The present generation has the same right of self-government which the past one has exercised for itself.

We will be soldiers, so our sons may be farmers, so their sons may be artists

We ought not to schismatize on either men or measures. Principles alone can justify that.

That peace, safety, and concord may be the portion of our native land, and be long enjoyed by our fellow-citizens, is the most ardent wish of my heart, and if I can be instrumental in procuring or preserving them, I shall think I have not lived in vain.

We may consider each generation as a distinct nation, with a right, by the will of its majority, to bind themselves, but none to bind the succeeding generation, more than the inhabitants of another country.

I abhor war and view it as the greatest scourge of mankind.

I have the consolation of having added nothing to my private fortune during my public service, and of retiring with hands clean as they are empty.