A Moral Republic

"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 are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments."
Charles Carroll

Liberty's Teeth

"Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth."

George Washington

An Asylum on Earth

"Courage, then, my countrymen, our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty"

Samuel Adams

Second Amendment

"Americans need never fear their government because of the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation."

Gouverneur Morris

Arm Yourselves

"A popular Government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives."

James Madison

Public Weal

"That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation or community; of all the various modes and forms of government that is best, which is capable of producing the greatest degree of happiness and safety and is most effectually secured against the danger of maladministration; and that, whenever any government shall be found inadequate or contrary to these purposes, a majority of the community hath an indubitable, unalienable, and indefeasible right to reform, alter or abolish it, in such manner as shall be judged most conducive to the public weal"

George Mason; Virginia Declaration of Rights, 1776

Delegated Powers

"The powers delegated to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the state governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, [such] as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce. The powers reserved to the several states will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people."

Sacred Rights

"The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the Divinity itself; and can never be erased."

Alexander Hamilton

Gifts from God

"The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time: the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them."

Thomas Jefferson

Food Safety and Modernization Act

"If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny."
Thomas Jefferson

Divine Interposition

“I am sure that never was a people, who had more reason to acknowledge a Divine interposition in their affairs, than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency, which was so often manifested during our Revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them.”

George Washington

Thanksgiving Proclamation

"Forasmuch as it is the indispensable duty of all men to adore the superintending providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with gratitude their obligation to him for benefits received, and to implore such farther blessings as they stand in need of; and it having pleased him in his abundant mercy not only to continue to us the innumerable bounties of his common providence, but also smile upon us in the prosecution of a just and necessary war, for the defense and establishment of our unalienable rights and liberties.

"It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive powers of these United States, to set apart Thursday, the 18th day of December next, for solemn thanksgiving and praise; that with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts, and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor; and that together with their sincere acknowledgments and offerings, they may join the penitent confession of their manifold sins, whereby they had forfeited every favor, and their humble and earnest supplication that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of remembrance; that it may please him graciously to afford his blessings on the governments of these states respectively, . . . with that wisdom and fortitude which may render them fit instruments, under the providence of Almighty God, to secure for these United States the greatest of all blessings, independence and peace; . . . and to prosper the means of religion for the promotion and enlargement of that kingdom which consisteth in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost."

George Washington, Thanksgiving Proclamation, October 14, 1789

Duty is Ours

‎"Duty is ours; results are God's."
John Quincy Adams

Foundations in Christ

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation
was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions,
but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
Patrick Henry

Doing Good to the Poor

"I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I traveled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer"


Benjamin Franklin

Future Happiness

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.

Thomas Jefferson

In the Middle

"I agree with you that in politics the middle way is none at all"

John Adams; Letter to Horatio Gates March 1776

Obligations

“It is a misfortune incident to republican government, though in a less
degree than to other governments, that those who administer it may
forget their obligations to their constituents, and prove unfaithful to
their important trust,”
~James Madison

Counting Your Vote

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost."

John Quincy Adams

Character of Public Men

"Nothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust be men of unexceptionable characters. The public cannot be too curious concerning the character of public men."

Samuel Adams; Letter to James Warren, November 4, 1775

Governmental Restraint

"In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men the great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable the government to control the governed, and in the next place, oblige it to control itself."

Alexander Hamilton

Built Upon the Rock

“ God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?
"We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel”

Benjamin Franklin
–Constitutional Convention of 1787 | original manuscript of this speech

Right and Wrong

"A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right."

Thomas Paine

Power of Consent

"No power on earth has a right to take our property from us without our consent."

John Jay

Religion: A Solid Base

"Religion is the solid basis of good morals; therefore education should teach the precepts of religion, and the duties of man toward God."

Gouverneur Morris

Redistribution of Wealth

"To take from one because it is thought that his own industry and that of his father’s has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association—the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it."

Thomas Jefferson

Welfare

"The republic will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work, and give to those who would not."

Thomas Jefferson

Redistribution of Wealth

"Be forewarned, the pooling of property and the redistributing of wealth are despotic and unconstitutional."

Samuel Adams

Experienced Patriots

"If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin."

Samuel Adams

A Free Press

"The only security of all is in a free press."

Thomas Jefferson

Happily for America

"Happily for America, happily, we trust, for the whole human race, they pursued a new and more noble course. They accomplished a revolution which has no parallel in the annals of human society."

James Madison,

Necessary Evil

"Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one."

Thomas Paine

"Every member of the State ought diligently to read and to study the Constitution of his country. ... By knowing their rights, they will sooner perceive when they are violated and be the better prepared to defend and assert them."

John Jay

God Governs

"I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth -- that God Governs the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?"

Benjamin Franklin

"...a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever."

John Adams

The Time is at Hand

"The time is near at hand which must determine whether American's are to be free men or slaves."

George Washington

Virtuous Attachment

"He who is void of virtuous Attachments in private Life, is, or very soon will be void of all Regard for his Country. There is seldom an Instance of a Man guilty of betraying his Country, who had not before lost the Feeling of moral Obligations in his private Connections."

Samuel Adams; Letter to James Warren, November 4, 1775

Who Are the Militia?

"When the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great Britain, the British Parliament was advised by an artful man, who was governor of Pennsylvania, to disarm the people; that it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them; but that they should not do it openly, but weaken them, and let them sink gradually...I ask, who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers. But I cannot say who will be the militia of the future day. If that paper on the table gets no alteration, the militia of the future day may not consist of all classes, high and low, and rich and poor..."

George Mason

Limited Government

"The several states composing the United States of America are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their general government; but by a compact under the style and title of a Constitution for the United States, and of amendments thereto, they constituted a general government for special purposes [and] delegated to that government certain definite powers and whensoever the general government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force. To this compact each state acceded as a state, and is an integral party, its co-states forming, as to itself, the other party. The government created by this compact was not made the exclusive or final judge of the extent of the powers delegated to itself, since that would have made its discretion, and not the Constitution the measure of its powers."

Thomas Jefferson

Public Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer

“RESOLVED, That it be, and hereby is recommended to the good People of this Colony of all Denominations, that THURSDAY the Eleventh Day of May next be set apart as a Day of Public Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer...to confess the sins...to implore the Forgiveness of all our Transgression...and a blessing on the Husbandry, Manufactures, and other lawful Employments of this People; and especially that the union of the American Colonies in Defense of their Rights (for hitherto we desire to thank Almighty GOD) may be preserved and confirmed....And that AMERICA may soon behold a gracious Interposition of Heaven.”

John Hancock

Firearms

"Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth."

George Washington

Voluminous Laws

"It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood."

James Madison

Preserving Liberty

"To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."

Richard Henry Lee

Restraining Government

“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.”

Patrick Henry

Idle Silence

"As we must account for every idle word, so must we account for every idle silence."

Benjamin Franklin

Tyranny and Oppression

"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."

James Madison

Freedom Abridged

"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."

James Madison

Legal Immigrants Welcome

"Born in other countries, yet believing you could be happy in this, our laws acknowledge, as they should do, your right to join us in society, conforming, as I doubt not you will do, to our established rules. That these rules shall be as equal as prudential considerations will admit, will certainly be the aim of our legislatures, general and particular."

Thomas Jefferson

Revolution

"O sir, we should have fine times, indeed, if, to punish tyrants, it were only sufficient to assemble the people! Your arms, wherewith you could defend yourselves, are gone; and you have no longer an aristocratical, no longer a democratical spirit. Did you ever read of any revolution in a nation, brought about by the punishment of those in power, inflicted by those who had no power at all"

Patrick Henry; Virginia Ratifying Convention 1778

Right of the People

"The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government But the Constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish Government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established Government"

George Washington; Farewell Address

Big Government

"A government, big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have."

Thomas Jefferson

The Spirit of Encroachment

"It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution, in those intrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism. A just estimate of that love of power, and proneness to abuse it, which predominates in the human heart, is sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of this position. The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by dividing and distributing it into different depositories, and constituting each the Guardian of the Public Weal against invasions by the others, has been evinced by experiments ancient and modern; some of them in our country and under our own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. 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 instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. The precedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit, which the use can at any time yield..."

George Washington; Farewell Address

Sea of Liberty

"Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty."

Thomas Jefferson

Solemnity

“[Independence Day] will be the most memorable epoch 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 shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”
– John Adams
From a letter written to Abigail on the day the Declaration was approved by Congress

The Importance of Historical Background

"Do not separate text from historical background. If you do, you will have perverted and subverted the Constitution, which can only end in a distorted, bastardized form of illegitimate government."

James Madison

Where Liberty Dwells

"Where liberty dwells, there is my country"

Benjamin Franklin (Attributed) in a letter to Benjamin Vaughn 1783

Duties

"While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian."

George Washington, General Orders; May 2, 1778

The Finger of God

"For my own part, I sincerely esteem it [the Constitution] a system which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests."

Alexander Hamilton
1787 after the Constitutional Convention

Defending Those We Disagree With

"He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself."

Thomas Paine

A Moral and Religious People

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

John Adams

I Am Old Glory

I know this isn't a Founder's Quote, but if you're reading this blog, I will surmise that you love this country as much as I do.
Here is a tribute to Flag Day

I Am Old Glory by Howard Schnauber


I am the flag of the United States of America.

I fly atop the world's tallest buildings.
I stand watch in America's halls of justice.
I stand side by side with the Maple Leaf on
the worlds' longest undefended border.
I fly majestically over institutions of learning.
I stand guard with power in the world.
Look up and see me.

I stand for peace, honor, truth and justice.
I stand for freedom.
I am confident.
I am arrogant.
I am proud.

When I am flown with my fellow banners,
my head is a little higher,
my colors a little truer.

I bow to no one!
I am recognized all over the world.
I am worshipped — I am saluted.
I am loved — I am revered.
I am respected — and I am feared.

I have fought in every battle of every war
for more then 200 years.
I was flown at Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Shiloh and Appomattox.
I was there at San Juan Hill, the trenches of France,
in the Argonne Forest, Anzio, Rome and the beaches of Normandy.
Guam, Okinawa, Korea and KheSan, Saigon, Vietnam know me,
I was there.

I led my troops, I was dirty, battle worn and tired,
but my soldiers cheered me And I was proud.
I have been burned, torn and trampled on the streets of
countries I have helped set free. It does not hurt,
for I am invincible.

I have been soiled upon, burned, torn and trampled on
the streets of my country. And when it's by those whom
I've served in battle — it hurts.
But I shall overcome — for I am strong.

I have slipped the bonds of Earth and stood watch over
the uncharted frontiers of space from my vantage point on the moon.
I have borne silent witness to all of America's finest hours.
But my finest hours are yet to come.

When I am torn into strips and used as bandages for my wounded
comrades on the battlefield, When I am flown at
half-mast to honor my soldier, Or when I lie in the
trembling arms of a grieving parent at the grave of their
fallen son or daughter, I am proud.

MY NAME IS OLD GLORY. LONG MAY I WAVE.

Question with Boldness

"Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear."

Thomas Jefferson

Favorable Interpositions

"We have abundant reason to thank Providence for it's many favorable interposition in our behalf. It has at times been my only dependence, for all other resources seemed to have failed us."

George Washington to Reverend William Gordon

Acting my Part

"Whether I shall live to rejoice with the Friends of Liberty and Virtue, my fellow laborers in the common cause, is a matter of no consequence. I will endeavor by God's assistance to act my little part well -- to appove myself to him and trust everything which concerns me to His ...all-gracious providence."
-- Samuel Adams, Nov. 7, 1775,... letter to his wife Betsy

Igniting the Flame

"On every question of construction, carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed." --Thomas Jefferson

Keeping Liberty's Flame

Those of you who follow my other blog, My Book of Common Days, know of my political leanings.

I have decided to let you hear from our Founding Fathers and occasionally our Founding Mother's, in order that you may learn to love them as I do; that you need not take my word for things, you can hear it from them.

I make no secret that I watch Glenn Beck; I owe the inspiration for this endeavor to him.
It is my humble wish that through this blog, we can learn to be Keepers of Liberty in our homes and in our communities; we are in desperate need of a Restoration of the founding principles, and hopefully, through the Founder’s own words, we can begin together to restore the Constitution; to restore Faith, honor, dignity, respect, honesty and duty to our lives and patriotism for our beloved Republic.