of the United States; April 30, 1789 - March 4, 1797

• Farewell Address: final official speech of Presidents as they exit office

• Patriotism: A sense of pride in one's country

• Commerce: the buying and selling of goods

• political parties: groups that help elect people and shape policies

• Foreign: other nations, nations that are not your home nation

• Political: relating to the government or the public affairs of a country.

• Economic: the system in a country that involves making, buying, and selling goods

Jigsaw Reading Directions

Jigsaw Reading: Washington’s Farewell Address

You will become the expert on ONE part of the text:

🅐 Unity
🅑 Political Parties
🅒 Alliances

In your expert group:
✔ Read your section
✔ Circle suggestions regarding unity, alliances, or political parties
✔ Highlight one piece of evidence
✔ Answer your close-reading questions together

I will circulate and coach — YOU lead the thinking.

What Your Group Must Produce

Your Group Must Be Ready To Explain:

• Washington’s main warning in your section

• Why it mattered for the young nation

• Evidence he used to support his warning

Get ready to teach this to your next group.

Mixed Groups: Teach the Text (8 min)

Expert Teaching: “Teach the Text”

Move into your mixed groups (A + B + C).

Each expert will explain:

1. The warning from their section

2. Why it mattered in the 1790s

3. Key evidence from the text

Your group relies on you — teach clearly and listen actively.

Transition to Debate

Get Ready for Our Debate

You now understand Washington’s warnings about:

• Unity

• Political Parties

• Alliances

Now it’s time to evaluate:

Which warning matters MOST today?

You have a number from 1 to 5.

Each discussion round, a new number will join the inner circle:

Round 1: one set of random numbers

Round 2: one set of random numbers
Round 3: one set of random numbers

If it’s not your turn, you’re in the Outer Circle.
Stay ready — you may need to Tap In at any time.

Debate Round 1 #3

1. How does Washington define “patriotism,” and how is it different from loyalty to one’s state or region?
   
   

Debate Round 1 #3

Which of Washington’s claims about unity seems most relevant to the United States today? Why?

Debate Round 2 #5

4. Why does Washington believe political parties threaten liberty? Do his warnings still apply in modern politics?
   
   

Debate Round 2 #5

4. Is it realistic—or even healthy—for a nation to avoid political parties? Why or why not?
   
   

Debate Round 3 #4

4. Why does Washington believe alliances with powerful nations are dangerous? Does his reasoning hold up in today’s global world?
   
   

Debate Round 3 #4

4. If you had to summarize the Farewell Address in one sentence, what would Washington want future Americans to remember most? Defend your answer.

Open Ended

Where did Washington’s warnings seem most accurate when compared to U.S. history?