Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends [life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness] it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government.

Every man is under the natural duty of contributing to the necessities of the society; and this is all the laws should enforce on him.

I advance it therefore as a suspicion only, that the blacks, whether originally a distinct race, or made distinct by time and circumstances, are inferior to the whites in the endowments of both body and mind.

During the late war I had an infallible rule for deciding what Great Britain would do on every occasion. It was, to consider what they ought to do, and to take the reverse of that as what they would assuredly do, and I can say with truth that I was never deceived.

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

Rebellion to tyranny is obedience to God.

I hope that we have not labored in vain, and that our experiment will still prove that men can be governed by reason.