Books About Washington Books

Notable George Washington Quotes

"Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company."

"I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery."

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

"The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that's good."

The Only President to...

George Washington was the only president to win the election with a unanimous vote in the electoral college.

George Washington was the only president to not live in Washington, D.C.  In fact Washington, D.C. was not even the nations capital until after John Adams was elected president.

Interesting George Washington Facts

As a young man, Washington had red hair. As he grew older, he powdered his hair rather than wear a wig as was popular at the time.

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At the age of 10, Washington inherited 10 slaves. By the time of his death, there were 316 slaves either owned or managed by him on his plantation at Mount Vernon. In his early ages, Washington appeared to have no reservations about the institution of slavery but as he grew older his attitude towards slavery began to change.

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By 1786 he admitted privately to friends that he wished to no longer own slaves but the laws in Virginia at the time made it difficult to emancipate a slave and to sell them would require the break-up of the slave families which he refused to do. During his later years, he often wrote of his desire to find a plan for the gradual abolition of slavery and also realized that the issue of slavery could at some point bring about the breakup of the Union.