George Washington linked public happiness to knowledge and held it to be especially essential in a country where government is shaped so immediately by the sense of the community. He spoke of being born in liberty, learning its value early, engaging in a perilous conflict to defend it, and devoting the best years of his life to securing its permanent establishment in his own country. He said that his anxious recollections, sympathetic feelings, and best wishes were irresistibly stirred whenever he saw an oppressed nation unfurl the banners of freedom.