Quotes About George Washington
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The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established government.

The nation which indulges towards another an habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest.

There can be no greater error than to expect, or calculate, upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard.

The United States of America should have a foundation free from the influence of clergy.

I am for free commerce with all nations; political connection with none; and little or no diplomatic establishment.

No morn ever dawned more favorable than ours did; and no day was every more clouded than the present! Wisdom, and good examples are necessary at this time to rescue the political machine from the impending storm.

The foundation of a great Empire is laid, and I please myself with a persuasion, that Providence will not leave its work imperfect.

Father I cannot tell a lie. I did it with my little hatchet.

In the appointments to the great offices of the government, my aim has been to combine geographical situation, and sometimes other considerations, with abilities and fitness of known characters.

It is an old adage that honesty is the best policy-this applies to public as well as private life-to States as well as individuals.

The Hand of providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations.

The foundation of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principle of private morality.

The Independence and Liberty you possess are the work of joint councils and joint efforts, of common dangers, sufferings and successes.

A pack of jackasses led by a lion is superior to a pack of lions led by a jackass.

We had quitters during the Revolution too...we called them 'Kentuckians.'

The harder the conflict, the greater the triumph.

A half-starved limping government, always moving upon crutches and tottering at every step.

Let me live according to those holy rules which Thou hast this day prescribed in Thy Holy Word...direct me to the true object, Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, and the life. Bless, O Lord, all the people of this land.

The tumultuous populace of large cities are ever to be dreaded.

Serious misfortunes, originating in misrepresentation, frequently flow and spread before they can be dissipated by truth.

The arrows of malevolence ... however barbed and well pointed, never can reach the most vulnerable part of me; though, whilst I am up as a mark, they will be continually aimed.

My brave fellows, let no sensation of satisfaction for the triumphs you have gained induce you to insult your fallen enemy. Let no shouting, no clamorous huzzaing increase their mortification. It is sufficient for us that we witness their humiliation. Posterity will huzza for us.

I dare say the men would fight very well if properly officered, although they are an exceedingly dirty and nasty people.

The whole duty of man is summed up in obedience to God's will.

Almighty and eternal Lord God, the great Creator of heaven and earth, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; look down from heaven in pity and compassion upon me thy servant, who humbly prostrate myself before thee.

Laws or ordinances unobserved, or partially attended to, had better never have been made.

When in company, put not your hands to any part of the body, not usually discovered.

It is absolutely necessary... for me to have persons that can think for me, as well as execute orders.

The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism.

I had rather be in my grave than in my present situation, I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world; and yet they charge me with wanting to be a king.

I go to the chair of government with feelings not unlike those of a culprit who is going to the place of his execution.

In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars.

In executing the duties of my present important station, I can promise nothing but purity of intentions, and, in carrying these into effect, fidelity and diligence.

It is with pleasure I receive reproof, when reproof is due, because no person can be readier to accuse me, than I am to acknowledge an error, when I am guilty of one; nor more desirous of atoning for a crime, when I am sensible of having committed it.

But if the laws are to be so trampled upon with impunity, and a minority is to dictate to the majority, there is an end put at one stroke to republican government, and nothing but anarchy and confusion is to be expected thereafter.

In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude.

We should on all Occasions avoid a general Action, or put anything to the Risque, unless compelled by a necessity, into which we ought never to be drawn.

Precedents are dangerous things; let the reins of government then be braced and held with a steady hand, and every violation of the Constitution be reprehended: If defective let it be amended, but not suffered to be trampled upon whilst it has an existence.

In a word, if this country can steer clear of European politics, stand firm on its bottom, and be wise and temperate in its government, it bids fair to be one of the greatest and happiest nations in the world.

No taxes can be devised which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant.

There was not a member of the Constitutional Convention who had the least objection to what is contended for by the advocates for a Bill of Rights and trial by jury.

Thirteen sovereignties pulling against each other and all tugging at the federal head, will soon bring ruin on the whole.

It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, and with it, everything honorable and glorious.

I was summoned by my Country, whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love.

I consider it an indispensible duty to close this last solemn act of my official life by commending the interests of our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God and those who have the superintendence of them into his Holy keeping.

If ever again our nation stumbles upon unfunded paper, it shall surely be like death to our body politic. This country will crash.

Religious controversies are always productive of more acrimony and irreconcilable hatreds than those which spring from any other cause.

May Heaven to this Union continue its beneficence.

99% of failures come from people who make excuses.

I am just going. Have me decently buried; and do not let my body be put into the Vault in less than three days after I am dead.... Tis well.

Rise early, that by habit it may become familiar, agreeable, healthy, and profitable. It may, for a while, be irksome to do this, but that will wear off; and the practice will produce a rich harvest forever thereafter; whether in public or private walks of life.

I never have to grope for methods. The method is revealed at the moment I am inspired to create something new. Without God to draw aside the curtain I would be helpless.

Let us impart all the blessings we possess, or ask for ourselves, to the whole family of mankind.

The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die.

I am not only retired from all public employments, but I am retiring within myself, and shall be able to view the solitary walk and tread the paths of private life with heartfelt satisfaction.

Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence, (I conjure you to believe me fellow citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake; since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of Republican Government.

History and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government.

Freemasonry is an institution founded on eternal reason and truth; whose deep basis is the civilization of mankind, and whose everlasting glory it is to have the immovable support of those two mighty pillars, science and morality.

Freemasonry is an order whose leading star is philanthropy and whose principles inculcate an unceasing devotion to the cause of virtue and morality.

Men of real talents in Arms have commonly approved themselves patrons of the liberal arts and friends to the poets, of their own as well as former times. In some instances by acting reciprocally, heroes have made poets, and poets heroes.

Example, whether it be good or bad, has a powerful influence.

What was done with the seed saved from the India Hemp last summer? It ought, all of it, to have been sewn again; that not only a stock of seed sufficient for my own purposes might have been raised, but to have disseminated the seed to others; as it is more valuable than the common Hemp.

It is the child of avarice, the brother of iniquity, and the father of mischief.

It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence.

There is an indissoluble union between a magnanimous policy and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity.

I have the consolation to believe, that, while choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it.

Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest.

To stand well in the estimation of one's country is a happiness that no rational creature can be insensible of.

To form a new Government, requires infinite care, and unbounded attention; for if the foundation is badly laid the superstructure must be bad.

The benefit arising from moderate use of strong Liquor have been experienced in all Armies, and are not to be disputed.

The true distinction ... between what is called a fine Regiment, and an indifferent one will ever, upon investigation, be found to originate in, and depend upon the care, or the inattention, of the Officers belonging to them.

It would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being Who rules over the universe, Who presides in the councils of nations, and Whose providential aids can supply every human defect.

My own remedy is always to eat, just before I step into bed, a hot roasted onion, if I have a cold.

My manner of living is plain and I do not mean to be put out of it. A glass of wine and a bit of mutton are always ready.

One of the expedients of party to acquire influence, within particular districts, is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts.

It is one of the evils of democratical governments, that the people, not always seeing and frequently misled, must often feel before they can act.

A good moral character is the first essential. It is highly important not only to be learned but to be virtuous.

As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit.

No pecuniary consideration is more urgent, than the regular redemption and discharge of the public debt: on none can delay be more injurious, or an economy of time more valuable.

The Army (considering the irritable state it is in, its suffering and composition) is a dangerous instrument to play with.

Do not spare any reasonable expense to come at early and true information; always recollecting, and bearing in mind, that vague and uncertain accounts of things are... more disturbing and dangerous than receiving none at all.

Impressed with a conviction that the due administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good Government, I have considered the first arrangement of the Judicial department as essential to the happiness of our Country, and to the stability of its political system.

Even the country's first president chafed at the limits placed on him by the writers of the U.S. Constitution. From the nature of the Constitution, ... I must approve all the parts of a bill, or reject it in toto.

If we mean to support the liberty and independence which has cost us so much blood and treasure to establish, we must drive far away the demon of party spirit and local reproach.

Republicanism is not the phantom of a deluded imagination. On the contrary, laws, under no form of government, are better supported, liberty and property better secured, or happiness more effectually dispensed to mankind.

The establishment of Civil and Religious Liberty was the Motive that induced me to the field of battle.

The best means of forming a manly, virtuous, and happy people will be found in the right education of youth. Without this foundation, every other means, in my opinion, must fail.