We cannot have a society half slave and half free; nor can we have thought half slave and half free. If we create an atmosphere in which men fear to think independently, inquire fearlessly, express themselves freely, we will in the end create the kind of society in which men no longer care to think independently or to inquire fearlessly.

America was born of revolt, flourished in dissent, became great through experimentation.

The greatest danger we face is not any particular kind of thought. The greatest danger we face is absence of thought.

We should not be surprised that the Founding Fathers didn't foresee everything, when we see that the current Fathers hardly ever foresee anything.

The Americans who framed our Constitution felt that without freedom of religion no other freedom counted.

The Bill of Rights was not written to protect governments from trouble. It was written precisely to give the people the constitutional means to cause trouble for governments they no longer trusted.

In the long run [censorship] will create a generation incapable of appreciating the difference between independence of thought and subservience.