"The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government"
About this Quote
The intent is stabilizing. By grounding legitimacy in “the people” and pairing “make” with “alter,” Washington reassures a young nation that revising government isn’t a descent into chaos; it’s the system working as designed. The subtext is a warning to anyone tempted by permanence: constitutions are tools, not thrones. If authority refuses adaptation, it forfeits consent.
It also carries a quiet tension. Washington, the archetype of restraint, is endorsing the people’s ultimate sovereignty while implicitly insisting on process. “Basis” and “right” are not the language of improvisation; they suggest orderly mechanisms for revision rather than perpetual revolt. In the 1790s, with partisan factions hardening and anxieties about demagoguery rising, that distinction mattered. He’s trying to thread the needle between two American impulses: suspicion of concentrated power and fear of mob volatility.
What makes the sentence work is its balance of empowerment and containment. It flatters civic agency while steering it toward constitutionalism. The promise is not that government will always be good, but that it can always be corrected without starting the country over.
Quote Details
| Topic | Freedom |
|---|---|
| Source | Verified source: George Washington's Farewell Address (George Washington, 1796)
Evidence: The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government.. This line appears in George Washington’s Farewell Address (a public letter/printed essay, not delivered as a speech). The earliest publication is the Philadelphia newspaper Claypoole’s American Daily Advertiser dated September 19, 1796 (the piece in that printing is dated September 17). The Founders Online transcription explicitly notes the first printing in Claypoole’s American Daily Advertiser and reproduces the sentence in context. Other candidates (1) The Electoral System of the United States (David A. McKnight, 1878) compilation96.2% ... PRESIDENT . " The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutio... |
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Washington, George. (2026, February 8). The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-basis-of-our-political-system-is-the-right-of-27944/
Chicago Style
Washington, George. "The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government." FixQuotes. February 8, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-basis-of-our-political-system-is-the-right-of-27944/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government." FixQuotes, 8 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-basis-of-our-political-system-is-the-right-of-27944/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
