“Unhappy it is though to reflect, that a Brother's Sword has been sheathed in a Brother's breast, and that, the once happy and peaceful plains of America are either to be drenched with Blood, or Inhabited by Slaves. Sad alternative! But can a virtuous Man hesitate in his choice?”

— George Washington

Letter to Mr. George William Fairfax (31 May 1775) George Washington Papers http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mgw:@field(DOCID+@lit(gw030206)) at the Library of Congress <br class="br">1770s

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first President of the United States 1732–1799

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