The ultimate arbiter is the people of the Union.

No provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that which protects the rights of conscience against the enterprises of the civil authority.

A Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to against every government, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference.

The purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness. Government exists for the interests of the governed, not for the governors.

Laws ... proportionate and mild should never be dispensed with. Let mercy be the character of the law-giver, but let the judge be a mere machine.

The cement of this union is in the heart blood of every American. I do not believe there is on earth a government established on so immovable a basis.

The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object.