"When government takes away citizens' right to bear arms it becomes citizens' duty to take away government's right to govern." However, the quote that appeared in the biography has never been proven to have come from Washington. The origin of the misquote is, perhaps, a mention of a similar statement in a biography of Washington first published in 1835. The quote is frequently misattributed to Washington, particularly in regards to his farewell address of 1796. "It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible." The library has yet to find an explanation for this misquote, locate another individual who said this statement, or uncover a similar quote of Washington's that was similar to this statement. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action." "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 of others for essential, particularly military, supplies." "Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Here is the actual text from Washington's speech: However, the quote is then manipulated into a differing context and the remaining text is inaccurate. This quote is partially accurate as the beginning section is taken from Washington's First Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union. "A free people ought not only 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 the fifth edition of The Life and Memorable Actions of George Washington, the cherry tree anecdote was first included. The history of "I cannot tell a lie, Pa" comes from the Parson Mason Weems biography of the young George Washington. When available, an example of this misquote is provided in context, including published books, speeches and periodicals. This list will continue to grow as research staff at Mount Vernon become aware of other misattributed or false statements that have been cited as belonging to Washington. The following is a list of quotations misattributed to George Washington that have been sent to the Mount Vernon library in recent years.
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