Spurious Quotations

The following represents a list of spurious quotations attributed to George Washington that have been sent for verification or questioning to the Mount Vernon library in recent years. This list will continue to grow as research staff at Mount Vernon become aware of other misattributed or false statements that have been attributed to Washington. When available, an example of this misquote is provided in context, including published books, speeches and periodicals.

• "I cannot tell a lie, Pa"

  The history of "I cannot tell a lie, Pa" comes from the Parson Mason Weems biography of the young George Washington. In the fifth edition of The Life and Memorable Actions of George Washington, the cherry tree anecdote was first included. For more on Parson Weems, see: http://www.mountvernon.org/educational-resources/encyclopedia/parson-weems
  

• "A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government." http://tinyurl.com/cbt6gk5

  This quote is partially accurate as the beginning section is taken from Washington's First Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union. However, the quote is then manipulated into a differing context and the remaining text is innacurate.  Here is the actual text from Washington's speech:

  "A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies."

• "Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action." http://tinyurl.com/cvjgcav

• "It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible."

  The quote is frequently misattributed to Washington, particularly in regards to his farewell address of 1796. The origin of the misquote is, perhaps, a mention of a similar statement in a biography of Washington first published in 1835. However, the quote that appeared in the biography has never been proven to have come from Washington. For this reference, see: http://tinyurl.com/a952ym2

• "It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy to deprive a man of his natural liberty upon the supposition he may abuse it."

• "Continued deficit spending must ultimately endanger all governments." Example: http://tinyurl.com/bjq8kgf

• "Doctor, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go. Bring me the Book." Example: http://tinyurl.com/bzw6ya5

  Learn more about Washington's death.

• "Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty, teeth and keystone under independence." Example: http://tinyurl.com/bfro6ck

• "make the most of the Indian hemp seed and sow it everywhere."
  Hemp was grown at Mount Vernon, and Washington became interested in the crop by 1765 to serve as one of the staple crops to replace the cultivation of tobacco at Mount Vernon. However the text of this quote is inaccurate. The actual quotation with a similar reference reads:

  "I am very glad to hear that the Gardener has saved so much of the St. foin seed, and that of the India Hemp. Make the most you can of both, by sowing them again in drills. . . Let the ground be well prepared, and the Seed (St. loin) be sown in April. The Hemp may be sown any where. "
  George Washington to William Pearce, 24 February 1794

• "It's wonderful what we can do if we're always doing."

• "Let none but Americans stand watch this night." or "Put none but Americans on watch this night."

• "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 how the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation."
  http://tinyurl.com/cq8ecde

  For Washington's thoughts on the treatment of veterans, see for example, "George Washington to the President of Congress, 24 September 1776," and "George Washington to John Bannister, 2 April 1778."

• "What is most important of this grand experiment, the United States? Not the election of the first president but the election of its second president. The peaceful transition of power is what will separate this country from every other country in the world."

• "The great thing about the American Christian is he would rather die on his feet than live on his knees."

• "We lost every battle of the war but the two that counted." (In reference to Yorktown)

• "The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments." The quote is actually from U.S. Senator William Edgar Borah, writing in The Reader's Digest, Vol. 8, Issue 2 (1929), 776.
  http://tinyurl.com/c6zneag
  http://tinyurl.com/ceg37kr

• "What students would learn in American schools above all is the religion of Jesus Christ."

• "We had quitters during the Revolution too...we called them 'Kentuckians.'"
  This quote was actually stated by George Washington's ghost...in an episode of The Simpsons.
  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0701155/quotes