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Quotes by Founder:
Abigail Adams (2)
Adam Smith (2)
Alexander Hamilton (22)
Alexander McDougal (1)
Andrew Hamilton (1)
Archibald MacLaine (1)
Benjamin Church (1)
Benjamin Franklin (50)
Benjamin Rush (5)
Charles Carroll (1)
Charles Pinckney (2)
Daniel Webster (4)
Edmund Burke (1)
Edmund Randolph (1)
Elbridge Gerry (1)
Elias Boudinot, LL.D. (1)
Fisher Ames (4)
Francis Bacon (2)
George Berkeley (1)
George Mason (6)
George Washington (48)
Gouverneur Morris (4)
James Iredell (4)
James Madison (39)
James Monroe (9)
James Otis (2)
James Wilson (6)
Jean Jacques Rousseau (2)
John Adams (38)
John Barnard (1)
John Dickinson (2)
John Hancock (1)
John Howard Paine (1)
John Jay (5)
John Joseph Henry (1)
John Locke (1)
John Marshall (1)
John Paul Jones (1)
John Quincy Adams (7)
John Rutledge (1)
John Witherspoon (2)
Joseph Warren (1)
Michel Jean De Crevecoeur (3)
Nathan Hale (1)
Nathanael Greene (2)
Noah Webster (8)
Oliver Ellsworth (1)
Patrick Henry (7)
Rev. Jonathan Mayhew (1)
Richard Henry Lee (1)
Rufus King (1)
Samuel Adams (13)
Samuel Phillips Payson (1)
Samuel West (1)
Sarah Updike Goddard (1)
Silas Downer (1)
Simeon Howard (1)
Sir William Blackstone (1)
Thomas Hobbes (1)
Thomas Jefferson (80)
Thomas Paine (47)
Washington Irving (2)
William Blackstone (1)
William Bradford (1)
William Cullen Bryant (1)
William Goudy (1)
William Johnson (2)
William Penn (28)
William Pierce (1)
William Pitt (1)
Zephaniah Swift (1)
Your search for "
preservation of freedom
" returned 82 results from 30 Founders.
John Adams:
"Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your
freedom
! I hope you will make good use
of
it! If you do not, I shall repent it in heaven that I ever took half the pains to preserve it!"
source: To Abigail Adams, 1777.
preservation
of
freedom
,
liberty
,
patriot
,
posterity
Samuel Adams:
"The liberties
of
our country, the
freedom
of
our civil constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense
of
treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark
of
infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is , if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or be cheated out
of
them by the artifices
of
false and designing men."
source: Article in the Boston Gazette, October 14, 1771.
freedom
,
duty
,
preservation
of
rights
James Madison:
"Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ
of
every other. War is the parent
of
armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination
of
the few. In war, too, the discretionary power
of
the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means
of
seducing the minds, are added to those
of
subduing the force,
of
the people. The same malignant aspect in republicanism may be traced in the inequality
of
fortunes, and the opportunities
of
fraud, growing out
of
a state
of
war, and in the degeneracy
of
manners and
of
morals, engendered by both. No nation could preserve its
freedom
in the midst
of
continual warfare."
source: "Political Observations" April 20, 1795.
war
,
libery
,
freedom
,
conflict
,
national security
,
balance
of
powers
,
virtue
John Adams:
"The jaws
of
power are always open to devour, and her arm is always stretched out, if possible, to destroy the
freedom
of
thinking, speaking, and writing."
source: "Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law" 1765.
power
,
corruption
,
freedom
Thomas Paine:
"Spiritual
freedom
is the root
of
political liberty. [...] As the union between spiritual
freedom
and political liberty seems nearly inseparable, it is our duty to defend both."
source: Thoughts on Defensive War 1775
religious freedom
,
free soceity
Thomas Paine:
"Party knows no impulse but spirit, no prize but victory. It is blind to truth, and hardened against conviction. It seeks to justify error by perseverance, and denies to its own mind the operations
of
its own judgment. A man under the tyranny
of
party spirit is the greatest slave upon earth, for none but himself can deprive him
of
the
freedom
of
thought."
source: "To the Opposers of the Bank," 1787.
political parties
,
truth
,
judgement
,
freedom
of
thought
John Quincy Adams:
"Wherever the standard
of
freedom
and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will be America's heart, her benedictions and her prayers. But she does not go abroad in search
of
monsters to destroy. She is the champion and vindicator only
of
her own."
source: Address, July 4, 1821.
policy
,
foreign relations
,
freedom
,
independence
,
faith
Benjamin Rush:
"Political
freedom
includes in it every other blessing. All the pleasures
of
riches, science, virtue, and even religion itself derive their value from liberty alone. No wonder therefore wise and prudent legislators have in all ages been held in such great veneration; and no wonder too those illustrious souls who have employed their pens and sacrificed their lives in defense
of
liberty have met with such universal applause. Their reputations, like some majestic river which enlarges and widens as it approaches its parent ocean, shall become greater and greater through every age and outlive the ruins
of
the world itself."
source: To Catharine Macaulay, January 18, 1769.
freedom
,
virtue
,
science
,
religion
,
liberty
Benjamin Franklin:
"Without Freedom
of
Thought, there can be no such Thing as Wisdom; and no such Thing as publick Liberty, without Freedom
of
Speech."
source: Letter from "Silence Dogood," printed in The New England Courant, July 9, 1722.
freedom
of
speech
,
freedom
of
thought
,
liberty
,
wisdom
Samuel Adams:
"The truth is, all might be free if they valued
freedom
, and defended it as they ought."
source: Article in the Boston Gazette, October 14, 1771.
freedom
,
defense
Thomas Jefferson:
"Our greatest happiness ... does not depend on the condition
of
life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result
of
a good conscience, good health, occupation and
freedom
in all just pursuits."
source: "Notes on Virginia" 1782.
happiness
,
condition
,
health care
,
freedom
,
occupation
,
chance
,
circumstance
,
handouts
Noah Webster:
"But while property is considered as the basis
of
the
freedom
of
the American yeomanry, there are other auxiliary supports; among which is the information
of
the people. In no country, is education so general--in no country, have the body
of
the people such a knowledge
of
the rights
of
men and the principles
of
government. This knowledge, joined with a keep sense
of
liberty and a watchful jealousy, will guard our constitutions, and awaken the people to an instantaneous resistance
of
encroachments. "
source: "an Examination into the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution" October 17, 1787.
education
,
knowledge
,
power
,
freedom
,
rights
,
balance
of
power
,
watchdogs
Benjamin Rush:
"It is favourable to liberty. Freedom can exist only in the society
of
knowledge. Without learning, men are incapable
of
knowing their rights, and where learning is confined to a few people, liberty can be neither equal nor universal."
source: Essay, 1786.
liberty
,
freedom
,
society
,
rights
,
learning
,
education
,
knowledge
Samuel Adams:
"I thank God that I have lived to see my country independent and free. She may long enjoy her independence and
freedom
if she will. It depends on her virtue."
source: Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, 3:175
virtue and freedom
,
choice
,
requirements
of
a free people
John Dickinson:
"Kings or parliaments could not give the rights essential to happiness. ... We claim them from a higher source--from the King
of
kings, and Lord
of
all the earth. They are not annexed to us by parchments and seals. They are created in us by the decrees
of
Providence ... It would be an insult on the divine Majesty to say, that he has given or allowed any man or body
of
men a right to make me miserable. If no man or body
of
men has such a right, I have a right to be happy. If there can be no happiness without
freedom
, I have a right to be free. If I cannot enjoy
freedom
without security
of
property, I have a right to be thus secured. "
source: Reply to a Committee in Barbados, 1766
happiness
,
undeniable rights
,
liberty
,
freedom
,
God
,
security
of
property
,
misery
,
parliament
John Adams:
"But a Constitution
of
Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty once lost is lost forever."
source: To Abigail Adams, 1775.
liberty
,
freedom
,
constitution
,
rights
of
all mankind
Thomas Paine:
"It is impossible to conquer a nation determined to be free!"
source: Letter to the People of France, 1792.
freedom
,
rights
,
determination
,
liberty
Thomas Jefferson:
"That to compel a man to furnish contributions
of
money for the propagation
of
opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical;"
source: The Virginia Act for Establishing Religious Freedom, 1779; Full document can be found at: http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/sacred/vaact_draft_1779.html
Religious Freedom
,
Religion
,
Freedom
of
Conscience
,
forced charity
Thomas Jefferson:
"The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time."
source: Summary View of the Rights of British America 1775
source
of
freedom
,
gifts from God
Patrick Henry:
"Is life so dear, or peaceful so sweet, as to be purchased at the price
of
chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"
source: Speech at the Virginia Convention (There is some question whether Henry ever used these words, which were first reported five decades later by his biographer William Wirt.) March 23, 1775.
liberty
,
slavery
,
sacrifice
,
freedom
Alexander Hamilton:
"There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature rise above itself in acts
of
bravery and heroism."
source: "A Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress" December 15, 1774
liberty
,
freedom
,
heroism
,
bravery
Alexander Hamilton:
"Give me the steady, uniform, unshaken securityof constitutional
freedom
. Give me the right
of
trial by jury
of
my own neighbors, and to be taxed by my own representatives only. What will become
of
the law and courts
of
justice without this? I would die to preserve the law upon a solid foundation; but take away liberty, and the foundation is destroyed."
source: "A Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress" December 15, 1774.
liberty
,
freedom
,
constitutional freedoms
,
justice
John Adams:
"Liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense
of
their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood."
source: A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, 1765.
liberty
,
country
,
freedom
,
rights
Benjamin Franklin:
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
source: Speech to the Pennsylvania Assembly, November 11, 1755.
liberty
,
safety
,
freedom
James Otis:
"Ubi lierartas ibi patria. [Where liberty is, there is my country]."
source: His motto, Date Unknown.
liberty
,
freedom
,
country
John Adams:
"The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws
of
God, and that there is not a force
of
law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist."
source: Charles Francis Adams, ed., The words of John Adams, 10 vols. 6:9, p. 280.
property
,
socialism
,
ownership
of
property
,
principle
of
freedom
Benjamin Franklin:
"Laws too gentle are seldom obeyed; too severe, seldom executed."
source: Poor Richard's Almanack, 1756.
law making
,
law abiding
,
obedience
,
freedom
,
justice
John Locke:
"For in all the states
of
created beings, capable
of
laws, where there is no law there is no
freedom
."
source: Two Treatises on Civil Government, 1690.
law
,
freedom
,
choice
,
mankind
James Madison:
"We are teaching the world the great truth that Gov[ernments] do better without Kings and Nobles than with them. The merit will be doubled by the other lesson that Religion flourishes in greater purity, without than with the aid
of
Gov[ernment]."
source: Letter to Edward Livingstong, July 19, 1822.
government
,
kings
,
nobles
,
classes
of
society
,
rulers
,
republic
,
freedom
Thomas Paine:
"All men are Republicans by nature and Royalists only by fashion. And this is fully proved by that passionate adoration, which all men show to that great and almost only remaining bulwark
of
natural rights, trial by juries, which is founded on a pure Republican basis. Here the power
of
Kings is shut out. No Royal negative can enter this Court. The Jury, which is here, supreme, is a Republic, a body
of
Judges chosen from among the people."
source: The Forester's Letters, 1776.
jury duty
,
republic
,
representatives
,
freedom
,
justice
,
monarchy
Samuel Adams:
"No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffused and Virtue is preserved. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant, and debauched in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the aid
of
foreign invaders."
source: To James Warren, 1775.
ignorance
,
freedom
,
knowledge
,
downfall
of
society
,
liberty
Thomas Jefferson:
"May it [the Declaration
of
Independence] be to the world what I believe it will be (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all): the signal for arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition have persuaded them to bind themselves and assume the blessings and security
of
self-government."
source: Letter to Roger C. Weightman, June 24, 1826.
independence
,
freedom
,
declaration
of
independence
,
wisdom
,
ignorance
John Adams:
"The second day
of
July, 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the history
of
America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day
of
deliverance, by solemn acts
of
devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shews, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end
of
this continent to the other from this time forward forevermore."
source: Letter to Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776, (The Declaration of Independence was voted upon July 2, but signed on July 4).
independence
,
our nation's holiday
,
God
,
national freedom
,
liberty
John Adams:
"Yesterday the greatest question was decided which was ever debated in America; and a greater perhaps never was, nor will be, decided upon men. A resolution was passed without one dissenting colony, that those United Colonies are, and
of
right ought to be, free and independent states."
source: Letter to Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776.
independence
,
national freedom
,
america
Richard Henry Lee:
"It is not choice then, but necessity that calls for Independence as the only means by which foreign Alliances can be obtained; and a proper confederation by which internal peace and Union may be secured. Contrary to our earnest, early, and repeated petitions for peace, liberty and safety, our enemies press us with war, threaten us with danger and Slavery."
source: To Landon Carter, June 2, 1776.
independence
,
national freedom
,
alliances
,
liberty
Samuel Adams:
"The country shall be independent, and we will be satisfied with nothing short
of
it."
source: 1774.
independence
,
national freedom
Thomas Jefferson:
"I deem [one
of
] the essential principles
of
our government, and consequently [one] which ought to shape its administration, [...] equal and exact justice to all men,
of
whatever state or persuasion, religious or political."
source: Bergh, 3:321
justice
,
equality
,
principle
of
freedom
,
administration or rights
Patrick Henry:
"Show me that age and country where the rights and liberties
of
the people were placed on the sole chance
of
their rulers being good men, without a consequent loss
of
liberty! I say that the loss
of
that dearest privilege has ever followed, with absolute certainty, every such mad attempt."
source: Elliot, 3:59
loss
of
freedom
,
rights
,
dependency
,
watchfulness
,
checks and balances
,
entrust
Alexander Hamilton:
"It is a truth, which the experience
of
ages has attested, that the people are always most in danger when the means
of
injuring their rights are in the possession
of
those
of
whom they entertain the least suspicion."
source: Federalist Papers, No. 25
secret combination
,
corruption
,
loss
of
rights
,
retain freedom
,
watchfulness
Patrick Henry:
"Give me liberty or give me death!"
source: Reva Marx Wadsworth. "American Constitution: Made Easy." AMCE. 1991.
liberty
,
freedom
,
death
John Adams:
"When public virtue is gone, when the national spirit is fled [...] the republic is lost in essence, though it may still exist in form."
source: To Benjamin Rush, 1808.
virtue and freedom
,
requirements
of
a free people
,
American government prerequistes
Charles Pinckney:
"Our true situation appears to me to be this--a new extensive Country containing within itself the materials for forming a Government capable
of
extending to its citizens all the blessings
of
civil & religious liberty--capable
of
making them happy at home. This is the great end
of
Republican Establishments."
source: Speech in Framing Convention, 1787.
democracy
,
republicanism
,
liberty
,
religious freedom
,
happiness
Thomas Jefferson:
"I have no fear that the result
of
our experiment will be that men may be trusted to govern themselves without a master. Could the contrary
of
this be proved I should conclude either that there is no God or that He is a malevolent being."
source: Letter to David Hartley, 1787.
freedom
,
rights
,
government
,
republic
,
agency
John Adams:
"It has ever been my hobby-horse to see rising in America an empire
of
liberty, and a prospect
of
two or three hundred millions
of
freemen, without one noble or one king among them. You say it is impossible. If I should agree with you in this, I would still say, let us try the experiment, and preserve our equality as long as we can."
source: To Count Sarsfield, February 3, 1786.
liberty
,
freedom
,
freemen
,
king
,
monarchy
,
democracy
,
equality
,
republic
George Washington:
"If in the opinion
of
the People, the distribution or modification
of
the Constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instument
of
good, it is the custonary weapon by which free governments are destroyed."
source: Farewell Address, September 17, 1796.
majority vote
,
constitution
,
rights
,
freedom
,
gonverment
Thomas Jefferson:
"A bill
of
rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth."
source: Letter to James Madison, December 1787.
bill
of
rights
,
freedom
,
goverment
Thomas Jefferson:
"Bigotry is the disease
of
ignorance,
of
morbid minds; enthusiasm
of
the free and buoyant. Education & free discussion are the antidotes
of
both."
source: To John Adams, August 1, 1816.
education
,
bigotry
,
ignorance
,
freedom
of
speech
Thomas Jefferson:
"In matters
of
religion, I have considered that its free exercise is placed by the Constitution independent
of
the powers
of
the general government. I have therefore undertaken on no occasion to prescribe the religious exercises suited to it; but have left them, as the Constitution found them, under the direction and discipline
of
state or church authorities acknowledged by the several religious societies."
source: Bergh, Writings of Thomas Jefferson, 3:378.
freedom
of
religion
,
church and state
,
State's rights
John Adams:
"Straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to liberty, and few nations, if any have found it."
source: To Richard Rush, May 14, 1821.
liberty
,
national freedom
Thomas Paine:
"Liberty is the power to do everything that does not interfere with the rights
of
others: thus, the exercise
of
the natural rights
of
every individual has no limits save those that assure to other members
of
society the enjoyment
of
the same rights."
source: Plan of a Declaration of Rights, 1792.
liberty
,
liberties
,
freedom
,
rights
,
happiness
,
social enjoyments
Edmund Burke:
"The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion."
source: Speech at Country Meeting of Buckinghamshire, 1784.
liberty
,
freedom
,
opression
,
hope
John Witherspoon:
"There is not a single instance in history in which civil liberty was lost, and religious liberty preserved entire. If therefore we yield up our temporal property, we at the same time deliver the conscience into bondage."
source: The Dominion of Providence Over the Passions of Men, 1776.
liberty
,
religious freedom
William Penn:
"There can be no friendship where there is no
freedom
. Friendship loves a free air, and will not be penned up in straight and narrow enclosures. It will speak freely, and act so too; and take nothing ill, where no ill is meant; nay, where is is, it will easily forgive ..."
source: Some Fruits of Solitude, 1693.
friendship
,
companionship
,
freedom
,
forgiveness
John Adams:
"The liberty
of
the press is essential to the security
of
the state."
source: Free-Press Clause, Massachusetts Constitution, 1780.
freedom
of
speech
,
freedom
of
the press
,
security
Benjamin Franklin:
"Printers are educated in the Belief, that when Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage
of
being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."
source: Apology for Printers, 1731.
freedom
of
speech
,
freedom
of
the press
,
opinion
,
debate
Benjamin Franklin:
"If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed."
source: Apology for Printers, 1731.
freedom
of
speech
,
freedom
of
the press
,
printers
,
taking offense
James Madison:
"Although all men are born free, and all nations might be so, yet too true it is, that slavery has been the general lot
of
the human race. Ignorant--they have been cheated; asleep--they have been surprised; divided--the yoke has been forced upon them. But what is the lesson? that because they people may betray themselves, they ought to give themselves up, blindfolded, to those who have an interest in betraying them? Rather conclude that the people ought to be enlightened, to be awakened, to be united, that after establishing a government they should watch over it, as well as obey it. "
source: Essay in the National Gazette, December 20, 1792.
freedom
,
rights
,
slavery
,
ignorance
,
yoke
of
bondage
William Penn:
"Wear none
of
thine own chains; but keep free, whilst thou art free."
source: Some Fruits of Solitude, 1693.
freedom
George Washington:
"Against the insidious wiles
of
foreign influence ... the jealousy
of
a free people ought to be constantly awake; since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one
of
the most baneful foes
of
republican government."
source: Farewell Address, September 17, 1796.
foreign influence
,
foreign affairs
,
jealousy
,
freedom
,
history
,
republic
,
on the dangers
of
too close
of
unions
James Madison:
"As long as the reason
of
man continues fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed."
source: The Federalist Papers, 1787.
facts
,
opinions
,
man's ability to reason
,
freedom
of
choice
,
agency
,
free speech
James Madison:
"It is universally admitted that a well-instructed people alone can be permanently a free people."
source: Second annual message to congress, December 5, 1810.
freedom
,
rights
,
education
,
knowledge
,
wisdom
,
liberty
,
importance
of
proper education
John Adams:
"Children should be educated and instructed in the principles
of
freedom
."
source: Defense of the Constitutions, 1787.
children
,
education
,
knowledge
,
teaching
,
freedom
,
liberty
,
what it means to be american
William Pitt:
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement
of
human
freedom
. IT is the argument
of
tyrants; it is the creed
of
slaves."
source: Speech in the House of Commons, November 18, 1783.
necessity
,
freedom
,
urgency
John Quincy Adams:
"America, with the same voice which spoke herself into existence as a nation, proclaimed to mankind the inextinguishable rights
of
human nature, and the only lawful foundations
of
government."
source: July 4 Address, July 4, 1821.
freedom
,
liberty
,
rights
,
indepedence day
,
government
Charles Carroll:
"Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length
of
time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and pure (and) which insures to be good eternal happiness, are undermining the solid foundation
of
morals, the best security for the duration
of
free governments."
source: Letter to James McHenry, November 4, 1800.
morals
,
religion
,
freedom
,
happiness
,
christianity
Benjamin Franklin:
"If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the philosopher's stone."
source: Poor Richard's Almanack, 1736.
money
,
finances
,
credit
,
debt
,
financial freedom
James Monroe:
"The right
of
self-defense never ceases. It is among the most sacred, and alike necessary to nations and to individuals."
source: Second annual message to Congress, November 16, 1818.
self-defense
,
war
,
conflict
,
freedom
,
national security
James Madison:
"For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security."
source: Message to Congress, November 8, 1808.
freedom
,
war
,
defense
,
security
Fisher Ames:
"A military government may make a nation great, but it cannnot make them free."
source: The Dangers of American Liberty, 1805.
war
,
freedom
,
government
James Madison:
"No free Country has ever been without parties, which are a natural offspring
of
Freedom."
source: Note on his suffrage speech at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, 1787.
political parties
,
freedom
John Jay:
"It is unquestionably true, that the great body
of
the people love their country, and wish it prosperity; and this observation is particularly applicable to the people
of
a free country, for they have more and stronger reasons for loving it than others."
source: Address to the People of New York, 1787.
patriotism
,
love
,
freedom
John Adams:
"Let the pulpit resound with the doctrine and sentiments
of
religious liberty. Let us hear
of
the dignity
of
man's nature, and the noble rank he holds among the works
of
God. [...] Let it be known that British liberties are not grants
of
princes and parliaments."
source: Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law 1765
religious freedom
,
providence
Gouverneur Morris:
"For avoiding the extremes
of
despotism or anarchy ... the only ground
of
hope must be on the morals
of
the people. I believe that religion is the only solid base
of
morals and that morals are the only possible support
of
free governments."
source: "A Diary of the French Revolution", (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1939), Vol. II, p. 172, April 29, 1791; Vol. II, p. 452, to Lord George Gordon, June 28, 1792
Religion
,
Morals
,
Freedom
,
avoid despotism
,
avoid anarchy
Abigail Adams:
"I am more and more convinced that man is a dangerous creature and that power, whether vested in many or a few, is ever grasping, and like the grave cries, "Give, Give."
source: Letter to John Adams, November 27, 1775.
power
,
authority
,
freedom
,
corruption
,
control
John Barnard:
"For one person alone to have the Government
of
a people in his hands, would be too great a Temptation. It tends to excite and draw forth the Pride
of
man, to make him insufferably haughty; it gives him too much liberty to exert his corruptions and it encourages him to become a Tyrant and an oppressor, to dispense with Laws and break the most solemn oaths."
source: The Presence of Great God in the Assembly of Political Rulers, 1746.
power
,
tyranny
,
oppression
,
liberty
,
freedom
,
balance
of
powers
Andrew Hamilton:
"We ought at the same time to be upon our guard against Power, wherever we apprehend that it may affect ourselves or our Fellow-Subjects. ... Power may be justly compared to a great river which, while kept within its due bounds is both beautiful and useful; but when it overflows its banks, is then too impetuous to be stemmed, it bears down all before it and brings destruction and desolation wherever it goes. If this then is the nature
of
power, let us at least do our duty, and likewise men use our utmost care to support liberty, the only bulwark against lawless power."
source: Defense of Peter Zenger, 1735.
power
,
authority
,
liberty
,
freedom
,
oppression
John Hancock:
"We want not courage; it is discipline alone in which we are exceeded by the most formidable troops that ever trod the earth. Surely our hearts flutter no more at the sound
of
war than did those
of
the immortal band
of
Persia, the Macedonian phalanx, the invincible Roman legions, the Turkish janissaries, the gens d'armes
of
France, or the well-known grenadiers
of
Britain. A well-disciplined militia is a safe, an honorable guard to a community like this, whose inhabitants are by nature brave, and are laudably tenacious
of
that
freedom
in which they were born. From a well-regulated militia we have nothing to fear; their interest is the same with that
of
the State. When a country is invaded, the militia are ready to appear in its defense; they march into the field with that fortitude which a consciousness
of
the justice
of
their cause inspires; they do not jeopardize their lives for a master who considers them only as the instruments
of
his ambition, and whom they regard only as the daily dispense
of
the scanty pittance
of
bread and water. No; they fight for their houses, their lands, for their wives, their children; for all who claim the tenderest names, and are held dearest in their hearts; they fight pro aris et focis, for their liberty, and for themselves, and for their God."
source: Boston Massacre Oration, March 5, 1774.
military
,
war
,
courage
,
motivation to bear arms
,
defense
,
bravery
,
men at arms
,
liberty
,
faith
John Jay:
"What reason is there to expect that Heaven will help those who refuse to help themselves; or that Providence will grant liberty to those who want courage to defend it. ... Let not the history
of
the present glorious contest declare to future generations that the people
of
your country, after making the highest professions
of
zeal for the American cause, fled at the first apprearance
of
danger, and behaved like women. ... Instead
of
supplicating the protection
of
your enemies, meet them with arms in your hands--make good your professions, and let not your attachment to
freedom
be manifesteed only in your words."
source: To the General Commitee of Tryon County, July 22, 1777.
Providence
,
patriotism
,
defense
,
honor
Samuel Adams:
"If the liberties
of
America are ever completely ruined,
of
which in my opinion there is now the utmost danger, it will in all probability be the consequence
of
a mistaken notion
of
prudence, which leads men to acquiesce in measures
of
the most destructive tendency for the sake
of
present ease. When designs are form'd to rase the very foundations
of
a free government, those few who are to erect their grandeur and fortunes upon the general ruin, will employ every art to sooth the devoted people into a state
of
indolence, inattention and security. ... They are alarmed at nothing so much, as attempts to awaken the people to jealousy and watchfulness; and it has been an old game played over and over again, to hold up the men who would rouse their fellow citizens and countrymen to a sense
of
their real danger, and spirit them to the most zealous activity in the use
of
all proper means for the
preservation
of
the public liberty, as a 'pretended patriots,' 'intemperate politicians,' rash, hot-headed men, Incendiaries, wretched desperadoes, who, as was said
of
the best
of
men, would turn the world upside down, or have done it already."
source: Essay in the Boston Gazette, 1771.
attention
,
neglect
,
watchfullness
,
public awareness
,
liberties
,
patriotism
James Madison:
"I believe there are more instances
of
the abridgment
of
the
freedom
of
the people by gradual and silent encroachments
of
those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpation [...]. This danger ought to be wisely guarded against. "
source: Elliot, Debates in the State Conventions, 3:87.
corruption
,
loss
of
power
,
subversion
,
conspiracy
John Adams:
"The
preservation
of
the means
of
knowledge among the lowest ranks is
of
more importance to the public than all the property
of
all the rich men in the country."
source: Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, 1765
education for all
,
liberty
,
value
of
education
Alexander Hamilton:
"The principal purposes to be answered by union are these--the common defense
of
the members; the
preservation
of
the public peace, as well against internal convulsions as external attacks; the regulation
of
commerce with other nations and between the States; the superintendence
of
our intercourse, political and commercial, with foreign countries."
source: Federalist Papers, No. 23
reasons for union
,
role
of
federal government
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