To lay taxes to provide for the general welfare of the United States, that is to say, 'to lay taxes for the purpose of providing for the general welfare.' For the laying of taxes is the power, and the general welfare the purpose for which the power is to be exercised. They are not to lay taxes ad libitum for any purpose they please; but only to pay the debts or provide for the welfare of the Union.

It is between fifty and sixty years since I read it (i.e. the Book of Revelations), and I then considered it merely the ravings of a maniac, no more worthy nor capable of explanation than the incoherence of our own nightly dreams.

the qualifications for self-government in society are not innate. they are the result of habit and long training.

An occasional insurrection will not weigh against the inconveniences of a government of force, such as are monarchies and aristocracies.

No government should be without critics. If its intentions are good then it has nothing to fear from criticism.

If the measures which have been pursued are approved by the majority, it is the duty of the minority to acquiesce and conform.

It is an axiom in my mind that our liberty can never be safe but in the hands of the people themselves, and that too of the people with a certain degree of instruction. This it is the business of the state to effect, and on a general plan.