I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people except for a few public officials.
Nothing so strongly impels a man to regard the interest of his constituents, as the certainty of returning to the general mass of the people, from whence he was taken, where he must participate in their burdens.
Those gentlemen, who will be elected senators, will fix themselves in the federal town, and become citizens of that town more than of your state.
That the people have a Right to mass and to bear arms; that a well regulated militia composed of the Body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper natural and safe defense of a free state, that standing armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, and therefore ought to be avoided...
Considering the natural lust for power so inherent in man, I fear the thirst of power will prevail to oppress the people.
Happiness and Prosperity are now within our Reach; but to attain and preserve them must depend upon our own Wisdom and Virtue.
Don’t wait around for your life to happen to you. Find something that makes you happy, and do it. Because everything else is all just background noise.