George Washington (1789-1797)

Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company.

Government is not reason. Government is not eloquence. It is force. And, like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.

To encourage literature and the arts is a duty which every good citizen owes to his country.

I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.

We must never despair; our situation has been compromising before; and it changed for the better; so I trust it will again; If difficulties arise; we must put forth new exertion and proportion our efforts to the exigencies of the times.