Trial by jury. Live wherever you can make a living. How could a government based on such principles fail?
Stephen Ambrose

Washington and Jefferson were both rich Virginia planters, but they were never friends.
Stephen Ambrose

Washington, not Jefferson, freed his slaves upon his death.
Stephen Ambrose

Washington's character was rock solid. He came to stand for the new nation and its republican virtues, which was why he became our first President by unanimous choice.
Stephen Ambrose

We are part of a country that outshines those that have gone before us and most of those in existence today.
Stephen Ambrose

Who today is willing to say that Texas and California and the remainder of the Southwest would be better off if they were governed by Mexico?
Stephen Ambrose

Winning the Revolutionary War, or the Civil War, or World War II were the turning points in our history, the sine qua non of our forward progress.
Stephen Ambrose

World War II, the atomic bomb, the Cold War, made it hard for Americans to continue their optimism.
Stephen Ambrose

Writing is not the easiest way to make a living. Your work long hours, usually all by yourself. It is not a way to make money.
Stephen Ambrose

You don't hate history, you hate the way it was taught to you in high school.
Stephen Ambrose