Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessings - give us that precious jewel and you may take everything else!

It is when a people forget God, that tyrants forge their chains.

That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of the conscience; and it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other.

[Our Constitution] is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.

It is natural to man to indulge in the illusion of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, till she transforms us into beasts.

Perfect freedom is as necessary to the health and vigor of commerce as it is to the health and vigor of citizenship.

United we stand, divided we fall. Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs.