Our Presidents

Presidents Talk About Presidents: George Washington

Ooh la, Presidential perspectives galore.

What this will be over the next few weeks is a collection of quotes about Presidents BY Presidents. Anything I’ve ever been able to find that a President said about one of his fellow Presidents, I have collected and archived so that I could share it with you. Is this a complete collection? No. I’m always updating it, always revising it, always correcting things. When possible, I’ve tried to note the source of the quote as well as when the quote was said or written.

The Presidents Talk About: George Washington

“A gentleman whose skill and experience as an officer, whose independent fortune, great talents and excellent universal character would command the approbation of all America and unite the cordial exertions of all the colonies better than any other person in the union.” — John Adams, 1775

“He is too illiterate, unread, unlearned for his station and reputation.” — John Adams

“I have seen him in the days of adversity, in some of the scenes of his deepest distress, and most trying perplexities. I have also attended him in his highest elevation, and most prosperous felicity, with uniform admiration of his wisdom, moderation, and constancy.” — John Adams

“The sight of the sun setting fully orbed and another rising less splendid was a novelty. A Solemn Scene it was indeed, and it was made more affecting to me by the presence of the General, whose countenance was as serene and unclouded as the day. He seem’d to me to enjoy a triumph over me. Methought I heard him think ‘Ay! I am fairly out and you fairly in! See which of us will be the happiest.’” — John Adams, in a letter to Abigail Adams, about Washington’s presence and joy at retiring on Adams’ inauguration day, 1797

“Among the national sins of our country [is] the idolatorous worship paid to the name of George Washington by all classes and nearly all parties of our citizens, manifested in the impious applications of names and epithets to him which are ascribed in scripture only to God and to Jesus Christ. The following is a part of them: ‘our Savior’, ‘our Redeemer’, ‘our cloud by day and our pillar of fire by night’, ‘our star in the east’, ‘to us a Son is born’, and ‘our guide on earth, our advocate in heaven.’” — John Adams, 1812

“An Anglican monarchical and aristocratical party has sprung up, whose avowed object is to draw over us the substance, as they have already done the forms, of the British government…It would give you a fever were I to name to you the apostates who have gone over to these heresies, men who were Samsons in the field and Solomons in the council, but who have had their heads shorn by the harlot England.” — Thomas Jefferson, 1796

“He errs as other men do, but he errs with integrity…His mind was great and powerful, without being of the very first order…and as far as he saw, no judgment was ever sounder. It was slow in operation, being little aided by invention, but sure in conclusion…He was incapable of fear, meeting personal dangers with the calmest unconcern. Perhaps the strongest feature in his character was prudence, never acting until every circumstance, every consideration, was maturely weighed…His integrity was most pure, his justice the most inflexible I have ever known, no motives of interest or consanguinity, of friendship or hatred, being able to bias his decision. He was, indeed, in every sense of the words, a wise, a good, and a great man.” — Thomas Jefferson

“The only man in the United States who possessed the confidence of the whole.” — Thomas Jefferson

“Insane.” — James Monroe, after Washington recalled him from diplomatic service in France

“A gentleman of one of the first fortunes upon the continent…sacrificing his ease, and hazarding all in the cause of his country.” — John Quincy Adams

“Let us believe, as in the days of our youth, that Washington was spotless. It makes human nature better to believe that one human being was perfect — that human perfection is possible.” — Abraham Lincoln

“The mightiest name on Earth. On that name an eulogy is expected. Let none attempt it. In solemn awe pronounce the name and in its naked, deathless splendor leave it shining on.” — Abraham Lincoln

“Well, his monument is still there.” — Calvin Coolidge, commenting on a book which portrayed Washington in a negative light.

“There isn’t any question about Washington’s greatness. If his administration had been a failure, there would have been no United States. A lesser man couldn’t have done it…Washington was both a great administrator and a great leader, a truly great man in every way.” — Harry Truman

“President Washington began this tradition in 1790 after reminding the Nation that the destiny of self-government and the ‘preservation of the sacred fire of liberty’ is ‘finally stakes on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.’ For our friends in the press, who place a high premium on accuracy, let me say: I did not actually hear George Washington say that.” — Ronald Reagan, joking about his age in his State of the Union Address, Jan. 26, 1982

“If they’re still assessing George Washington’s legacy more than two centuries after he left office, this George W. doesn’t have to worry about today’s headlines.” — George W. Bush, Decision Points, 2010