Social media users share a quote attributed to George Washington about the right to bear arms. This quote was incorrectly attributed; this was not said by the first president of the United States.
Examples can be seen here, here and here.
The quote reads: “When the government takes away the right of citizens to bear arms, it becomes the duty of citizens to take away the government’s right to govern.”
George Washington’s estate website Mount Vernon contains a fake quote on his website. Among them is the quote mentioned in the claim.
Matt Briney, vice president of media and communications for Mount Vernon, confirmed in an email to Reuters that Washington was not the author of the quote. He added: “What we believe people are basing it on is the passage from Washington’s inaugural speech, but you can see it was ripped out of context.”
The passage to which Briney refers reads: ‘A free people must not only be armed but also disciplined; for which a uniform and well-digested plan is required; and their safety and interest require them to promote such factories which tend to make them independent of others for essential, especially military, supplies. ”(Here)
The editorial in this entry explains Washington’s support for a ‘robust national defense’ and that the passage urges Congress to ” play a role in promoting the domestic production of weapons and ammunition in the United States. to prevent the continental army. encountered during the Revolutionary War. ”
Briney said that in this section Washington calls for the establishment of a well-funded national army and navy, the provisions of which must be provided independently of any foreign power.
Katie Blizzard, research editor of the Washington Papers, told Reuters in an email: “These are definitely not the words of Washington.”
The Washington Papers is a project of the University of Virginia to publish a comprehensive edition of Washington’s correspondence. More information can be found at washingtonpapers.org/about/.
The quote also does not exist in the National Archives database, which contains thousands of records of the founding members here.
VERDICT
Untrue. First President George Washington was not the author of this quote.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.