Use the excerpt to answer the question. Washington longed to retire to his fields at Mount Vernon. But he soon realized that the Nation under its Articles of Confederation was not functioning well, so he became a prime mover in the steps leading to the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787. When the new Constitution was ratified, the Electoral College unanimously elected Washington President. He did not infringe upon the policy making powers that he felt the Constitution gave Congress. But the determination of foreign policy became preponderantly a Presidential concern. When the French Revolution led to a major war between France and England, Washington refused to accept entirely the recommendations of either his Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, who was pro-French, or his Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, who was pro-British. Rather, he insisted upon a neutral course until the United States could grow stronger. —WhiteHouse.gov Question Based on evidence from your text, why did Washington reject the advice of both Jefferson and Hamilton and adopt a policy of neutrality?

Question

Use the excerpt to answer the question. Washington longed to retire to his fields at Mount Vernon. But he soon realized that the Nation under its Articles of Confederation was not functioning well, so he became a prime mover in the steps leading to the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787. When the new Constitution was ratified, the Electoral College unanimously elected Washington President. He did not infringe upon the policy making powers that he felt the Constitution gave Congress. But the determination of foreign policy became preponderantly a Presidential concern. When the French Revolution led to a major war between France and England, Washington refused to accept entirely the recommendations of either his Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, who was pro-French, or his Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, who was pro-British. Rather, he insisted upon a neutral course until the United States could grow stronger. —WhiteHouse.gov Question Based on evidence from your text, why did Washington reject the advice of both Jefferson and Hamilton and adopt a policy of neutrality?

Answer 1

Based on the evidence from the text, Washington rejected the advice of both Jefferson and Hamilton and adopted a policy of neutrality because he believed that the United States needed to grow stronger before getting involved in foreign conflicts, such as the war between France and England.

Answer 2

To answer the question, we need to analyze the provided excerpt. According to the excerpt, Washington rejected the advice of both Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton and adopted a policy of neutrality due to the following reasons:

1. The French Revolution: The French Revolution had led to a major war between France and England. As a result, Washington was confronted with a situation where he had to choose between supporting France (as Jefferson, his Secretary of State, advocated) or supporting Britain (as Hamilton, his Secretary of the Treasury, advocated).

2. Preponderantly Presidential Concern: The excerpt mentions that the determination of foreign policy became primarily a Presidential concern. This implies that Washington took it upon himself to make decisions regarding foreign policy.

3. Strengthening the United States: Washington believed that the United States needed to grow stronger before becoming involved in the conflict. By adopting a neutral policy, he aimed to give the country time to strengthen itself economically, militarily, and politically.

Therefore, based on the evidence from the text, Washington rejected the advice of both Jefferson and Hamilton and adopted a policy of neutrality because he wanted to prioritize the growth and strength of the United States and avoid entanglement in the ongoing conflicts between France and England.

Answer 3

Based on the evidence from the text, Washington rejected the advice of both Jefferson and Hamilton and adopted a policy of neutrality because he believed it was in the best interest of the United States to remain neutral and grow stronger before getting involved in the major war between France and England.