Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for, I have grown not only gray, but almost blind in the service of my country. - March 15, 1783

No measure can be more desirable, whether viewed with an eye to its intrinsic importance, or to the general sentiment and wish of the Nation than to establish a systematic and effectual arrangement for the regular redemption and discharge of the public debt.

We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience.

[The spirit of party] opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions.

To the efficacy and permanency of your union a government for the whole is indispensable.

I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery.

Thirteen sovereignties pulling against each other and all tugging at the federal head, will soon bring ruin on the whole.