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Lesson

George Washington’ Foreign Policy: Comparisons across U.S. History

Grade
9–12
Published
Nov 15, 2020
Historic plantation house with a red roof, white exterior, and green shutters, surrounded by trees and a blue sky.
Use this lesson at the end of the unit to review foreign policy throughout U.S. history.

Learning objectives

In this lesson, developed by and included with the permission of George Washington’s Mount Vernon, students will connect George Washington’s Farewell Address to the following later presidential foreign policy messages:

  1. Monroe Doctrine
  2. Roosevelt Corollary
  3. Wilson’s Fourteen Points
  4. Truman Doctrine
  5. Kennedy’s inaugural address
  6. George W. Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address
  • Students will analyze Washington’s Farewell Address in the context of his legacy and U.S. foreign policy afterward.
  • Students will compare and contrast U.S. foreign policy over time using primary sources.
  • Students will work as a group to come to a consensus and present.
  • Students will participate in a Socratic Seminar and debate the course of U.S. foreign policy since George Washington.

Visit Mount Vernon’s website to access this lesson and accompanying materials.

Standards

Check whether this resource aligns with your state’s standards →

Related materials

PageLife, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

In our resource history is presented through a series of narratives, primary sources, and point-counterpoint debates that invites students to participate in the ongoing conversation about the American experiment.