Why did Washington voluntarily give up the presidency?

As the first president of the United States, George Washington was known as? Founding father? Because he has made great contributions to all aspects of the United States, such as striving for the independent development of the American economy, building democracy and legal system, and consolidating the federal foundation.

Surprisingly, after being re-elected for two terms, he refused to serve as president again and chose to go back to his hometown to live in seclusion.

George Washington's move set an example in American history of abandoning lifelong system and transferring power peacefully.

Because the United States did not stipulate that the president could not be re-elected for three terms in the early days, and Washington was in the limelight and young at that time, when he refused to be re-elected for a third term, many people put a question mark in their hearts. Why did he refuse?

There are different opinions about Washington's refusal to be re-elected for a third term, but two arguments stand out.

First, the theory of partisan struggle

Some scholars believe that Washington was involved in party struggle at that time, so he gave up the chance of re-election. Washington is actually a very mature politician. He has long realized that if the partisan struggle expands, it will certainly harm himself and the country.

In his farewell speech, he always emphasized and called on the American people to unite and resolutely oppose partisan struggles and other separatist forces.

In this regard, John Carretti, an American historian, said that "farewell speech" was regarded by him as a good medicine to cool political desire, and the general public regarded it as a signal, which meant that competition was about to begin.

Washington said this in Farewell because he always regarded himself as a neutral, but after the expiration of his second term, he lost his non-partisan position and became a federalist.

In such a political situation, he ended his political career with great foresight, because he knew that if he continued to be in the political whirlpool, it would have a great impact on his future and the future of the United States, which Washington himself did not want to see.

Public opinion pressure theory

Many historians now believe that the important reason why Washington gave up his third term was that he was under too much pressure because of public opinion attacks at that time, and many politicians also support this view.

During his second term as president, Washington was too competitive among political parties, so many remarks were directed at him. Many people attacked him in various media, saying that Washington is? Hypocrite? 、? Caesar? Ironically, his arbitrariness and contempt for public rights. These public opinion attacks burned Washington.

Even after he gave up his re-election as president, such public opinion attacks still plagued him. The day after Washington ended his second term and refused to be re-elected for a third term, Philadelphia's Dawn newspaper declared: This day should be the anniversary of the United States, because this man who was once the source of all disasters in our country has now fallen to an equal position with his compatriots. ?

This shows how a person attacked Washington at that time, and also shows how serious the physical and mental trauma suffered by Washington after being attacked by entertainment at that time. In such an environment, no matter how tough people are, they can't be re-elected.

Therefore, his remarks about giving up the third presidential term are somewhat mixed with his inner helplessness.

At that time, an English historian once explained the reason. He said that Washington refused to be re-elected for a third term, mainly because he wanted to gain time for physical and mental freedom. On the other hand, because of people's opposition, he felt that his ability was limited, which greatly reduced his confidence.

He also wrote in "Dating": I now compare myself to the fatigue of finding a rest index and bending over to serve.

Although Washington refused to be re-elected for a third term, he and his supporters felt a little sorry, but this move had a very meaningful impact on the American political system.

Although American law does not stipulate that you cannot be re-elected for three consecutive terms, this tradition continued until franklin roosevelt became the third president in 1940, and in 1947, because the power of the president was expanding.

Therefore, the 22nd amendment to the Constitution was enacted, that is, the president shall not be re-elected for more than two terms. The amendment of the bill has well ensured the balanced distribution of political power in the United States and restrained the due political rights and interests.

Washington died in 1977, but even after many years of death, Washington has had a far-reaching impact on the democratic development of the United States and even the world.