In his address of 19 September 1796, given as he prepared to leave office, President George Washington spoke about the importance of morality to the country's well-being: Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports.... And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.... Can it be that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a Nation with its virtue?
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If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one read more
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.
Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your read more
Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.
One of his officers, Henry Lee, summed up contemporary public opinion of Washington: First in war, first in peace, and read more
One of his officers, Henry Lee, summed up contemporary public opinion of Washington: First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.
I go to the chair of government with feelings not unlike those of a culprit who is going to the read more
I go to the chair of government with feelings not unlike those of a culprit who is going to the place of his execution.
The Nation's first chief executive took his oath of office in April in New York City on the balcony of read more
The Nation's first chief executive took his oath of office in April in New York City on the balcony of the Senate Chamber at Federal Hall on Wall Street. General Washington had been unanimously elected President by the first electoral college, and John Ad
To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving the peace.
To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving the peace.
America was targeted for attack because we are the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world, and no read more
America was targeted for attack because we are the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world, and no one will keep that light from shining.
We ought to be persuaded that the propitious smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards read more
We ought to be persuaded that the propitious smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which heaven itself has ordained.
Written about Washington after his death by another of the founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson: His mind was great and powerful read more
Written about Washington after his death by another of the founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson: His mind was great and powerful ... as far as he saw, no judgment was ever sounder. It was slow in operation, being little aided by invention or imagination, but sure in conclusion.... Perhaps the strongest feature in his character was prudence, never acting until every circumstance, every consideration, was maturely weighed; refraining if he saw doubt, but, when once decided, going through his purpose, whatever obstacles opposed. His integrity was the most pure, his justice the most inflexible I have ever known.... He was, indeed, in every sense of the words, a wise, a good and a great man ... On the whole, his character was, in its mass, perfect ... it may truly be said, that never did nature and fortune combine more perfectly to make a man great....
