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The Wisdom of George Washington

First in war—first in peace—and first in the hearts of his countrymen.

A collection of quotes from his writing and speeches
By
Bill Bailey
The Wisdom of George Washington

Copyright © 2012 William D. Bailey
All rights reserved.

Cover design by Steve Straub.

Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. This
publication contains public domain material that may be freely reproduced in any form without
permission of the publisher.

ISBN-13: 978-1480104099
ISBN-10: 1480104094
Table of Contents

SECTION I: Pre-Revolutionary War
SECTION II: Revolutionary War
SECTION III: Post-Revolutionary War
SECTION IV: The Presidency
SECTION V: Post-Presidential
APPENDICES
APPENDIX I – THE RULES OF CIVILITY AND DECENT BEHAVIOR IN COMPANY AND CONVERSATION
APPENDIX II – First Inaugural Address
APPENDIX III – Thanksgiving Proclamation, October 3, 1789
APPENDIX IV- First Annual Message to Congress
APPENDIX V- Second Annual Message to Congress
APPENDIX VI – Third Annual Message to Congress
APPENDIX VII – Fourth Annual Message to Congress
APPENDIX VIII – Second Inaugural Address
APPENDIX IX – Fifth Annual Message to Congress
APPENDIX X – Sixth Annual Message to Congress
APPENDIX XI – Seventh Annual Message to Congress
APPENDIX XII – Eighth Annual Message to Congress
APPENDIX XIII – Farewell Address, September 17, 1796
APPENDIX XIV – Tributes to George Washington
APPENDIX XV - EULOGY ON WASHINGTON by FISHER AMES
Special thanks are due to my wife, Jean, who has been supportive of my effort without complaint about the many hours of our golden
retirement years that I have spent holed up in my “bunker” working on this endeavor and my friend Steve Straub, the owner of The
Federalist Papers web page and Facebook group, for his many contributions of material, critiques of earlier versions, constant
encouragement, and for designing the cover of this publication. Without their support and encouragement, I might have abandoned
this project shortly after its conception.
Bill
Editor’s Notes

The quotations reproduced in this publication were derived almost entirely from John C. Fitzpatrick, The Writings of George
Washington. Other quotations derive from a few other published sources, primarily The Writings of George Washington by Jared
Sparks. The addresses in Appendices II and IV thru XIII are reprinted from George Washington: A Collection, compiled and edited by
W.B. Allen (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1988). The Farewell Address at Appendix XIV is reprinted from The Life of George Washington:
Special Edition for Schools, Appendix V, editors Robert Faulkner and Paul Carrese (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2000). Other sources are
identified in the citation following each quotation.
The material presented here is in straightforward chronological order, divided into four phases. This publication is designed to be a tool
of general information, highlighting Washington’s wisdom and tracing his life thru its phases, rather than a tool of critical study.
Readers seeking a tool of critical analysis should consult the multivolume Papers of George Washington at the University of Virginia.
The reader will note bracketed words and phrases in some of the quotes. Except in the discarded inaugural, these are Fitzpatrick’s,
used to indicate that portions of the text have been crossed out, mutilated, or left out inadvertently by Washington or an aide to whom
he dictated his words. Brackets sometimes enclose words that Fitzpatrick or this editor provides to fill a gap in the text selected for the
quote.
Fitzpatrick inconsistently applied modernization of spelling and grammar. Because Fitzpatrick remains the most complete collection of
Washington’s writings published, this work adhers to his standard. Selections reprinted from other sources do not conform to the
Fitzpatrick standard.
PREFACE by J. F. Schroeder from The Maxims of George Washington

Lord Brougham, in speaking of the Father of our Country, calls him "the greatest man of our own or any age; the ONLY ONE upon
whom an epithet, so thoughtlessly lavished hy men to foster the crimes of their worst enemies, may be innocently and justly
bestowed." He adds, " It will be the duty of the historian and the sage, in all ages, to let no occasion pass, of commemorating this
illustrious man; and, until time shall be no more, will a test of the progress which our race has made in wisdom and in virtue, be
derived from the veneration paid to the immortal name of Washington."

The powerful influence of his character, his achievements, and his opinions, is acknowledged by all men. It has long been extending
and increasing. And it cannot fail to produce, eventually, the most important and happy results, in the fulfilment of the final destinies of
nations, and the attainment of the chief end of human existence.

By common consent, Washington is regarded as not merely the Hero of the American Revolution, but the World's Apostle of Liberty.
The war of the Revolution was a war of principle, that involved the interests of all mankind. England's violation of our sacred rights,
was the stirring of the eagle's nest. It naturally awakened emotions of resistance. British prerogative was opposed by American
freedom. Prerogative became arbitrary, and Freedom asserted her rights; Prerogative became oppressive and cruel, and Freedom took
up arms and declared her independence The spirit of America's cause was impersonated in her great chief. He was a manifestation of
the nation's heart and mind. And under his judicious guidance, by the providence of God, America not only stood erect, before the
world, clothed in the panoply of justice, but moved steadily onward in her course; her shield, and breastplate, and whole armor
flashing, at every step, with the light that shone on her from heaven.

Our victory being won, Washington sheathed his sword, and sat, for a brief space, under the shadow of his own vine and fig-tree.
Soon, at the nation's call, he guided her in establishing the foundation, and rearing the superstructure, of her vast and imposing
political fabric. He saw its topstone laid. And he was exulting, with holy joy, at the completion of his work, when the Supreme Disposer
of events, by suddenly removing him from earth, in the fulness of his glory and renown, consecrated his character, and imparted to his
opinions the commanding authority which they now possess.

The first name of America, not only is, but always will be, tliat of Washington. We pronounce it with filial reverence, as well as
gratitude ; for we admire and love him, not merely in consideration of what he did, but what he was. There is a sacred charm in his
actions and his sentiments, as well as a divine philosophy in his remarkable career.

But his example and his precepts are a legacy, not only to America, but to all mankind. And as they are contemplating and admiring his
virtues, they are invited to read, in his own words, his golden maxims. These are adapted to the use of Statesmen, Soldiers, Citizens,
heads of families, teachers of youth, and, in a word, all who should aim at what is great and good, in public and in private life, and
who would avail themselves of such sagacious, profound, and ennobling sentiments.

With a view to furnish, for popular use, a small volume of the words of Washington, the labor of culling and arranging his memorable
precepts in this collection, was originally undertaken. Public documents and private letters, manuscripts and printed volumes, have
accordingly been examined, with a view to the completeness and interest of the collection; and none but undoubtedly authentic
materials have been used in forming it.

The late Earl of Buchan, whose uniform regard for the American States was manifested long before the epoch of their Federal Union,
said of our Washington, "I recommend the constant remembrance of the moral and political Maxims conveyed to its citizens by the
Father and Founder of the United States. It seems to me, that such Maxims and such advice ought to he engraved on every forum or
plage OF COMMON ASSEMBLY among the people, and read by parrents, teachers, and guardians to their children and pupils so that
TRUE RELIGION, AND VIRTUE, its inseparable attendant, may be imbibed by the rising generation to remote ages."

That generation after generation may enjoy the blessedness of the benign influence which these Maxims are so eminently calculated to
exert, should surely be the prayer of patriots, philanthropists, and Christians, until all men shall be animated by the spirit of
Washington, and exemplify his precepts.

J. F. SCHROEDER.
New York, September 12th, 1854.
Introduction by Lawrence Boyd Evans from The Writings of George Washington

Thomas Jefferson, who was not disposed to be any more favorable in his judgment of Washington than the facts compelled him to be,
says of him:

"His was the singular destiny and merit, of leading the armies of his country successfully through an arduous war, for the establishment
of its independence; of conducting its counsel through the birth of a government new in its forma and principles, until it had settled
down into a quiet and orderly train; and of scrupulously obeying the laws through the whole of his career, civil and military, of which
the history of the world furnishes no other example.''

The circumstances of Washington's life were peculiarly happy and his career singularly well-rounded and complete. Endowed by birth
with influential social connections, placed early in life in affluent circumstances, his military services in the French and Indian War made
him the most prominent American soldier of his day. When the colonists took up arms against Great Britain, his appointment as
commander-in-chief of the American forces on both military and political grounds was alike natural and inevitable. While he possessed
a large measure of the public confidence at the beginning of the Revolution, the qualities which he displayed in the conduct of that
struggle placed him among the great men of the world, and gave him a degree of influence with his countrymen that no other
American has ever possessed. His experiences in the Revolution made him realize most keenly the necessity of a firmer union than was
furnished by the Articles of Confederation, and long before independence was assured, he sought to imbue others with his ambition for
the establishment of a national government which should be strong enough to maintain its authority, meet its obligations, and uphold
the national dignity and honor. In the last days of the Confederation, when the bonds of union were slowly dissolving and something
very like anarchy seemed inevitable, it was the weight of Washington's name, more than any other one factor, which led to the
formation and adoption of the Constitution. And when the new government was ready to be put into operation, the election of
Washington to the presidency was as natural as had been his appointment to the command of the army fourteen years before; while in
the starting of the new government, his personal influence was as large a factor in its success as that influence had been in securing its
adoption. It may be questioned whether any other American of his day could have overcome the bitter opposition which was offered to
his policy of neutrality in the war between England and France, to his treaty of commerce with Great Britain and to his enforcement of
the excise law in Western Pennsylvania. If it had been necessary to wage the war for independence without his military genius and
unstinted devotion; if his influence had been lacking in the effort of the few to establish an adequate government for the union; or if he
had not stood sponsor for the great measures which gave stability to the new government and a place of honor and dignity to the
nation, it is difficult to believe that any one of these movements could have been brought to a successful conclusion. Xo other leader of
modem times has conducted a people through such momentous changes, or placed his work on so permanent a foundation as did
Washington, And he had the almost unique good fortune of living to witness the triumph of every great cause which he had advocated,
while in the closing years of his life, removed from the animosities which every public career seems to entail, he received the
veneration of the civilised world.

Few public men have left so complete a record of their lives as has Washington. He began at an early period to keep copies of the
letters which he wrote and to preserve all important papers which came into his hands. Every phase of his public life is amply recorded,
not indeed with any purpose of leaving a record but merely because the circumstances of his career were such that the transaction of
the business of the day was in itself a record. After the outbreak of the Revolution, however, Washington had a proper appreciation of
the interest that his papers would have in the future, and he took ample precautions to see that they were preserved.

It was the attempt of Great Britain to tax the colonies which set Washington upon a career ending in his becoming one of the most
important figures in history. But for those ill-advised measures, he might have lived and died a comparatively obscure colonial
gentleman. He would have donned the King's uniform when there was need for it; he would probably have been elected with great
regularity to the House of Burgesses of Virginia, and the time and energy not given to his public duties or to the cultivation of his
plantations would no doubt have been given to some of those plans for the development of the country which occupied so much of his
thoughts. But the enactment of the Stamp Act introduced him at once to a larger sphere, and from that time until his death his letters
and other papers teem with comment and discussion occasioned by events of national and international importance.

No man in America was more thoroughly aroused than he by the British measures for the taxation of the colonies, and his letters
vividly reflect the feelings which those measures engendered. Writing to his agents in London and to his Tory neighbor Bryan Fairfax,
he states the grievances of America in no uncertain tones, and indicates some of the consequences which the British policy would
entail. He saw at once the bearing of the controversy on British commerce and wrote to Francis Dandridge, in London, "The eyes of our
people, already beginning to open will perceive that many luxuries, which we lavish our substance in Great Britain for, can well be
dispensed with, whilst the necessaries of life are (mostly) to be had within ourselves'. And four years later, when other plans of
taxation had been resorted to, he again advocated measures for "starving their trade and manufactures "; and as the grievances of the
colonies accumulated, his sense of injury and his determination to resist found indignant expression in letters to his loyalist friend and
neighbor Bryan Fairfax:

"The crisis is arrived," he wrote, "when we must assert our rights, or submit to every imposition, that can be heaped upon us, till
custom and use shall make us as tame and abject slaves, as the blacks we rule over with such arbitrary sway." In the popular
discussions of the time, he could not defend the rights of his countrymen with the eloquence of James Otis, or Samuel Adams, or
Patrick Henry, but he made the most eloquent of all speeches when he said, "I will raise one thousand men, enlist them at my own
expense, and march myself at their head for the relief of Boston."
There are many sources from which the story of the British attempt to tax America and the determination of the colonists to insist upon
their rights can be learned, but for the history of the Revolutionary War,— his objects, the gradual growth of the idea of independence,
the obstacles raised by inefficient military organization, by the mutual jealousies of the States, and by the weakness of the national
government, the uncertainty of the assistance of our nominal allies, the discovery of treason in the ranks, the lack of funds, the failure
of supplies, the practical cessation of enlistments and the growth of a discontent among the troops which finally resulted in mutiny, —
for all this there is no source which in authenticity, in vividness, and in completeness is at all comparable with the letters and official
papers of Washington. The circumstances under which he exercised his command and the questions with which he had to deal
involved the preparation of papers which constitute a complete record of his connection with the war. For convenience the most
important of them may be arranged in these groups, — letters to the President of Congress, appeals to the States, and letters to
individuals.

The first of the letters to the President of Congress was written from New York the week after his appointment as commander-in-chief,
and from that time until he resigned his commission, he was in frequent, sometimes daily, communication with that body. Reporting to
it as to a superior authority, his letters are filled with accounts of the state of the army, defects in its organization, the difficulty of
obtaining food and clothing, complaints caused by the failure of Congress to pay the troops, and by the depreciation in the value of the
continental currency, the gradual decline in enlistments, proposed movements of the troops, and important conflicts with the enemy.
They are the most complete contemporary record that we possess of the conditions under which the Revolutionary War was carried on.
The history of almost every phase of the military side of the contest could be written from these letters alone. His representations to
Congress of the needs of his troops did not produce the desired results. That body was at best but the shadow of a government, and,
as was to have been expected, was often divided in opinion as to the proper measures to be adopted. To meet his necessities
Washington began to appeal to the States. Sometimes he addressed the governors or provincial congresses singly. Sometimes he sent
a circular letter to the States or to particular groups of them. As the Revolution proceeded, and the inability of Congress to meet the
necessities of the army increased, appeals of this kind became more and more common. They are an illustration of the double task
which rested upon Washington. He must not only train the armies and fight the battles of the Revolution, but more and more as the
contest went on he was also obliged to provide the means for feeding and clothing and arming his men in order that they might remain
in the field. The magnitude of his services to America in the Revolution cannot be exaggerated. The unintended testimony of his
papers, as they were prepared from day to day in the transaction of the business of the moment, is convincing evidence that without
his unending patience, and his determined persistence, the war could not have been brought to a successful conclusion. It cannot be
charged that the American republic has been lacking in appreciation of Washington. But on the other hand, it is certain that a perusal
of his papers written while he was in command of the army, and particularly of those addressed to Congress and to the States, will
show that there is ample justification for anything that may be said in praise of his services in the War for Independence, Washington
won the Revolution. To him it appeared as a battle for human rights, and he made it appear in that light to others. He saw how the
happiness of future generations was involved in it. Hence he refused to allow the indifference or negligence of some, or even the
slanderous opposition and treason of others, to divert him from his course. Defeat did not dismay him. In reporting to Congress a
disastrous repulse of his army, he could yet express the consolatory hope that on another occasion we might have better fortune.
Without his inspiring example of unselfishness and devotion, it is doubtful if local jealousies could have been sufficiently subdued to
bring the various colonial forces together into a continental army. Without him that army certainly could not have been kept in the
field. And year by year as he led his ragged troops into winter quarters with verj^ little in the way of victory over the enemy to
encourage them, he urged upon Congress and the States to begin at once preparations for another campaign, apparently taking it for
granted that no matter how often his men were defeated or his armies disabled by slaughter, sickness, or desertion, the war must
nevertheless go on until it had achieved its object. And of all this, we have in Washington's papers a vivid and indisputable record. We
may join with Moses Coit Tyler in saying that no one can "ever hope to know the mind and conscience of our Revolution, its motive, its
conduct, its stern and patient purpose or its cost, without studying Washington's letters."

In writing to Congress, Washington was necessarily placed under considerable restraint. Communications to that body were in the
nature of public documents. They were read in Congress. They came to the knowledge of a considerable number of people- Many of
them were given to the press. Hence their author was frequently obliged to write with reserve, in order that information damaging to
the public interest might not be disclosed. To obviate this difficulty, a public letter to the President of Congress was frequently
supplemented by a private one to the same official. Thus when Lafayette broached his plan for an invasion of Canada with a French
army, Washington saw at once the dangerous possibilities involved in the introduction of a body of French troops among the French
population of Canada. |His letter to the President of Congress, however, is devoted altogether to the military aspects of the enterprise
and gives no hint of the real reasons for his opposition- These are found in a private letter sent three days later. In communications to
the States, even greater care and restraint were necessary, for the officials of the States were less responsible for the promotion of the
common cause than was the Congress.

This necessity for circumspection in what were virtually public letters gives added value to Washington's more intimate communications
to friends in whom he had confidence. Here he felt it safe to write with greater frankness, and these letters exhibit a freedom of
expression and an absence of restraint which make them of particular interest to every student of the Revolutionary War. Here are
statements as to the condition of the army and its dangerous situation which would never have found their way into any public
document. Here also he felt at liberty to give vent to personal feelings which he was usually careful to suppress in his more public
communications.

Among his correspondents while he was with the army were five with whom his exchange of letters was frequent and the tone of his
own particularly frank and unrestrained. The first of these was his favorite brother John Augustine Washington (1736-87), "the intimate
companion of my youth and the friend of my ripened age." The correspondence with him during the early years of the war is especially
valuable. It was to him that Washington wrote, March 31, 1776:
"I believe I may, with great truth affirm, that no man perhaps since the first institution of armies ever commanded one under more
difficult circumstances than I have done. To enumerate the particulars would fill a volume. Many of the difficulties and distresses were
of so peculiar a cast that, in order to conceal them from the enemy, I was obliged to conceal them from my friends, and indeed from
my own army, thereby subjecting my conduct to interpretations unfavorable to my character, especially by those at a distance who
could not in the smallest degree be acquainted with the springs that governed it."

Once again the General wrote his brother on November 9, 1776:

"I am wearied almost to death with the retrograde Motions of things, and I solemnly protest that a pecuniary reward of 20,000£ a year
would not induce me to undergo what I do; and after all, perhaps, to loose my Character as it is impossible under such a variety of
distressing Circumstances to conduct matters agreeably to public expectation, or even of those who employ me, as they will not make
proper allowances for the difficulties their own errors have occasioned."

Among his other correspondents during the war none enjoyed a larger share of his confidence than Joseph Reed, President of
Pennsylvania. Washington welcomed his criticism, and offered to him his own sentiments without the slightest reserve. It was to Reed
that he wrote on 28 November, 1775:

"Such a dearth of public spirit and want of virtue, such stock-jobbing, and fertility in all the low arts to obtain advantages of one kind or
another, in this great change of military arrangement, I never saw before, and pray God I many never be witness to again. What will
be the ultimate end of these manoeuvres is beyond my scan. I tremble at the prospect. Could I have foreseen what I have, and am
likely to experience, no consideration upon earth should have induced me to accept this command. A regiment or any subordinate
department would have been accompanied with ten times the satisfaction, and perhaps the honor."

And again, when depressed by circumstances which weighed upon him, it was to the same friend that he wrote:

"I know—but to declare it, unless to a friend, may be an argument of vanity—the integrity of my own heart. I know the unhappy
predicament I stand in; I know that much is expected of me; I know, that without men, without arms, without ammunition, without
any thing fit for the accommodation of a soldier, little is to be done; and, which is mortifying, I know, that I cannot stand justified to
the world without exposing my own weakness, and injuring the cause, by declaring my wants, which I am determined not to do,
further than unavoidable necessity brings every man acquainted with them."

During a very interesting period of the war, Washington wrote frequently to Gouverneur Morris, who while in Congress opened a
friendly correspondence with the General, in the course of which they exchanged views with great freedom. It was at this period that
Morris so established himself in Washington's confidence as to lead to his selection in 1789 as the confidential agent to sound the
government of Great Britain on the subject of a treaty of commerce.

But among all his friends, the two who stood closest to him, who possessed the greatest share of his confidence, and who enlisted his
personal affection most deeply, were Lafayette and Hamilton. The youthful enthusiasm and chivalrous spirit with which the French boy
entered the battle for American independence appealed to the sensibilities of Washington, and aroused in him an affection for
Lafayette which was a mingling of the love of a father with the attachment of friend for friend. His letters to Lafayette, of which there
are many, reveal one of the most attractive phases of his character. In their mingling of frank comment on the events of the day with
friendly gossip on matters of interest to the two families, they strongly suggest the correspondence of William III with Bentinck, Earl of
Portland.

Hamilton also enjoyed the unlimited confidence of Washington. Like Lafayette, Hamilton was a mere boy when he entered the military
service. Like Lafayette, he was at Washington's side in some of the most important battles of the Revolution, and again like Lafayette,
Washington regarded him almost in the light of a son. He bore with his faults. He appreciated his great abilities.

In 1781, he wrote of him:

"How far Colo. Hamilton, of whom you ask my opinion as a financier, has turned his thoughts to that particular study I am unable to
answer because I never entered upon a discussion on this point with him; but this I can venture to advance from a thorough
knowledge of him, that there are few men to be found, of his age, who has a more general knowledge than he possesses, and none
whose Soul is more firmly engaged in the cause, or who exceeds him in probity and Sterling virtue."

The public careers of Washington and Hamilton were passed side by side. They served together during a large part of the Revolution.
They worked together in bringing about the formation and adoption of the Constitution. And when Washington was called to the
Presidency, Hamilton was associated with him as his most trusted adviser. His letters to Hamilton are among the most valuable of his
papers.

Washington's services during the Revolutionary War did not surpass in importance his services in bringing about the formation and
adoption of the Constitution. Early in the war he saw that the national government was not endowed with adequate powers, and that
the jealousy or inactivity of the States prevented an effective exercise of those that it had. He was in a better position than any one
else, except possibly Robert Morris, to appreciate the defects of the government of the Confederation, for, as he wrote to Hamilton,
"No Man perhaps has felt the bad effects of it more sensibly; for the defects thereof, and want of Powers in Congress, may justly be