[Oppose] with manly firmness [any] invasions on the rights of the people.

History, in general, only informs us of what bad government is.

The Bible is the cornerstone of liberty ... students perusal of the sacred volume will make us better citizens.

It is rare that the public sentiment decides immorally or unwisely, and the individual who differs from it ought to distrust and examine well his own opinion.

Of the various executive abilities, no one excited more anxious concern than that of placing the interests of our fellow-citizens in the hands of honest men, with understanding sufficient for their stations. No duty is at the same time more difficult to fulfil. The knowledge of character possessed by a single individual is of necessity limited. To seek out the best through the whole Union, we must resort to the information which from the best of men, acting disinterestedly and with the purest motives, is sometimes incorrect.

Reading, reflection and time have convinced me that the interests of society require the observation of those moral precepts only in which all religions agree.

The Declaration of Independence . . . [is the] declaratory charter of our rights, and the rights of man.