"Our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty."

"He who is void of virtuous attachments in private life is, or very soon will be, void of all regard for his country. There is seldom an instance of a man guilty of betraying his country, who had not before lost the feeling of moral obligations in his private connections."

"How strangely will the Tools of a Tyrant pervert the plain Meaning of Words!"

"The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on Earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but only to have the law of nature for his rule."

"The Constitution shall never be construed... to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."

"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."

"The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending against all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks."

"We cannot make events. Our business is wisely to improve them."

"Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: First a right to life, secondly to liberty, and thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can."

"It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men."

"Mankind are governed more by their feelings than by reason."