The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible.

Washington’s admonition comes from his Farewell Address at the end of his presidency (1796), drafted amid intense partisan conflict and international turmoil from the French Revolutionary Wars. The United States was economically tied to European powers yet militarily weak and politically divided over whether to favor Britain or France. Washington, having struggled to keep the nation neutral during crises such as the Genêt affair and debates over Jay’s Treaty, used the Address to warn against entangling alliances and foreign influence. He urged Americans to pursue trade broadly while avoiding political commitments that could drag the young republic into Europe’s wars and rivalries.

The sentence encapsulates Washington’s strategic separation of commerce from diplomacy: trade should be expansive and pragmatic, but political ties—especially binding alliances—should be minimized. The underlying logic is prudential rather than isolationist: a distant, developing republic should preserve freedom of action, avoid becoming a pawn in great-power struggles, and prevent foreign attachments from inflaming domestic faction. The quote helped shape an enduring American tradition of emphasizing neutrality and independence in foreign policy, later invoked (sometimes selectively) to justify nonalignment. Its significance lies in framing foreign relations as a balance between economic engagement and political restraint.