evidence: FACT CHECK: Did George Washington Say Free People Need ‘Sufficient Arms and Ammunition’? An image shared on Facebook Sunday claimed that President George Washington said, "A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government." [...] According to Mount Vernon, what Washington actually said was, "A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies."