George Washington? Philip M. Crane? W. Cleon Skousen? Paul Broun? Apocryphal?
Question for Quote Investigator: The following statement about armaments has been attributed to one of the Founding Fathers of the United States:
A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government.
Although these words are usually credited to George Washington, I am skeptical because I have never seen a solid citation. Would you please explore this topic?
Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1790 George Washington delivered an address to the United States Senate and the House of Representatives. Washington promoted the domestic manufacture of weapons and ammunition. Washington had experienced great difficulties obtaining supplies for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, and he wished to avoid procurement problems in the future. The following passage from Washington’s speech partially matched the target quotation but differed significantly. Boldface added to excepts by QI:1
A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined, to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require, that they should promote such manufactories, as tend to render them independent on others, for essential, particularly for military supplies.
The words of George Washngton were remembered. For example, 185 years later in April 1975, Congressman Philip M. Crane of Illinois delivered a speech during which he presented a slightly modified version of the statement spoken by Washington:2
In writing his draft of the Virginia Constitution Thomas Jefferson stated:
No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.
Similar expressions were forthcoming from men like Patrick Henry, George Mason, and Samuel Adams. And, in 1790, George Washington said:
A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufacturies as tend to remind them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies.
In October 1975 “Law and Order: An Independent Magazine for the Police Profession” printed a short slightly modified version of Washington’s statement within an article by the magazine’s editorial director W. Cleon Skousen. However, Washington’s statement was combined with commentary from Skousen. Quotation marks delineated the transition from Washington’s words to Skousen’s words:3
Another expression of the same sentiment is found in the words of Thomas Jefferson who wrote in his draft of the Virginia Constitution: “No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms,” and George Washington emphasized that “a free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined” but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government. (Quoted by Rep. Philip Crane in the Congressional Record April 21, 1975 pp. E 1896-97)
Unfortunately, inattentive readers decided to incorrectly attribute the entire passage above to George Washington. For example, in October 1996 the “New Jersey Militia Newsletter” printed the following:4
Perhaps George Washington said it most eloquently: “A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government.”
In 2008 the “Congressional Record” included comments made by Congressman Paul Broun of Georgia which attributed a short version of the statement to Washington:5
… the Court gives short shrift to the fact that modern laws, of the very sort it strikes down today, have prevented the common use of “sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government,” as George Washington envisioned.
In conclusion, the quotation under examination was not spoken or written by George Washington. The misquotation was constructed by people who misread a passage written by W. Cleon Skousen in 1975 which combined the words of Washington and Skousen. George Washington did deliver a speech in 1790 that contained a partially matching statement.
Image Notes: Public domain illustration of ornamented pistol. The image has been resized.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Jonathan Lighter whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Lighter found the 2008 citation. In addition, thanks to the researchers at mountvernon.org, Snopes, and Wikiquote who all pointed to the 1790 statement from George Washington. Further thanks to Dan Goncharoff who also pointed to the 1790 statement.
- 1790, The Congressional Register; Or, History of the Proceedings and Debates of the First House of Representatives of the United States of America, Taken in Short Hand by Thomas Lloyd, Volume 3, Date: January 8, 1790, Address by George Washington to Fellow Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives, Start Page 6, Quote Page 6, Printed by Hodge, Allen, and Campbell, New York. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1975, United States Congressional Record, Proceedings and Debates of the 94th Congress First Session, Volume 121, Part 9, Date: April 21, 1975, Section: Extensions of Remarks, Location: U.S. House of Representatives, Speaking: Philip M. Crane of Illinois, Topic: Gun Control, Start Page 11141, Quote Page 11142, Column 2, United States Government Printing Office, Washington D.C. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1975 October, Law and Order: An Independent Magazine for the Police Profession, Volume 23, Number 10, Article: Gun Control or Political Control?, Author: W. Cleon Skousen (Editorial Director), Start Page 22, Quote Page 22, Publisher: The Copp Organization (Wm. C. Copp), New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1996 October, New Jersey Militia Newsletter, Volume 2, Number 4, Fighting Domestic Terrorism by Daniel Kuehne, Start Page 3, Quote Page 3, Trenton, New Jersey. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 2008, Congressional Record of the United States of America, House of Representatives, Proceedings and Debates of the 110th Congress, Second Session, Volume 154, Part 10, Date: June 26, 2008, Title: District of Columbia v. Heller, Speaker: Paul Broun of Georgia, Quote Page 13949, Column 3, United States Government Printing Office, Washington D.C. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎