George C. Daughan > Quotes

“He protested that although in theory he was opposed to slavery, this particular proposal was premature, liable only to incite the south and destroy the unity of the republic, perhaps even provoke a civil war.”
― George C. Daughan, If By Sea: The Forging of the American Navy--from the Revolution to the War of 1812

“Separated as we are by a world of water from other nations,” he explained, “if we are wise, we shall surely avoid being drawn into the labyrinth of their politics and involved in their destructive wars.”
― George C. Daughan, If By Sea: The Forging of the American Navy--from the Revolution to the War of 1812

“solve the nation’s debt crisis. The task was daunting. The country had been living on expedients since 1775; the Continental Congress had more creditors than any other regime in the world and no means of payment.When Hamilton totaled how much the country owed, it was staggering: foreign debt alone amounted to $11 million, plus $1.6 million in interest.”
― George C. Daughan, If By Sea: The Forging of the American Navy--from the Revolution to the War of 1812

“[T]he king could conceive of no middle ground for the colonies between independence and unconditional submission.” And, of course, His Majesty would never countenance independence.”
― George C. Daughan, Lexington and Concord: The Battle Heard Round the World

“Surely America’s moral sense had been deadened by gross materialism, as Yankee merchants sought to profit from Europe’s misery.”
― George C. Daughan, 1812: The Navy's War

“their claim of sovereignty over three millions of virtuous sensible people in America, seem the greatest of absurdities, since they appeared to have scarce discretion enough to govern a herd of swine.”
― George C. Daughan, Lexington and Concord: The Battle Heard Round the World

“the light which is chasing darkness and despotism from the Old World is but an emanation from that which has procured and succeeded the establishment of liberty in the new.”
― George C. Daughan, If By Sea: The Forging of the American Navy--from the Revolution to the War of 1812

“on September 16, near Warren Tavern, twenty miles from Philadelphia, just as the armies met for another full-scale battle, a massive cloudburst ruined Washington’s chance, overwhelming both sides and making firing impossible. The ferocious gale continued for a day and a half.”
― George C. Daughan, Revolution on the Hudson: New York City and the Hudson River Valley in the American War of Independence