To Hell

"I would go to hell for my country." ~Thomas Jefferson; upon being appointed commissioner to France, 1785

Acquit Yourselves Like Men

"Banish unmanly fear, acquit yourselves like men, and with firm confidence trust the event with that Almighty and benevolent Being who hath commanded you to hold fast the liberty with which he has made you free; and who is able as well as willing to support you in performing his orders." ~John Jay; July 22, 1777

The Approbation of My Country

"The approbation of my country is what I wish; and, as far as my abilities and opportunities will permit, I hope I shall endeavor to deserve it. It is the highest reward to a feeling mind; and happy are they, who so conduct themselves to merit it." ~George Washington; letter to Patrick Henry, 1778

Familial Ties

"It is not difficult to regard men of every nation as members of the same family; but when placed in that point of view, my fellow citizens appear to me as my brethren, and the others as related to me only in the more distant and adventitious degrees." ~John Jay; letter to Gouverneur Morris, 1783

A Great Mischief

"A standing army is one of the greatest mischiefs that can possibly happen. ~James Madison; Virginia Convention debates, 1787

Liberty's Definition

"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." ~Thomas Paine; Plan of a Declaration of Rights, 1792

The Calm of Despotism

"Timid men...prefer the calm of despotism to the boisterous sea of Liberty." ~Thomas Jefferson; letter to Philip Mazzei, 1796

The Purchase of Liberty

"Liberty cannot be purchased by a wish." ~Thomas Paine; letter to the people of France, 1792

Federal Judiciary

"The great object of my fear is the federal judiciary. That body, like gravity,ever acting, with noiseless foot, and unalarming advance, gaining ground step by step, and holding what it gains, is ingulfing insidiously the special governments into the jaws of that which feeds them." ~Thomas Jefferson; letter to Charles Hammon, 1821