Is life so dear, or peace 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!
Congress may carry on the most wicked and pernicious of schemes under the dark veil of secrecy. The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.
It can not 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.
This is all the inheritance I give to my dear family. The religion of Christ will give them one which will make them rich indeed.
The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.
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.
We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists.
I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience.
The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.
I know of no way of judging the future but by the past.
When the American spirit was in its youth, the language of America was different: Liberty, sir, was the primary object.
The Bible is worth all the other books which have ever been printed.
United we stand, divided we fall. Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs.
If this be treason, make the most of it!