2. What does Washington mean when he says "Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge ... As the structure of government
gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion be enlightened..." ?

Washington’s leading concern was that his fellow citizens maintain and protect their attachment to the national union, the union which won independence and liberty for all its inhabitants, and which he argued was essential to economic progress for all. He summarized the mutual benefits which the economic strengths of various sections of the nation represent for the whole, and pressed his readers to adhere to the “indissoluble community of interest, as one nation.”

A large part of the remainder of the document is dedicated to identifying, and countering, the threats to this union. These threats include sectionalism, the “spirit of party,” and the effects of foreign influence, especially through the passionate attachment or habitual enmity toward particular nations. “Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all,” he counsels. Seek commercial relations, but not political ones: no “permanent alliances.” His warning against “entangling alliances” (that term was used by Thomas Jefferson, rather than Washington’s “permanent alliances”) should be understood in the context of Washington’s overall policy statement. He was admonishing the nation to avoid a foreign policy based on sentiments of hatred or love of another nation; Washington’s major concern was to ensure peaceful relations based on commerce in the interest of all.