Answer:
Explanation:
Throughout his time as president, George Washington saw political parties as a threat to the survival of the Union. With the Conway Cabal and Newburgh Conspiracy, he had earlier seen divisiveness nearly undermine his successful leadership during the Revolutionary War. If the new United States of America was survive, it needed to stay united. Knowing “Divide and Conquer” to be a well-known strategy used by despots, Washington felt that “faction” could fracture the country and make it easy pickings for the likes of European powers. Avoiding foreign entanglements and wars, he sought to develop a national character that found safety in numbers — the Union. Until that national character or culture could fully develop and mature, however, political parties would remain a threat, hence his admonishments to both Jefferson (Democratic-Republican Party) and Hamilton (Federalist Party). It should be noted that after Washington’s retirement, he became more and more closely (althought privately) aligned with the politics of the Federalist party, apparently feeling that the time had come where the benefit of party activity was worth the risk.
