entangling alliances with none

Cultural  

1. A phrase President Thomas Jefferson used in his first inaugural address in 1801, calling for a cautious, isolationist foreign policy. (See isolationism.)

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George Washington had given similar isolationist advice four years earlier in his Farewell Address: “It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world.”

Example Sentences

Soon after, Gen�t was recalled, and his acts disavowed, and Washington's "friendship for all, but entangling alliances with none" was the policy of the hour.

From Stories of Old Kentucky by Purcell, Martha Grassham

He proclaimed America's well-known policy toward the European States: "Friendship with all, entangling alliances with none."

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 14 by Various

The young republic of the United States tried to follow the warning of Washington, "Friendship to all, entangling alliances with none."

From Stories of Old Kentucky by Purcell, Martha Grassham

"Honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none, ... economy in the public expense, the honest payment of our debts, and sacred preservation of the public faith."

From A Short History of the United States by Channing, Edward

Peace and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none.

From The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference by Triemens, Joseph