Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.
Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.
The end of democracy and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations.
Truth between candid minds can never do harm.
The government you elect is the government you deserve.
When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty.
Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
A true patriot will defend his country from its government.
Equal rights for all, special privileges for none
Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases.
To learn, you have to listen. To improve, you have to try.
The cornerstone of democracy rests on the foundation of an educated electorate.
Does the government fear us? Or do we fear the government? When the people fear the government, tyranny has found victory. The federal government is our servant, not our master!
Men of quality are not threatened by women of equality
The press is impotent when it abandons itself to falsehood.
The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite.
The boisterous sea of liberty is never without a wave.
Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.
Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . . . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.
When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.
Difference of opinion leads to inquiry, and inquiry to the truth.
It is neither wealth nor splendor; but tranquility and occupation which give you happiness.
Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none.
The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time.
Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.
There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequal people.
The man who would choose security over freedom deserves neither.
Nothing is unchangeable but the inherent and unalienable rights of man.
The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others.
When you abandon freedom to achieve security, you lose both and deserve neither.
The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.
Never spend your money before you have earned it.
There is no justification for taking away individuals' freedom in the guise of public safety.
When the representative body have lost the confidence of their constituents, when they have notoriously made sale of their most valuable rights, when they have assumed to themselves powers which the people never put into their hands, then indeed their continuing in office becomes dangerous to the state
The purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness. Government exists for the interests of the governed, not for the governors.
No government should be without critics. If its intentions are good then it has nothing to fear from criticism.
A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.
If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed.
An informed citizenry is at the heart of a dynamic democracy.
A candle loses nothing when it lights another candle.
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.
Leave no authority existing not responsible to the people.
The only security of all is in a free press.
A private central bank issuing the public currency is a greater menace to the liberties of the people than a standing army. We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.
Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.
To consider judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions is a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy.
Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.
