Honest opinion about government from George Washington:
The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.
First Inaugural Address, April 30, 1789It is a maxim founded on the universal experiences of mankind that no nation is to be trusted farther than is bound by its interest.
Letter to Henry Laurens, 1778The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government.
Farewell Address, 1796Happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.
Letter to the Jewish Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, 1790
First President of the United States, George Washington was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses (1759-1774) and became one of the leaders of the colonial opposition to British policies in America. He was a member of the First and Second Constitutional Congresses (1774-1775) and was elected to command all Continental armies on June 15, 1775. Near the end of 1783, he resigned his commission and retired to Mount Vernon, from which he was called from retirement to preside at the federal convention in Philadelphia (1787). He was unanimously chosen president of the United States under the new constitution and took his official oath on April 30, 1789. He was unanimously re-elected in 1793 and later declined a third term.
Quotation and short bio from The Quotable Conservative: The Giants of Conservatism on Liberty, Freedom, Individual Responsibility, and Traditional Values. Rod L. Evans and Irwin M. Berent, editors. Holbrook, Mass.: Adams Publishing, 1996.