Being George Washington (39 page)

ARMY, An Appeal for Christian Soldiers.
—The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor so to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country.—General Orders. (1776)

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION, Too Weak to Build Unity.
—I see one head gradually changing into thirteen. I see one army branching into thirteen; and instead of looking up to Congress as the supreme controlling power of the United States, [these armies] are considering themselves as dependent on their respective states. In a word, I see the powers of Congress declining too fast for the consequence and respect which is due to them as the grand representative body of America, and am fearful of the consequences of it.—To Joseph Jones. (1780)

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION, Must Be Revised.
—That it is necessary to revise and amend the Articles of Confederation, I entertain no doubt; but what may be the consequences of such an attempt is doubtful. Yet something must be done, or the fabric must fall, for it certainly is tottering.—To John Jay. (1786)

BORROWING, A Dangerous Practice.
—There is no practice more dangerous than that of borrowing money; … for when money can be had in this way, repayment is seldom thought of in time, the interest becomes a moth, exertions to raise it by dint of industry cease, it comes easy and is spent freely, and many things indulged in that would never
be thought of if [they were] to be purchased by the sweat of the brow. In the meantime, the debt is accumulating like a snowball in rolling.—To Samuel Washington. (1797)

CHARITY, Advice on Giving.
—Let your
heart
feel for the affliction and distresses of everyone; let your
hand
give in proportion to your purse, remembering always the estimation of the widow’s mite. But … it is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all, however, are worthy of the inquiry, or the deserving may suffer.—To Bushrod Washington. (1783)

CONGRESS, The People’s Representatives.
—Congress are in fact but the people; they return to them at certain short periods [and] are amenable at all times for their conduct…. What interest, therefore, can a man have, under these circumstances, distinct from his constituents?—To Governor Benjamin Harrison. (1783)

CONSCIENCE, Often Comes Too Late.
—Conscience … seldom comes to a man’s aid while he is in the zenith of health and revelling in pomp and luxury upon ill-gotten spoils; it is generally the
last
act of his life, and comes too late to be of much service to others here, or to himself hereafter.—To John Price Posey. (1782)

CONSTITUTION (U.S.), Future Generations Qualified to Amend
—Is there not a constitutional door open for alterations or amendments? And is it not likely that real defects will be as readily discovered after as before trial? And will not our successors be as ready to apply the remedy as ourselves, if occasion should require it? To think otherwise will, in my judgment, be ascribing more of the
amor patria
, more wisdom, and more virtue to ourselves than I think we deserve.—To Henry Knox. (1787)

CONSTITUTION (U.S.), God’s Hand in Framing and Adoption of.
—A few short weeks will determine the political fate of America for the present generation and [will] probably produce no small influence on the happiness of society through a long succession of ages to come. Should everything proceed with harmony and consent according to our
actual wishes and expectations, I will confess to you sincerely, my dear Marquis, it will be so much beyond anything we had a right to imagine or expect eighteen months ago that it will demonstrate as visibly the finger of Providence as any possible event in the course of human affairs can ever designate it. It is impracticable for you or anyone who has not been on the spot to realize the change in men’s minds and the progress towards rectitude in thinking and acting which will then have been made.—To the Marquis de Lafayette. (1788)

CONSTITUTION (U.S.), Changes in, to Be Made with Care.
—In all the changes to which you may be invited, remember that time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of governments as of other human institutions; that experience is the surest standard by which to test the real tendency of the existing constitution of a country; that facility in changes upon the credit of mere hypotheses and opinion exposes to perpetual change, from the endless variety of hypotheses and opinion. And remember, especially, that for the efficient management of your common interests in a country so extensive as ours, a government of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty is indispensable. Liberty itself will find in such a government, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian.—Farewell Address. (1796)

CURRENCY, A Strong, Basic to National Well-being.
—Every other effort is in vain unless something can be done to restore [the currency’s] credit. Congress, the states individually, and individuals of each state should exert themselves to effect this great end … But it is virtue alone that can effect it.—To Edmund Pendleton. (1779)

DEMOCRACY, Limitation of.
—It is among the evils, and perhaps is not the smallest [evil], of democratical governments that the people must
feel
before they will
see
; when this happens they are roused to action. Hence it is that this form of government is so slow.—To Henry Knox. (1787)

EDUCATION, Evils of Foreign.
—It has always been a source of serious regret with me to see the youth of these United States sent to
foreign countries for the purpose of education, often before their minds were formed or they had imbibed any adequate ideas of the happiness of their own, contracting, too frequently, not only habits of dissipation and extravagance, but principles unfriendly to republican government and to the true and genuine liberties of mankind, which thereafter are rarely overcome.—Last Will and Testament. (1799)

FINANCES, Policies for National.
—As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible, avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it; avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear.—Farewell Address. (1796)

FREEDOM, Washington’s Love of.
—Born, sir, in a land of liberty, having early learned its value, having engaged in a perilous conflict to defend it, having, in a word, devoted the best years of my life to secure its permanent establishment in my own country, my anxious recollections, my sympathetic feelings, and my best wishes are irresistibly excited whensoever, in any country, I see an oppressed nation unfurl the banners of freedom.—To the French minister. (1796)

GOD, Washington’s Life Preserved by.
—By the miraculous care of Providence, that protected me beyond all human expectation, I had four bullets through my coat and two horses shot under me, and yet escaped unhurt.—To John Augustine Washington. (1755)

GOD, Washington’s Gratitude to.
—Providence has a … claim to my humble and grateful thanks for its protection and direction of me through the many difficult and intricate scenes which this contest has produced, and for the constant interposition in our behalf when the clouds were heaviest and seemed ready to burst upon us.—To Landon Carter. (1778)

I am … grateful to that Providence which has directed my steps, and shielded me through the various changes and chances through which I have passed, from my youth to the present moment.—To the Reverend William Gordon. (1797)

GOD, Intervention of, in Establishing America.
—It having pleased the Almighty Ruler of the Universe propitiously to defend the cause of the united American states, and finally, by raising us up a powerful friend among the princes of the earth [i.e., France], to establish our liberty and independence [upon] lasting foundations, it becomes us to set apart a day for gratefully acknowledging the divine goodness and celebrating the important event which we owe to his benign interposition.—General Orders. (1778)

The hand of Providence has been so conspicuous in all this that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations.—To Thomas Nelson. (1778)

When I contemplate the interposition of Providence, as it was manifested in guiding us through the revolution, in preparing us for the reception of a general government, and in conciliating the good will of the people of America towards one another after its adoption, I feel myself … almost overwhelmed with a sense of the divine munificence.—To the mayor, recorder, aldermen, and common council of Philadelphia. (1789)

No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore 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.—First Inaugural Address. (1789)

The success which has hitherto attended our united efforts we owe to the gracious interposition of Heaven, and to that interposition let us gratefully ascribe the praise of victory and the blessings of peace.—To the Executive of New Hampshire. (1789)

I am sure there never was a people who had more reason to acknowledge a divine interposition in their affairs than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that
agency which was so often manifested during our revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them.—To John Armstrong. (1792)

Without the beneficent interposition of the Supreme Ruler of the universe, we could not have reached the distinguished situation which we have attained with such unprecedented rapidity. To him, therefore, should we bow with gratitude and reverence, and endeavor to merit a continuance of his special favors.—To the General Assembly of Rhode Island. (1797)

GOD, All Nations Should Pay Homage to.
—It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.—Thanksgiving Proclamation. (1789)

GOD, The Author of All Good.
—That great and glorious Being … is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.—Thanksgiving Proclamation. (1789)

HONESTY, And Common Sense, Needed for a Nation to Prosper.
—It appears to me that little more than common sense and common honesty in the transactions of the community at large would be necessary to make us a great and a happy nation.—To the citizens of Baltimore. (1789)

LIBERTY, Future of, Depends on American Experiment.
—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.—First Inaugural Address. (1789)

MONEY, Borrowing.
—There is no practice more dangerous than that of borrowing money.—To Samuel Washington. (1797)

MORAL CHARACTER, Of Greatest Importance.
—A good moral character is the first essential in a man…. It is therefore highly
important that you should endeavor not only to be learned but virtuous.—To George Steptoe Washington. (1790)

PEACE, And Military Preparedness.
—If we are wise, let us prepare for the worst; there is nothing which will so soon produce a speedy and honorable peace as a state of preparation for war.—To James McHenry. (1782)

POLITICAL PARTIES, A Threat to Liberty.
—If we mean to support the liberty and independence which it has cost us so much blood and treasure to establish, we must drive far away the demon of party spirit and local reproach.—To Governor Arthur Fenner. (1790)

POLITICS, Washington’s Guiding Principle in.
—I have no object separated from the general welfare to promote. I have no predilections, no prejudices to gratify, no friends whose interests or views I wish to advance at the expense of propriety.—To James McHenry. (1799)

PRINCIPLE, Will Triumph.
—In times of turbulence, when the passions are afloat, calm reason is swallowed up in the extremes to which measures are attempted to be carried; but when those subside and the empire of [reason] is resumed, the man who acts from principle, who pursues the paths of truth, moderation, and justice, will regain his influence.—To John Luzac. (1797)

RELIGIOUS TOLERATION, And Leaving Judgment to God.
—Avoid all disrespect to or contempt of the religion of the country and its ceremonies. Prudence, policy, and a true Christian spirit will lead us to look with compassion upon their errors without insulting them. While we are contending for our own liberty, we should be very cautious of violating the fights of conscience in others, ever considering that God alone is the judge of the hearts of men, and to him only in this case they are answerable.—Instructions to Benedict Arnold. (1775)

REPUTATION, The Kind to Seek.
—The good opinion of honest men, friends to freedom and well-wishers to mankind, wherever they
may be born or happen to reside, is the only kind of reputation a wise man would ever desire.—To Edward Pemberton. (1788)