In this post, we’ll read George Washington quotes who was the first President of the United States and a central figure in the founding of the country.
George Washington (1732–1799) played crucial roles in the American Revolution, the creation of the U.S. Constitution, and the establishment of the nation’s government.
The United States celebrates President’s Day to honor him and reflect on the contributions and leadership of past U.S. presidents on the third Monday of February as his birthday falls on February 22.
Washington gained military experience during the French and Indian War and later became the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution, leading the colonies to victory over Britain. He was elected as the first U.S. president and he served two terms, establishing many important traditions for the office that still stands to this day.
Let’s read some of the best George Washington on success, war, freedom and more.
Inspirational George Washington Quotes
1. “It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.”
2. “A sensible woman can never be happy with a fool.
3. “We must consult our means rather than our wishes.”
4. “Happiness depends more upon the internal frame of a person’s own mind, than on the externals in the world.”
5. “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.”
6. “To persevere in one’s duty, and be silent is the best answer to calumny.”
7. “Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone.”
8. “[death]…the abyss from where no traveler is permitted to return.”
9. “Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble.”
10. “It is impossible to reason without arriving at a Supreme Being.”
11. “Nothing is a greater stranger to my breast, or a sin that my soul more abhors, than that black and detestable one, ingratitude.”
12. “A man’s intentions should be allowed in some respects to plead for his actions.”
13. “I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is the best policy.”
George Washington Quotes on Success
1. “The harder the conflict, the greater the triumph.”
2. “Perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages.”
3. “Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.”
4. “We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dear-bought experience.”
5. “Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.”
6. “Real men despise battle, but will never run from it.”
7. “99% of failures come from people who make excuses.”
8. “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 Quotes on War
1. “To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.”
2. “Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.”
3. “My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth.”
4. “War – An act of violence whose object is to constrain the enemy, to accomplish our will.”
5. “There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet the enemy.”
6. “No punishment, in my opinion, is too great, for the man who can build his greatness upon his country’s ruin.”
7. “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.”
8. “I’ll die on my feet before I’ll live on my knees!”
9. “A bad war is fought with a good mind.”
10. “Where are our men of abilities? Why do they not come forth to save their country?”
11. “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 Quotes on Leadership
1. “A leader should lead by example.”
2. “The true distinction of a great leader is not power, but the ability to inspire confidence and virtue in others.”
3. “Let your heart feel for the affliction and distress of everyone, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse.”
4. “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.”
5. “The best and only safe road to honor, glory, and true dignity is justice.”
6. “The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.”
7. “Strive not with your superiors in argument, but always submit your judgment to others with modesty.”
8. “Decision making, like coffee, needs a cooling process.”
9. “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.”
10. “If to please the people,we offer what we ourselves disapprove of, 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.”
11. “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 Quotes on Freedom
1. “The freedom of speech may be taken away, and, dumb and silent, we may be led like sheep to the slaughter.”
2. “A people… who are possessed of the spirit of commerce, who see and who will pursue their advantages, may achieve almost anything.”
3. “The spirit of freedom and independence, which animates our fellow citizens, must be preserved.”
4. “The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves.”
5. “A free people ought not only to be armed but disciplined.”
6. “The establishment of civil and religious liberty was the motive that induced me to the field of battle.”
7. “Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.”
8. “Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.”
George Washington Quotes on Government
1. “Mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government.”
2. “The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government.”
3. “The administration of justice is the firmest pillar of government.”
4. “The happiness of society is the end of government.”
5. “Government is like fire, a handy servant, but a dangerous master.”
6. “It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.”
7. “The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism.”
8. “The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government.”
9. “The foundation of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality, and the preeminence of free government will be exemplified by all the attributes which can win the affections of its citizens and command the respect of the world.”
10. “The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”
George Washington Quotes on America
1. “The citizens of America are now in the best position to become the most independent people on Earth.”
2. “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.”
3. “America, under the smiles of Divine Providence, the protection of a good government, the cultivation of manners, morals, and piety, can evermore be happy.”
4. “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.”
5. “To anticipate and prevent disastrous situations in America requires wisdom and foresight.”
6. “The American spirit will prevail, rooted in faith, courage, and a belief in liberty.”
7. “The foundations of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality.”
8. “Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!”
George Washington Quotes on Voting
1. “The people must be vigilant, for nothing can preserve their freedom but frequent elections and the right of the people to vote.”
2. “A free people ought not only to be armed but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite.”
3. “Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.”
4. “Laws made by common consent must not be trampled on by individuals.”
5. “The power under the Constitution will always be in the people.”
George Washington Quotes on Political Parties
1. “A government for the whole is indispensable to the nation’s unity; but political parties threaten to subvert this principle.”
2. “Let me now take a more comprehensive view and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally.”
3. “The common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.”
4. “The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism.”
5. “The spirit of party, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind.”
George Washington Quotes on Friendship
1. “True friendship is a plant of slow growth and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.”
2. “Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for ’tis better to be alone than in bad company.”
3. “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.”
4. “It is absolutely necessary… for me to have persons that can think for me, as well as execute orders.”
5. “Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.”
George Washington Quotes on Character
1. “Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.”
2. “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.”
3. “Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.”
4. 1. “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.”
5. “In politics as in philosophy, my tenets are few and simple. The leading one of which, and indeed that which embraces most others, is to be honest and just ourselves and to exact it from others, meddling as little as possible in their affairs where our own are not involved. If this maxim was generally adopted, wars would cease and our swords would soon be converted into reap hooks and our harvests be more peaceful, abundant, and happy.”
6. “Be not glad at the misfortune of another, though he may be your enemy.”
7. “I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world.”
8. “Speak not evil of the absent, for it is unjust.”
9. “The Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon.”
10. “Let your heart feel for the affliction and distress of everyone, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse.”
George Washington Quotes on Education
1. “Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.”
2. “A primary object should be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important?”
3. “The best means of forming a virtuous and happy people will be found in the right education of youth.”
4. “Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness.”
5. “A free society depends on a virtuous and educated citizenry.”
6. “Without knowledge, liberty cannot be preserved.”
7. “To encourage literature and the arts is a duty which every good citizen owes to his country.”
8. “The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.”
9. “Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge.”
10. “The more knowledge is diffused, the greater will be the proportions of those who will protect and defend their own rights.”
11. “I conceive a knowledge of books is the basis upon which other knowledge is to be built.”
These George Washington quotes reflect his integrity, leadership, and his desire for national unity which made him known as the “Father of His Country.”
In his last years, Washington retired to his Virginia plantation, Mount Vernon, where he managed his estate and advocated for the gradual abolition of slavery, freeing his enslaved workers in his will. He passed away in 1799.
Which of these George Washington quotes had an impact on you?
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