In his Farewell Address to the nation, George Washington said the following:

Question

In his Farewell Address to the nation, George Washington said the following:

"However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion."

What did George Washington mean by this? Have his words come to pass? 

Answer 1

George Washington was keenly aware of the dangers of giving too much power to a single person. He felt so strongly about limiting the powers of the president that he stepped down after two terms. He even dismissed some popular calls to make him a king.

This is a good time to reflect on the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. The president and the Congress took massive actions in a short amount of time to change the structure of government and to take away a lot of liberties. They relied on fear to make these changes palatable to the American people. The creation of the Homeland Security Department is one example. The presidential administration was cunning and ambitious, and it had its target on invading Iraq. It took some time, but the administration was able to convince the American people that Iraq was involved in the terrorist attacks. The administration and many members of Congress used fear, a strong motivator, and other forms of deception to convince Americans that Iraq posed an imminent threat to the United States.

Do some research on these subjects, and I think you will find the types of people George Washington was speaking about.