100+ Famous George Washington Quotes That Inspire Leadership and Wisdom

"The time is now near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or the subjects of a king."

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

"As the sword was the last resort for the preservation of our liberties, so it ought to be the first thing laid aside when the salvation of our liberties is accomplished."

"I cannot consent to take upon me more power than I am well convinced I possess."

"Be courteous to all, but intimate with few."

"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."

"A government that is big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have."

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

"The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and alter their constitutions of government."

"Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder."

"Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected."

"There is nothing which can better show the spirit of a nation than the way in which it treats its prisoners of war."

"Citizens by birth or choice of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections."

"We should take care that temporary passion does not produce permanent calamity."

"Unity of government is a main pillar in the edifice of your independence."

"The name of American, which belongs to you at birth, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism."

"Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion."

"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."

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

"The advancement of the United States depends on union."

"Our destiny is linked together; we are either united or we fall."

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

"National honor is national property of the highest value."

"Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism."

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

"Worrying is praying for what you don't want. Don't do it."

"Honesty is the best policy."

"Character is the strongest mark in the sand."

"It is better to be alone than in bad company."

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

"Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains taken to bring it to light."

"Reputation is an idle and false imposition, oft got without merit and lost without deserving."

"He who is not a good servant will not be a good master."

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

"Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience."

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

"Duty is the great business of a man's life."

"I was born for labor, not for repose."

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

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated."

"Every post is honorable which renders essential service to the public welfare."

"The duty of a public servant is to serve, not to rule."

"Let your conduct be such as becomes a man who values his honor."

"I cannot think of any greater happiness than to be employed in a service useful to mankind."

"The door of honorable retreat being shut, we must either submit to become slaves, or strive gloriously for liberty."

"Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair."

"True glory consists in doing what deserves to be written, in writing what deserves to be read."

"The duty of a soldier is to obey and fight."

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

"Freedom has a thousand charms and liberty a thousand beauties."

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

"There is none who loves liberty more than I do, or is more willing to make sacrifices for it."

"Liberty, like all things else, is not to be estimated by its price, but by the value of its enjoyment."

"The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people."

"When we assumed the rank of independence, we did not mean to assume the vices of other nations."

"While just powers remain in the hands of the people, evil may be corrected by the peaceful means of the ballot box."

"Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."

"The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind."

"Liberty is the greatest blessing known to man."

"No provision in our constitution ought to be dearer to man than freedom of religion."

"Perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages."

"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."

"Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting."

"Though the act of war should cease, the causes of it are not removed."

"Let us meet the foe with firm hearts and determined countenances."

"Tis the same to me whether I live or die. All that I ask is that I may die worthy of my country."

"We have therefore to resolve to conquer or die."

"Adversity is the school of genius."

"The better cause is sure to prevail in the end."

"The longer we wait, the less chance we have of success."

"Success is due to perseverance and courage."

"Let us place our trust in the strength of our arms and the justice of our cause."

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports."

"Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."

"It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."

"Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion."

"Religious contemplation and retirement best suit my temper and turn of mind."

"While just and mild laws are observed, I doubt not that the blessings of Heaven will still flow upon us."

"It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God."

"We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right."

"It is impossible to govern without the blessing of God."

"The foundation of our political systems is the right of the people to make and alter their constitutions of government."

"Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected."

"Where there is no religion, there is no morality."

"Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness."

"The best means of forming a virtuous and happy people is to educate them early in life in the practice of virtue."

"Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom."

"The more extensive a man's knowledge of what has been done, the greater will be his skill in what may be done."

"The foundations of our society and our government rest so much on the teachings of the Bible that it would be difficult to support them if faith in these teachings would cease to be practically universal."

"If knowledge is power, then learning is the ultimate weapon."

"The very basis of civil liberty lies in the free exercise of reason and judgment."

"The advancement of learning is the surest guarantee of future prosperity."

"Ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge, the wing wherewith we fly to heaven."

"A free people ought to be armed and disciplined."

"To promote institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge is to benefit the community."

"The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny over the people."

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

"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."

"Permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world are unwise."

"The United States enjoys a peculiar felicity in its geographical position."

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

"Observe good faith and justice toward all nations."

"The interests of our peace and safety are bound up with our commerce."

"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."

"The peace and happiness of the community depend upon the conduct of individuals."

"Let us learn to appreciate the true value of peace."

"There is nothing which can better show the spirit of a nation than the way in which it treats its prisoners of war."

"May peace be your companion in all your undertakings."

"My station is new; and if I may use the expression, I walk on untrodden ground."

"I walk on untrodden ground. There is scarcely any part of my conduct which may not hereafter be drawn into precedent."

"I shall leave this world with the consolation that I carried with me into it the hopes and prayers of my fellow citizens."

"I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the State."

"I anticipate with pleasing expectation that retreat in which I promise myself to view the busy scene from a safe distance."

"I shall move gently down the stream of life until I sleep with my fathers."

"I shall return to private life, with the prayer that the same Providence which protected me in the day of battle may conduct me in the paths of peace."

"I have the consolation of having acted according to the dictates of my conscience."

"I shall resign my commission and return to Mount Vernon."

"I shall carry into retirement the consciousness of having discharged the duties of my station with fidelity."

"I shall look back with satisfaction upon the past, and forward with hope to the future."

"I shall ever retain a grateful remembrance of the confidence reposed in me by my fellow citizens."