--- title: "3 American history Quotes By Joseph J. Ellis" description: "3 American history quotes by Joseph J. Ellis. Plus more from Joseph J. Ellis and more American history sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82f/joseph-j-ellis-13690_american-history_p-274-his-trademark-decision-to-surrende_269689.jpg" --- > [“p. 274 ...his trademark decision to surrender power as commander in chief and then president, was not...a sign that he had conquered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-ellis/p-274-his-trademark-decision-to-surrender-power-as-commander-in-chief/) [Joseph J. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-ellis/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82f/joseph-j-ellis-13690_american-history_p-274-his-trademark-decision-to-surrende_269689.jpg) > [“But if insecurity was the primal source of Hamilton's incredibly energy, one would have to conclude that providence had conspired to produce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-ellis/but-if-insecurity-was-the-primal-source-of-hamilton-s-incredibly/) [Joseph J. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-ellis/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c77/joseph-j-ellis-13690_alexander-hamilton_but-if-insecurity-was-the-primal-source_567509.jpg) > [“Having now finished the work assigned me,” Washington solemnly said, “I retire from the great theatre of Action. . . . I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-ellis/having-now-finished-the-work-assigned-me-washington-solemnly-said-i/) [Joseph J. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-ellis/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea9/joseph-j-ellis-13690_american-history_having-now-finished-the-work-assigned-me_1295858.jpg) ## Other authors on American history - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b003/author-captain-hank-bracker-the-exciting-story-of-cuba-11378.jpg) Captain Hank Bracker, The Exciting Story of Cuba 15 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-history/captain-hank-bracker-the-exciting-story-of-cuba/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b023/author-tanehisi-coates-88839.jpg) Ta-Nehisi Coates 14 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-history/ta-nehisi-coates/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b005/author-barack-obama-16275.jpg) Barack Obama 8 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-history/barack-obama/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b018/author-noam-chomsky-71799.jpg) Noam Chomsky 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-history/noam-chomsky/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b021/author-rush-limbaugh-81741.jpg) Rush Limbaugh 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-history/rush-limbaugh/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b018/author-newt-gingrich-70900.jpg) Newt Gingrich 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-history/newt-gingrich/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b012/author-james-wyatt-46861.jpg) Jay Grewal 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-history/jay-grewal/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b001/author-james-t-patterson-3417.jpg) James T. Patterson 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-history/james-t-patterson/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b011/author-henry-louis-gates-41603.jpg) Henry Louis Gates 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-history/henry-louis-gates/) ## More by Joseph J. Ellis > [“Perhaps, in that eerily instinctive way in which he always grasped the difference between the essential and the peripheral, he literally felt in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-ellis/perhaps-in-that-eerily-instinctive-way-in-which-he-always-grasped-the/) [Joseph J. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-ellis/) > [“Upon learning that Washington intended to reject the mantle of emperor, no less an authority than George III allegedly observed, “If he does that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-ellis/upon-learning-that-washington-intended-to-reject-the-mantle-of/) [Joseph J. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-ellis/) > [“The Adams presidency, in fact, might be the classic example of the historical truism that inherited circumstances define the parameters within which presidential leadership…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-ellis/the-adams-presidency-in-fact-might-be-the-classic-example-of-the/) [Joseph J. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-ellis/) > [“p. 274 ...his trademark decision to surrender power as commander in chief and then president, was not...a sign that he had conquered his ambitions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-ellis/p-274-his-trademark-decision-to-surrender-power-as-commander-in-chief/) [Joseph J. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-ellis/) > [To my three sons, Peter, Scott, and Alexander who pulled me from the 18th Century and back into the present on a regular basis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-ellis/to-my-three-sons-peter-scott-and-alexander-who-pulled-me-from-the/) [Joseph J. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-ellis/) > [Lincoln once said that America was founded on a proposition that was written by Jefferson in 1776. We are really founded on an argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-ellis/lincoln-once-said-that-america-was-founded-on-a-proposition-that-was/) [Joseph J. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-ellis/) > [“They recognized from the beginning that they were a rare match. There were so many topics they could talk about easily and just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-ellis/they-recognized-from-the-beginning-that-they-were-a-rare-match-there/) [Joseph J. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-ellis/) > [ \[quoting someone else\] the American constitution is a document designed by geniuses to be eventually interpreted by idiots ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-ellis/quoting-someone-else-the-american-constitution-is-a-document-designed/) [Joseph J. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-ellis/) > [I believe I am an honorable man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-ellis/i-believe-i-am-an-honorable-man/) [Joseph J. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-ellis/) > [“The first symptom of the trouble appeared when Madison studied Hamilton’s proposal for the funding of the domestic debt. On the one hand, Hamilton’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-ellis/the-first-symptom-of-the-trouble-appeared-when-madison-studied/) [Joseph J. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-ellis/) > [“But if insecurity was the primal source of Hamilton's incredibly energy, one would have to conclude that providence had conspired to produce at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-ellis/but-if-insecurity-was-the-primal-source-of-hamilton-s-incredibly/) [Joseph J. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-ellis/) > [“One of the petitioners, an infamous do-gooder of uncertain sanity named Warner Mifflin, had actually acknowledged that his antislavery vision came to him after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-ellis/one-of-the-petitioners-an-infamous-do-gooder-of-uncertain-sanity/) [Joseph J. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-ellis/) > [I would say readers can trust my work more than anyone else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-ellis/i-would-say-readers-can-trust-my-work-more-than-anyone-else-s/) [Joseph J. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-ellis/) > [And the only thing to do with a sin is to confess, do penance and then, after some kind of decent interval, ask for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-ellis/and-the-only-thing-to-do-with-a-sin-is-to-confess-do-penance-and-then/) [Joseph J. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-ellis/) > [“Burr had the dark and severe coloring of his Edwards ancestry, with black hair receding from the forehead and dark brown, almost black, eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-j-ellis/burr-had-the-dark-and-severe-coloring-of-his-edwards-ancestry-with/) [Joseph J. Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-j-ellis/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-history/joseph-j-ellis/#itemlist", "name": "3 American history Quotes By Joseph J. 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