Article image

George Washington's Best Quotes

George Washington: commander of the Continental Army, founding father, first President of the United States. Arguably no American, past or present, has been more influential than the general who led the Patriot forces to victory in the American Revolutionary War. Nor has any been so well remembered: Washington has been memorialized in the name of the nation’s capital and a U.S. state, as well as in monuments, currency, stamps, and more.

As is often the case with historical figures, Washington’s legacy has been reconsidered in the light of our modern world, particularly his relationship with slavery. He enslaved hundreds of people during his lifetime. And, while serving as President from 1789 to 1797, he signed laws that were both against and for slavery.

He was, indeed, a complicated figure — a man who soared above others during his time but was also very much a product of it. In his many speeches, addresses, and letters, he left us a wealth of quotes that offer insights into the famed leader, revealing his thoughts on everything from war to happiness, honor to the future of humanity.

Heroes have made poets, and poets heroes.

Share Quote

All see, and most admire, the glare which hovers round the external trappings of elevated office. To me there is nothing in it, beyond the lustre which may be reflected from its connection with a power of promoting human felicity.

Share Quote

It is infinitely better to have a few good men than many indifferent ones.

Share Quote

A slender acquaintance with the world must convince every man, that actions, not words, are the true criterion of the attachment of his friends.

Share Quote

I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is the best policy.

Share Quote

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

Share Quote

For the sake of humanity it is devoutly to be wished, that the manly employment of agriculture and the humanizing benefits of commerce, would supersede the waste of war and the rage of conquest.

Share Quote

Happiness depends more upon the internal frame of a person's own mind than on the externals in the world.

Share Quote

We are either a united people, or we are not. If the former, let us, in all matters of general concern act as a Nation… If we are not, let us no longer act a farce by pretending to it.

Share Quote

Remember that it is the actions, and not the commission, that make the officer, and that there is more expected from him, than the title.

Share Quote

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

Share Quote

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.

Share Quote

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.

Share Quote

Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all.

Share Quote

Photo credit: GraphicaArtis/ Archive Photos via Getty Images

Author image
About the Author
Tony Dunnell
Tony is an English writer of non-fiction and fiction living on the edge of the Amazon jungle.
Play more header background
Play more icon
Daily Question
Fill in the blank: "You have to ___ in order to practice being brave." - Mary Tyler Moore

More Inspiration

happiness theme icon

The moon is a friend for the lonesome to talk to.

separator icon
Carl Sandburg
motivation theme icon

To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.

separator icon
Oscar Wilde
hope theme icon

A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.

separator icon
John A. Shedd
love theme icon

He that can have patience can have what he will.

separator icon
Benjamin Franklin
wisdom theme icon

Change — real change — comes from the inside out.

separator icon
Stephen Covey
happiness theme icon

One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.

separator icon
G.K. Chesterton
motivation theme icon

"Enough" is a feast.

separator icon
Buddhist proverb
hope theme icon

He who is not satisfied with a little, is satisfied with nothing.

separator icon
Epicurus
love theme icon

A self that goes on changing is a self that goes on living.

separator icon
Virginia Woolf
wisdom theme icon

We're each of us alone, to be sure. What can you do but hold your hand out in the dark?

separator icon
Ursula K. Le Guin
happiness theme icon

Happiness is not made by what we own. It is what we share.

separator icon
Jonathan Sacks