America is a land of wonders, in which everything is in constant motion and every change seems an improvement.

To get the inestimable good that freedom of the press assures one must know how to submit to the inevitable evil it gives rise to.

The taste for well-being is the prominent and indelible feature of democratic times.

When I refuse to obey an unjust law, I do not contest the right of the majority to command, but I simply appeal from the sovereignty of the people to the sovereignty of mankind.

Rulers who destroy men's freedom commonly begin by trying to retain its forms. ... They cherish the illusion that they can combine the prerogatives of absolute power with the moral authority that comes from popular assent.

Consider any individual at any period of his life, and you will always find him preoccupied with fresh plans to increase his comfort. Do not talk to him about the interests and rights of the human race; that little private business of his for the moment absorbs all his thoughts, and he hopes that public disturbances can be put off to some other time.

If an American was condemned to confine his activity to his own affairs, he would be robbed of one half of his existence.