From Presidents
White House in the Snow
Watercolor by Kay Smith
George Washington’s
Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation
“Today many, if not all of these rules, sound a little fussy if not downright silly. It would be easy to dismiss them as outdated and appropriate to a time of powdered wigs and quills, but they reflect a focus that is increasingly difficult to find. They all have in common a focus on other people rather than the narrow focus of our own self-interests that we find so prevalent today. Fussy or not, they represent more than just manners. They are the small sacrifices that we should all be willing to make for the good of all and the sake of living together… These rules proclaim our respect for others and in turn give us the gift of self-respect and heightened self-esteem.”
Lincoln’s Address at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
November 19, 1863
Character & Success
by Theodore Roosevelt
“A year or two ago I was speaking to a famous Yale professor, one of the most noted scholars in the country, and one who is even more than a scholar, because he is in every sense of the word a man… Bodily vigor is good, and vigor of intellect is even better, but far above both is character.”
Online Reading of This and Other Writings from Theodore Roosevelt
A Time for Choosing
Also Known As The Speech
by Ronald Reagan
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