that the combined effort and resources of its people will protect the country from foreign attack and allow them to avoid wars between neighboring nations that often happen due to rivalries and competing relations with foreign nations. He argues that the security provided by the Union will also allow the United States to avoid the creation of an overgrown military which he sees as a great threat to liberty, especially the republican liberty that the United States has created. Washington goes on to warn the American people to question the ulterior motives of any person or group who argues that the land within the borders of the United States is too large to be ruled as a republic, an argument made by many during the debate on the proposed purchase of the Louisiana Territory, calling on the people to give the experiment of a large republic a chance to work before deciding that it cannot be done. He then offers strong warnings on the dangers of sectionalism, arguing that the true motives of a sectionalist are to create distrust or rivalries between regions and people to gain power and take control of the government. Washington points to the Jay Treaty and Pinckney's Treaty which established the borders of the United States western territories between Spanish Mexico and British Canada and secured the rights of western farmers to ship goods along the Mississippi River to New Orleans. He holds up these treaties as proof that the eastern states along the Atlantic Coast and the federal government are looking out for the welfare of all the American people and can win fair treatment from foreign countries as a united nation. Constitution and political factions Washington goes on to state his support for the new constitutional government, calling it an improvement upon the nation's original attempt in the Articles of Confederation. He reminds the people that it is the right of the people to alter the government to meet their needs, but it should only be done through constitutional amendments. He reinforces this belief by arguing that violent takeovers of the government should be avoided at all costs and that it is the duty of every member of the republic to follow the constitution and to submit to the laws of the government until it is constitutionally amended by the majority of the American people. Washington warns the people that political factions may