Revolutionary War Quotes

There are lots and lots of wonderful quotes by George Washington, the leader of the Continental Army against British forces during the American Revolution and the man who would become the first President of the United States. Some of these quotes from George Washington will actually prick your conscience and make you think twice about your own personal integrity! Here is a sample of just a few Revolutionary War Quotes by George Washington, but we have lots more as well. Just click on the link at the bottom of this box and you will be taken to our complete George Washington Quotes section:

"Labour to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience." - 110 Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation, 1737

"Nothing is a greater stranger to my breast, or a sin that my soul more abhors, than that black and detestable one, ingratitude." - Letter to Governor Dinwiddie, May 29, 1754

"By the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability and expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, altho' death was levelling my companions on every side." - Letter to John A. Washington, July 18, 1755

"To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace." - First Annual Address to Congress, January 8, 1790

"All see, and most admire, the glare which hovers round the external trappings of elevated office. To me there is nothing in it, beyond the lustre which may be reflected from its connection with a power of promoting human felicity." - Letter to Catherine Macaulay Graham, January 9, 1790

Go to our complete listing of George Washington Quotes here. You might also like to check out our George Washington Facts page.

There are a lot of great Revolutionary War Quotes by Benjamin Franklin because he was a prolific author and publisher. Benjamin Franklin gained international reknown due to his studies regarding electricity. He became a prominent American diplomat to France and England, served as governor of Pennsylvania for a time and served in the Continental Congress. His name appears on both the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution. A sampling of Revolutionary War Quotes by Ben Franklin is listed here, but you can click on the link at the bottom of this box and go to our complete Benjamin Franklin Quotes section where you will find lots more:

"Little strokes fell great oaks." - Poor Richard's Almanack, August, 1750

"I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I traveled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer." - Relating to prices and the poor, 1766

"Whoever shall introduce into public affairs the principles of primitive Christianity will change the face of the world." - Letter to the French ministry, March, 1778

"The married state is, after all our jokes, the happiest, being conformable to our natures. Man and woman have each of them qualities and tempers in which the other is deficient and which in union contribute to the common felicity. Single and separate, they are not the complete human being; they are like the odd halves of scissors; they cannot answer the end of their formation." - Letter to John Sargent, January 27, 1783

"Here is my Creed. I believe in one God, the Creator of the Universe. That He governs it by His Providence. That He ought to be worshipped. That the most acceptable service we render to Him is in doing good to His other Children. That the soul of Man is immortal, and will be treated with Justice in another Life respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental points in all sound Religion, and I regard them as you do in whatever Sect I meet with them. As to Jesus of Nazareth, my Opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the System of Morals and his Religion, as he left them to us, is the best the World ever saw, or is likely to see." - Letter to Ezra Stiles, President of Yale University, March 9, 1790

Go to our complete listing of Ben Franklin Quotes here. You might also like to read our Ben Franklin Facts page or learn about Benjamin Franklin and Electricity.

Some great Revolutionary War Quotes come from Thomas Jefferson, one of the most well known of America's Founding Fathers. Thomas Jefferson was a proud Virginia planter and lawyer who stood six feet tall and had red hair. He wrote the Declaration of Independence, served as America's ambassador to France for many years, became the first Secretary of State under President George Washington and eventually became the third President of the United States himself. Here are just a few of our Revolutionary War Quotes by Thomas Jefferson. If you would like to read more, click on the link at the bottom of this page and you will be taken to our complete list of Thomas Jefferson Quotes listed in chronological order:

"Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories." - Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 14, 1781

"And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep for ever." - Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 18, 1781

"Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act. And never suppose that in any possible situation, or under any circumstances, it is best for you to do a dishonorable thing, however slightly so it may appear to you... From the practice of the purest virtue, you may be assured you will derive the most sublime comforts in every moment of life, and in the moment of death." - Letter to Peter Carr, August 19, 1785

"If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy." - Letter to Thomas Cooper, November 29, 1802

"It is a wise rule and should be fundamental in a government disposed to cherish its credit, and at the same time to restrain the use of it within the limits of its faculties, "never to borrow a dollar without laying a tax in the same instant for paying the interest annually, and the principal within a given term; and to consider that tax as pledged to the creditors on the public faith." - Letter to John Wayles Eppes, June 24, 1813

Go to our complete listing of Thomas Jefferson Quotes here. You might also like to read our Facts on Thomas Jefferson page or learn about how Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence.

There are many inspiring Revolutionary War Quotes by Thomas Paine. Thomas Paine wrote some of the most influential writings that inspired the American Revolution, including his works Common Sense and The American Crisis. He also wrote some things later in life that were reviled by the same patriots that praised him during the Revolution. Here are just a few Revolutionary War Quotes by Thomas Paine. If you would like to read more Thomas Paine Quotes, simply click on the link at the bottom of this box and you will be taken to our complete Thomas Paine Quotes section:

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it." - The American Crisis, No. 4, September 11, 1777

"The times that tried men's souls are over-and the greatest and completest revolution the world ever knew, gloriously and happily accomplished." - The American Crisis, No. 13, 1783

"He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself." - Dissertation on First Principles of Government, December 23, 1791

"If, from the more wretched parts of the old world, we look at those which are in an advanced stage of improvement, we still find the greedy hand of government thrusting itself into every corner and crevice of industry, and grasping the spoil of the multitude. Invention is continually exercised, to furnish new pretenses for revenues and taxation. It watches prosperity as its prey and permits none to escape without tribute." - Rights of Man, 1791

"A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice." - The Rights of Man, Part 2, 1792

Go to our complete listing of Thomas Paine Quotes here. You can also read Thomas Paine's Common Sense here.

There are many great Revolutionary War Quotes by John Adams. John Adams was called the Colossus of Independence by Thomas Jefferson because of his philosophical and intellectual leadership during the American Revolution. He was Vice President under George Washington and was elected the 2nd President of the United States. John Adams wrote many short works and was a prolific letter writer, so we have lots of quotes from him. Especially great are the many letters between he and his wife, Abigail Adams. Here are just a few Revolutionary War Quotes by John Adams. If you would like to read more, you can click on the link at the bottom of this section and you will be taken to our complete John Adams Quotes section, where you will find quotes from his entire life listed in chronological order:

"It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not." - Letter to Abigail Adams, referring to the day the Declaration of Independence was signed, July 3, 1776

"Objects of the most stupendous magnitude, and measure in which the lives and liberties of millions yet unborn are intimately interested, are now before us. We are in the very midst of a revolution the most complete, unexpected and remarkable of any in the history of nations." - Letter to William Cushing, June 9, 1776

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." - Address to the Military, October 11, 1798

"I Pray Heaven to Bestow The Best of Blessing on THIS HOUSE, and on ALL that shall hereafter Inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof!" - Letter to Abigail Adams, referring to the White House, November 2, 1800

"National defense is one of the cardinal duties of a statesman." - Letter to James Lloyd, January, 1815

Go to our complete listing of John Adams Quotes here.

James Madison is often called the Father of the United States Constitution. Many of his quotes actually follow the period of the Revolutionary War. Quotes by James Madison mostly center on the Constitution, but this website is called "Revolutionary War and Beyond" because it covers the entire founding period of the United States, including the time after the war when the country was in it's infancy. Here are just a few Revolutionary War Quotes by James Madison. If you would like to read more, there is a link at the bottom of this section that will take you to our complete series of James Madison Quotes from his entire life, listed in chronological order:

"Happily for America, happily, we trust, for the whole human race, they pursued a new and more noble course. They accomplished a revolution which has no parallel in the annals of human society." - Federalist No. 14, November 20, 1787

"It is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it [the Constitution] a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution." - Federalist Papers, No. 37, January 11, 1788

"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite." - Federalist Papers, No. 45, January 26, 1788

"An ELECTIVE DESPOTISM was not the government we fought for; but one which should not only be founded on free principles, but in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among several bodies of magistracy, as that no one could transcend their legal limits, without being effectually checked and restrained by the others." - Federalist No. 48, February 1, 1788

"There is not a shadow of right in the general government to intermeddle with religion. Its least interference with it, would be a most flagrant usurpation. I can appeal to my uniform conduct on this subject, that I have warmly supported religious freedom." - Journal, June 12, 1788

"Is there no virtue among us? If there be not, we are in a wretched situation. No theoretical checks-no form of government can render us secure. To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea, if there be sufficient virtue and intelligence in the community, it will be exercised in the selection of these men. So that we do not depend on their virtue, or put confidence in our rulers, but in the people who are to choose them." - Speech to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 20, 1788

Go to our complete listing of James Madison Quotes here. You might also like to read our James Madison Facts page.

Patrick Henry was a fiery patriot leader from Virginia. His "Give me liberty or give me death" speech is one of the most well known sayings of the Revolutionary War. Patrick Henry served as governor of Virginia twice. He was an opponent of the United States Constitution, believing that it gave too much power to the federal government at the expense of the states. Because of this, he played an important part in requiring the Bill of Rights to be added to the Constitution to help define the rights of individuals that were protected from federal interference. Here are just a few Revolutionary War Quotes by Patrick Henry. There is a list of more Patrick Henry Quotes at the link at the bottom of this section:

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ! For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here." - Speech to the Virginia House of Burgesses, May, 1765

"The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave." - Speech in the Virginia Convention, March 23, 1775

"Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" - Speech in the Virginia Convention, March 23, 1775

"If you speak of solid information and sound judgment, Colonel Washington is, unquestionably the greatest man on that floor." - Comment on George Washington, October, 1775

"The view which the rising greatness of our country presents to my eye is greatly tarnished by the general prevalence of deism which with me, is but another name for vice and depravity. I am, however, much consoled by reflecting, that the religion of Christ has, from its first appearance in the world, been attacked in vain by all the wits, philosophers, and wise ones aided by every power of man, and its triumph has been complete." - Letter to Betsy Aylett, his daughter, August 20, 1796

Go to our complete list of Patrick Henry Quotes here.

There are many thought provoking Revolutionary War Quotes by Samuel Adams, one of the most influential people behind the American Revolution. Adams served in the Continental Congress and signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation, the first governing document for the newly formed United States. Adams went on to become Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts under Governor John Hancock and succeeded Hancock as governor. Adams was a prolific writer so we have lots of Samuel Adams Quotes available to us today. Here are just some of the Revolutionary War Quotes by Samuel Adams. If you would like to read more, you can click on the link at the bottom of this section and go to our complete list of Samuel Adams Quotes:

"Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt." - Essay in the Public Advertiser, 1749

"Religion in a Family is at once its brightest Ornament & its best Security. The first Point of Justice, says a Writer I have met with, consists in Piety; Nothing certainly being so great a Debt upon us, as to render to the Creator & Preserver those Acknowledgments which are due to Him for our Being, and the hourly Protection he affords us." - Letter to Thomas Wells, November 22, 1780

"He who is void of virtuous Attachments in private Life, is, or very soon will be void of all Regard for his Country. There is seldom an Instance of a Man guilty of betraying his Country, who had not before lost the Feeling of moral Obligations in his private Connections." - Letter to James Warren, November 4, 1775

"Courage, then, my countrymen, our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty." - Speech at the State House, Philadelphia, August 1, 1776

"We have this day restored the Sovereign to whom all alone men ought to be obedient. He reigns in Heaven, and with a propitious eye beholds his subjects assuming that freedom of thought, and dignity of self-direction which He bestowed on them. From the rising to the setting sun, may His kingdom come." - Speech at the State House, Philadelphia, August 1, 1776

Go to our complete list of Samuel Adams Quotes here. You might also like to check out our Samuel Adams Facts page.