What George Washington Said

February 22, 2020 (Saturday)

Today is the 288th anniversary of George Washington’s birth in 1732. For many very good reasons, he is known as “The Father of Our Country.”

“Washington could have been a king. Instead, he chose to be a citizen. He set many precedents for the national government and the presidency: The two-term limit in office, only broken once by Franklin D. Roosevelt, was later ensconced in the Constitution’s 22nd Amendment. He crystallized the power of the presidency as a part of the government’s three branches, able to exercise authority when necessary, but also accept the balance of power inherent in the system.

“He was not only considered a military and revolutionary hero, but a man of great personal integrity, with a deep sense of duty, honor and patriotism. For over 200 years, Washington has been acclaimed as indispensable to the success of the Revolution and the birth of the nation. But his most important legacy may be that he insisted he was dispensable, asserting that the cause of liberty was larger than any single individual.” (Quoted from online biography).

QUOTATIONS FROM GEORGE WASHINGTON

(George Washington belonged to no political party)

Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.

Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.

If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.

Friendship is a plant of slow growth and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.

I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.

To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.

Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.

Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.

Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.

It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.

 

Click here to read Washington’s Farewell Address. The address is lengthy, but you can find summaries of it elsewhere on the web. He did not speak it, but instead published it. The purpose of it was to decline a third term, a custom faithfully followed by each president until Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to four terms, an action later forbidden by the 22nd amendment.

(Blog repeated from 2019)

A copy of the Constitution may be found at: http://constitutionus.com/