Pious Reflection

"It is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it (Constitutional Convention) a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stage of the revolution." ~ James Madison, Federalist 37

To Preserve Liberty

"Whereas, to preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them." ~ Richard Henry Lee, Letters from the Federal Farmer (1788)

The Price of Liberty

"Liberty, without virtue, would be no blessing to us." ~Benjamin Rush

Expectations

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was, and never will be." ~Thomas Jefferson

The Price of Freedom

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." ~Thomas Paine

Impatience

"There is a Passion natural to the Mind of man, especially a free Man, which renders him impatient of Restraint." ~ George Mason, Letter to the Committee of Merchants in London (June 6, 1766)

A Sovereign Body

"Each State, in ratifying the Constitution, is considered as a sovereign body, independent of all others, and only to be bound by its own voluntary act." ~James Madison

Distrust

“All men having power should be distrusted to a certain degree.” ~James Madison

Essential to Moral Order

"The belief in a God All Powerful wise and good, is so essential to the moral order of the world and to the happiness of man, that arguments which enforce it cannot be drawn from too many sources nor adapted with too much solicitude to the different characters and capacities to be impressed with it." ~ James Madison, Letter to Rev. Frederick Beasley (November 20, 1825)

Life and Liberty

"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