100 George Washington Quotes
George Washington, one of the greatest figures in American history, was the first President of the United States. He not only served as the first president of the United States, but he also commanded the Continental Army during the American Revolution (1775–83) and presided over the convention that drafted the U.S. Constitution. Washington was a remarkable man, great leader, and the father of our country. George Washington died on December 14, 1799, in Mount Vernon, Virginia, leaving behind a legacy as one of America’s greatest leaders. Along with his leadership, the first president was known for his way with words, which is why many George Washington quotes have become iconic today. Here is a collection of George Washington quotes that teach about leadership, politics, freedom and more.
George Washington Quotes
- “Associate yourself with Men of good Quality if you Esteem your own Reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad Company.” ~ George Washington
- “Be not glad at the misfortune of another, though he may be your enemy.” ~ George Washington
- “Perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages.” ~ George Washington
- “Happiness depends more upon the internal frame of a person’s own mind, than on the externals in the world.” ~ George Washington
- “We must consult our means rather than our wishes.” ~ George Washington
- “Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those be well-tried before you give them your confidence.” ~ George Washington
- “Truth will ultimately prevail where pains is taken to bring it to light.” ~ George Washington
- “The harder the conflict, the greater the triumph.” ~ George Washington
- “Human happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.” ~ George Washington
- “99% of failures come from people who make excuses.” ~ George Washington
George Washington Quote
- “Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and show the whole world that a Freeman, contending for liberty on his own ground, is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth.” ~ George Washington
- “Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.” ~ George Washington
- “Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.” ~ George Washington
- “A sensible woman can never be happy with a fool.” ~ George Washington
- “Experience teaches us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession.” ~ George Washington
- “To encourage literature and the arts is a duty which every good citizen owes to his country.” ~ George Washington
- “Where are our Men of abilities? Why do they not come forth to save their Country?” ~ George Washington
- “A bad war is fought with a good mind.” ~ George Washington
- “Real men despise battle, but will never run from it.” ~ George Washington
- “Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.” ~ George Washington
Quotes by George Washington
- “Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.” ~ George Washington
- “Let your discourse with men of business be short and comprehensive.” – George Washington
- “As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality.” ~ George Washington
- “Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.” ~ George Washington
- “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.” ~ George Washington
- “It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government.” ~ George Washington
- “I have always considered marriage as the most interesting event of one’s life, and the foundation of happiness or misery.” ~ George Washington
- “Every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me more and more, that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome.” ~ George Washington
- “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.” ~ George Washington
- “We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience.” ~ George Washington
Famous George Washington Quotes
- “The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they pass unobserved.” ~ George Washington
- “The reflection upon my situation and that of this army produces many an uneasy hour when all around me are wrapped in sleep. Few people know the predicament we are in.” ~ George Washington
- “Citizens by birth or choice of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations.” ~ George Washington
- “To persevere in one’s duty, and be silent is the best answer to calumny.” ~ George Washington
- “If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War.” ~ George Washington
- “Paper money has had the effect in your state that it will ever have, to ruin commerce, oppress the honest, and open the door to every species of fraud and injustice.” ~ George Washington
- “Lenience will operate with greater force, in some instances than rigor. It is therefore my first wish to have all of my conduct distinguished by it.” ~ George Washington
- “There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet the enemy.” ~ George Washington
- “Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone.” ~ George Washington
- “I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy.” ~ George Washington
George Washington Quotes
- “While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.” ~ George Washington
- “I conceive a knowledge of books is the basis upon which other knowledge is to be built.” ~ George Washington
- “To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.” ~ George Washington
- “Much was to be done by prudence, much by conciliation, much by firmness.” ~ George Washington
- “Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble.” ~ George Washington
- “Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.” ~ George Washington
- “It is absolutely necessary… for me to have persons that can think for me, as well as execute orders.” ~ George Washington
- “It is a much easier and less distressing thing to draw remonstrances in a comfortable room by a good fireside than to occupy a cold bleak hill and sleep under frost and snow without clothes or blankets.” ~ George Washington
- “Experience has taught us, that men will not adopt and carry into execution measures best calculated for their own good, without the intervention of a coercive power.” ~ George Washington
- “Religious controversies are always productive of more acrimony and irreconcilable hatreds than those which spring from any other cause.” ~ George Washington
George Washington Famous Quotes
- “Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for, I have grown not only gray, but almost blind in the service of my country.” ~ George Washington
- “Those who have committed no faults want no pardon. We are only defending what we deem our indisputable rights.” ~ George Washington
- “Make sure you are doing what God wants you to do-then do it with all your strength.” ~ George Washington
- “No people can be bound to acknowledge the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.” ~ George Washington
- “Individuals entering into society, must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest.” ~ George Washington
- “The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government.” ~ George Washington
- “We began a contest for liberty ill provided with the means for the war, relying on our patriotism to supply the deficiency. We expected to encounter many wants and distressed… we must bear the present evils and fortitude…” ~ George Washington
- “Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.” ~ George Washington
- “There is nothing which can better deserve our patronage than the promotion of science and literature. Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness.” ~ George Washington
- “Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.” ~ George Washington
Quotes from George Washington
- “Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.” ~ George Washington
- “One of the expedients of party to acquire influence, within particular districts, is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts.” ~ George Washington
- “The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves.” ~ George Washington
- “Wherein you reprove another be unblameable yourself, for example is more prevalent than precepts.” ~ George Washington
- “Anything will give up its secrets if you love it enough. Not only have I found that when I talk to the little flower or to the little peanut they will give up their secrets, but I have found that when I silently commune with people they give up their secrets also-if you love them enough” ~ George Washington
- “Let your conversation be without malice or envy, for it is a sign of a tractable and commendable nature; and in all cases of passion admit reason to govern.” ~ George Washington
- “Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment.” ~ George Washington
- “The great mass of our Citizens require only to understand matters rightly, to form right decisions.” ~ George Washington
- “The bosom of America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations and Religions; whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges, if by decency and propriety of conduct they appear to merit the enjoyment.” ~ George Washington
- “A man ought not to value himself of his achievements or rare qualities of wit, much less of his riches, virtue or kindred.” ~ George Washington
Quotes From the US’ First President
- “Strive not with your superiors in argument, but always submit your judgment to others with modesty.” ~ George Washington
- “The hour is fast approaching, on which the honor and success of this army, and the safety of our bleeding country depend. Remember officers and soldiers, that you are free men, fighting for the blessings of Liberty — that slavery will be your portion, and that of your posterity, if you do not acquit yourselves like men.” ~ George Washington
- “Decision making, like coffee, needs a cooling process.” ~ George Washington
- “My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.” ~ George Washington
- “But lest some unlucky event should happen unfavorable to my reputation, I beg it may be remembered by every gentleman in the room that I this day declare with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the command I am honored with.” ~ George Washington
- “It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.” ~ George Washington
- “If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” ~ George Washington
- “When one side only of a story is heard and often repeated, the human mind becomes impressed with it insensibly.” ~ George Washington
- “A slender acquaintance with the world must convince every man that actions, not words, are the true criterion of the attachment of friends.” ~ George Washington
- “I heard the bullets whistle, and, believe me, there is something charming in the sound.” ~ George Washington
Best George Washington Quotes
- “Laws made by common consent must not be trampled on by individuals.” ~ George Washington
- “Some day, following the example of the United States of America, there will be a United States of Europe.” ~ George Washington
- “I hope, some day or another, we shall become a storehouse and granary for the world.” ~ George Washington
- “If to please the people, we offer what we ourselves disapprove, how can we afterwards defend our work? Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair. The rest is in the hands of God.” ~ George Washington
- “No punishment, in my opinion, is to great, for the man who can build his greatness upon his country’s ruin.” ~ George Washington
- “Nothing is more essential, than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular Nations, and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated.” ~ George Washington
- “If the cause is advanced, indifferent is it to me where or in what quarter it happens.” ~ George Washington
- “It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy to deprive a man of his natural liberty upon the supposition he may abuse it.” ~ George Washington
- “Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest.” ~ George Washington
- “The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government.” ~ George Washington
Washington Quotes
- “Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by a difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought most to be deprecated.” ~ George Washington
- “I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world.” ~ George Washington
- “How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these.” ~ George Washington
- “The nation which indulges toward another a habitual hatred or a habitual fondness is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to it animosity or two its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest.” ~ George Washington
- “Speak not evil of the absent, for it is unjust.” ~ George Washington
- “Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principles.” ~ George Washington
- “I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong.” ~ George Washington
- “Few people have the virtue to withstand the highest bidder.” ~ George Washington
- “Democratical States must always feel before they can see: it is this that makes their Governments slow, but the people will be right at last.” ~ George Washington
- “Honesty will be found on every experiment, to be the best and only true policy. Let us then as a nation be just.” ~ George Washington
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