Hillsdale College

Responsibility

Uphold your duties and obligations.

StoriesPoemsLives of Virtue

Responsibility is the moral virtue that inclines one to give what is due to other members of a community in view of their shared purpose and sustained well-being. Individual members of a community are also its servants and stewards, and they must fulfill their obligations to that community in order to preserve it in peace and contribute to its flourishing. Members of a community must readily accept the consequences of their actions and be willing to make amends when they fail to uphold their duties.

For Grades K-2:

The virtue of responsibility gives us the desire to fulfill our duties to others and to our community, and to own up honestly and make things right when we fall short. 

For Grades 3-6:

The virtue of responsibility inclines us to fulfill our obligations to the communities we belong to, recognizing that we must play our part in serving and stewarding those communities. Responsibility requires us to accept the consequences of our actions and to be willing to make amends when we fall short. 

Related Virtues

Justice

Gratitude
Patriotism
Respect
Honesty
Friendship
Generosity
Kindness

Featured Stories

The Little PrinceAntoine de Saint-Exupéry
Grade K-5

Story

The Little Hero of Holland The Children’s Book of VirtuesWilliam J. Bennett
Grade 1-2

Story

The Sign of the BeaverElizabeth George Speare
Grade 2-4

Story

Farmer BoyLaura Ingalls Wilder
Grade 3-5

Story

The Lion, the Witch, and the WardrobeC.S. Lewis
Grade 3-5

Story

The Princess and the GoblinGeorge MacDonald
Grade 3-5

Story

More Stories

Featured Biographies

Heroes of 1776: The Story of the Declaration of IndependenceNeil Gorsuch
Grade K-3

Biography

Abraham LincolnIngri d'Aulaire
Grade 1-4

Biography

George WashingtonIngri d'Aulaire
Grade 1-4

Biography

Florence NightingaleDemi
Grade 2-4

Biography

Winston Churchill: Courage in the Face of DarknessJoyce Claiborne-West
Grade 2-6

Biography

Who Was Winston Churchill?Ellen Labrecque
Grade 2-6

Biography

More Biographies
Poems about Responsibility

The sweetest lives are those to duty wed...

Duty
By Robert Browning
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Early to bed, Early to rise

Early to Bed
By Benjamin Franklin
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How doth the little busy bee  Improve each shining hour...

How Doth the Little Busy Bee
By Isaac Watts
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If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If
By Rudyard Kipling
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Where whenas death shall all the world subdue, Our love shall live, and later life renew.

One Day I Wrote Her Name
By Edmund Spenser
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All are architects of Fate, Working in these walls of Time...

The Builders
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Read More of The Builders

Three little kittens They lost their mittens, And they began to cry

The Three Little Kittens
By Eliza Lee Cabot Follen
Read More of The Three Little Kittens

Under a spreading chestnut-tree The village smithy stands...

The Village Blacksmith
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Read More of The Village Blacksmith

Small service is true service while it lasts

To a Child
By William Wordsworth
Read More of To a Child

Lives of Virtue

Abraham Lincoln
Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln exemplified virtue through his steadfast commitment to justice and the preservation of the Union, guiding the nation with moral clarity and courage during its darkest hours.
George Washington
George WashingtonThanks to his integrity, humility, courage, and wisdom, George Washington has long been known as one of the greatest leaders in American history.
Jane Addams
Jane AddamsJane Addams demonstrated kindness, generosity, and respect by founding Hull House, a settlement house in Chicago that provided essential services, education, and support to impoverished immigrants, fostering community and social reform.
Abigail AdamsRegarded as a "Founding Mother," Abigail Adams shared her husband John Adam's passion for liberty and American independence. She played a pivotal role in shaping the nation's early political and social landscape through her insightful correspondence with John Adams, advocating for women's rights, education, and the abolition of slavery.
More Lives of Virtue