George Washington Quotes
Unless a capital change takes place soon, it will be impossible for me to maintain our posts and keep the army from dispersing
This quotation illustrates the dire economic straights the new country was in. There was no money to pay the troops, but worse, not enough money to provide food and clothing for even those patriots who would forgo their pay. It illustrates the critical importance of France in the success of the American Revolution.
George Washington, 1732-1799, 1st President of the United States (VA), 1781
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
The Dutch King’s brother, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte Bonaparte, insisted on Dutch contributions to his war effort in the way of Dutch troops, ships and provisions. Yet there was not enough possible revenue to pay for such a war effort. Gogel was able to introduce efficiencies in many areas but still more taxes were needed. War expenditures took all the resources of the state and progress stopped and the kingdom was almost destroyed by the economic crisis.
The Dutch King’s brother, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte Bonaparte, insisted on Dutch contributions to his war effort in the way of Dutch troops, ships and provisions. Yet there was not enough possible revenue to pay for such a war effort.
The American Revolution was a trying time, not only militarily but in just about every other way as well. Washington was quite pessimistic in 1778 as this quotation demonstrates. But it was to get worse. See {624230}. And the rapacity even extended to war profiteering. {624227}.
To a great extent, the same is true in our modern world.
This is a very important quotation because it and {641523} show the great difficulty that Washington was under and the fact that he repeatedly asked Congress for assistance very little of which was provided.
This is a very important quotation because it and {641522} show the great difficulty that Washington was under and the fact that he repeatedly asked Congress for assistance very little of which was provided. Washington began to be disillusioned about the militias at this time; see {641525} for the conclusions he reached about the state militias.
Gallatin was Secretary of the Treasury and has he came into office he discovered that the United States did not have enough money to last the month. To stave off national bankruptcy, Gallatin approached Stephen Girard, then the richest man in America who himself bought and he offered to sell United States bonds to his friends and associates at a very low rate. He saved the young nation.
Even in democratic America, this has been true. We spend almost any amount of money to give our military the weapons of war that will make them more effective soldiers, but when they return with mental and physical wounds, government money is not so easy to come by to preserve them in good health. Cost is a major consideration in Veterans benefits and care, but weapons expenditures have little restraint. It has been so for many years in many cultures.
There were so many Blacks fighting for the Americans in the Revolution that the British Commander had to issue a special proclamation which would make slaves of any Negro captured but issued freedom to those who would desert. Despite the greater risk to Negro Revolutionaries than their white counterparts many volunteered and few deserted.
The country was in a terrible recession and McKinley and other politicians of the time did not know about or understand the use of a counter-cyclical policy of government stimulus. With the economy devastated and the main revenue for the Federal Government coming only from import customs duty, the Federal coffers were emptying rapidly. Retrenchment was the only possible step that was then known.
He had wanted more troops for the Afghan War than President Obama would approve. The Republican members of the Congress tried to make the difference a major issue of a President not supporting his commanders. The General made this brilliant response.
The Centograph is a war memorial monument in London. On Remembrance Day, a British Patriotic Holiday, veterans march past the Centograph. The quotation is text uttered by one of her characters.
George Washington was the first President of the United States (1789-97), the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He presided over the convention that drafted the current United States Constitution and during his lifetime was called the "father of his country".
