George Washington

"Let me now impress upon you the importance of action."

"Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected."

"I have always been of opinion that a man is not to judge for himself; and upon what principle he acts."

"The nation which indulges toward another a habitual hatred, or a habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave."

"There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet an enemy."

"The basis of national morality must be laid in the education of the children."

"It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy to deprive a man of his natural right on suspicion."

"Discipline in the use of words is essential."

"No punishment has been too severe for the man that ruins the morals of youth."

"I never knew whether the Lord was on our side, but I always knew the Lord was on the side of the right."

"When you do take a step back, do it with humility and grace."

"There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily."

"The methods by which the advocates of the Constitution propose to attain its ends are as unobjectionable as the ends themselves are laudable."

"It is forbidden to forbid any man the exercise of his conscience in religious matters."

"Take this rule for your guidance: Desire nothing for yourself which you do not desire for others."

"The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations."

"The power of the sword, say the minority, is in the hands of Congress. My friend, if they touch the seat of your liberty, they can be controlled by the militia."

"My contemporaries have me in contempt, but I will be remembered."

"The basis of good taste is in general the same in all human creatures, learned and unlearned."

"If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters."

"The time for deliberation is past; the time for action has come."

"Exertion is the price of excellence."

"Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism."

"It is the nature of panics to overshoot the mark of either hope or fear."

"Keep yourself by all means from the excess of drinking."

"I have no fears arising from the foundation of my conduct, but I have many and painful sensations with respect to the correctness of my measures."

"Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness."

"All would be lost if the country should be so unfortunate as to have its councils directed by men of little political experience."

"A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain status quo liberty."

"Precedents are dangerous things; let us not establish them."