Patriotic Quotes
QUOTES
Death, Taxes, and Liberals will always be with us, at least Death never gets any worse!
“The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.” Bible Old Testament Ecclesiastes 10:2 New International Version
“We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees..." Barack Obama on CNN in Roseburg, Oregon, May 16, 2008
"I hope Obama's riot police have full auto assault weapons with armor-piercing rounds. I hear false teeth can deflect normal NATO rounds." Overheard at the Quincy Tea Party gathering when President Obama had SWAT teams in full riot gear and snipers on the rooftops to protect him from the scary little old tea party ladies (check out the videos of the event on the video tab)
"A man is known by the company he keeps." Consider these: Bill Ayers, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Saul Alinsky, Louis Farrakhan, Khalid al-Mansour, Saudi Royal Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.
Saul Alinsky learned his tricks from Al Capone and Frank Nitti and Barack Obama learned these same tricks from Saul Alinski.
Saul Alinski was an honorary member of Al Capone's infamous mob in Chicago & was also a personal friend of Frank Nitti & learned their ways well.
Why did it not bother anyone in 08 that Barack Obama had close ties to Bill Ayers, Saul Alinski and indirectly ties to Al Capone and Frank Nitti?
Newsmax Politico Poll: 38% of voters Would Still Vote to Re-Elect Obama today http://bit.ly/9bYNak My dear Lord, Why on earth? Who are these people?
Concerning the Constitution, Phil "No Worries" Hare says "I believe it says we have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" (of course, we all know that quote comes from the Declaration of Independence.)
“I don’t worry about the constitution on this to be honest” -Phil "No Worries" Hare in regards to the healthcare bill that he voted Yes for
Why does it not bother 38% of voters today that Barack Obama had close ties to Bill Ayers and Saul Alinski & indirectly ties to Al Capone and Frank Nitti?
"Barack Obama was trained by Saul Alinsky's Industrial Areas Foundation (I.A.F.) prior to teaching there himself." Alexandria Merrell
"Saul Alinsky's teachings have become required reading in political science classes in liberal Universities around the globe."@Alex_Merrell
“The (I.A.F.) Industrial Areas Foundation Training Institute became Alinsky's indoctrination & training camp designed to instruct radicals in the ways of agitation and community organizing.” Alexandria Merrell @alex_merrell
"I would seriously rather have the first 535 random names out of Galesburg phone book than those 535 in Congress right now!" MEH
"A representative form of government only works if we the people are paying attention." MEH
"Career politicians saying they are public servants living a life of public service makes me want to puke. GIVE ME A BREAK!" MEH
"Politics is dirty business and far too many people have been too afraid to get dirty and left DC to itself." MEH
"In our democratic republic representative form of government we are the boss, we only vote for our representatives and they are supposed to vote for us, and if they don't the way we want them to we vote them out." MEH
"Politics broken down into its parts: poly+ticks definition = many ticks, blood sucking insects, that are sucking the very life right out of America." MEH
"Do you know who your elected representatives are and more importantly do they know who you are? I guarantee you I know who mine are and they know who I am, and let me tell you, they don't like me so much. But that's OK, at least they will know I tried to get them to listen." MEH
"We have representatives now who 'don't worry about the constitution' or know the difference between Declaration of independence and Constitution. (Phil Hare) This is a travesty!" MEH
"T.E.A = Taxed Enough Already, no taxation without representation just like the first tea party when the patriots threw the British tea into the Boston harbor." MEH
"The American people are sick and tired of being lectured to instead of listened to!" MEH
"A former football coach for the Detroit Lions once said “Potential is interesting but performance is everything.” if we don't vote all our emailing, calling, speeches, rallies facebooking, tweeting, canvassing etc. are just words. We have a lot of potential to really change America for the good but if we don't vote and get our people to the polls it has all just been words." MEH
“'Does that star spangled banner YET wave?' That was a question then, and even more so right now." MEH
"Janet Alquist, grandma, wife of a WWII vet went out to
the intersection of highways K and N near her home in O'Fallon, MO,
holding a sign all alone in a lawn chair on a Saturday morning. Next
Saturday 10 people joined her and the Saturday after that 50 or so more
joined her and now every Saturday, no matter what the weather for over a
year now hundreds of patriots gather with Janet Allquist and seekers of
truth, the media, and politicians go out there to talk to the K&N
Patriots. One little grandmother with a sign sitting in a lawn chair all
alone on a Saturday is all it took to start a brush fire of patriotism!" MEH
Politics is dirty business and because of that good people left Washington DC to itself and look where that got us! My dad told me, “Son, you don't have to
stay dirty when your work is finished, but don't ever let me catch you
being afraid to get dirty.” MEH
"Remember
in November the mental image of Nancy Pelosi with that giant gavel
smiling like a chessie cat and saying, “In your face America!” Never
forget that image. Let it motivate you every day. I sure do!" MEH
"Coach
John McKay 26 was asked why the newly formed Tampa Bay Buccaneers
football team lost 26 straight games in a row. He said this: 'We don't
play well at home and we don't play well on the road and I haven't found
anywhere else to play!' That is how the sleeping giant let our country
get so messed up, by not playing the politics game well anywhere." MEH
"The
statement by Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address 'Of the people by the
people for the people.' was preceded by a mention of 'the honored dead.' The honored dead gave us right to vote and just who are the honored dead? Our Veterans! That's who!" MEH
"Don't
just vote yourself but drag at least 5 people with you screaming and
kicking if you have to! I have. You can ask my wife and kids. I have
called to make sure people voted and if they hadn't I have asked them
what it would take to get them to do so. I have hauled people off
combines out of the middle of fields and taken them to the polls and
hauled them back to their combines!" MEH
"When our candidates win in November the battle has only just begun, we
must stay vigilant to hold their feet to the fire or Washington will
turn them into more just like what we have now." MEH
"In
the Old Testament book of Esther Mordecai said to Queen Esther 'perhaps
you were born for such a time as this.' I believe we in the Tea Party
were born for such a time as this!" MEH
"Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return." -- Colin Powell
"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." John Quincy Adams
"A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"If our country is worth dying for in time of war let us resolve that it is truly worth living for in time of peace." Hamilton Fish
"We have enjoyed so much freedom for so long that we are perhaps in danger of forgetting how much blood it cost to establish the Bill of Rights." Felix Frankfurter
"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names." John F. Kennedy
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." John F. Kennedy
"Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth." John F. Kennedy
"There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" Robert F Kennedy
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Martin Luther King Jr.
"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." Martin Luther King Jr.
"It is the love of country that has lighted and that keeps glowing the holy fire of patriotism." J. Horace Mcfarland
"This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in." Teddy Roosevelt
"The contest for ages has been to rescue liberty from the grasp of executive power." Daniel Webster
"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government." Edward Abbey
"A good historian is timeless; although he is a patriot, he will never flatter his country in any respect." Francois Fenelon
"A politician will do anything to keep his job, even become a patriot." William Randolph Hearst
"NAFTA and GATT have about as much to do with free trade as the Patriot Act has to do with liberty."
Michael Badnarik
"The patriot volunteer, fighting for country and his rights, makes the most reliable soldier on earth."
Thomas J. Jackson
"Our country, right or wrong." When right to be kept right; when wrong to be put right." ~Carl Schurz
"My
God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are
in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!" ~Thomas
Jefferson
- "I bet after seeing us, George Washington would sue us for calling him "father." Will Rogers
- "America will never be destroyed from the outside.If we falter and lose our freedoms,it will be because we destroyed ourselves." Abe Lincoln
- "I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him." Abraham Lincoln
- "If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end, it would probably be Labor Day Weekend." Doug Larson
- "I'm proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is -- I could be just as proud for half the money." Arthur Godfrey
- "There is nothing wrong with America that the faith, love of freedom, intelligence, and energy of her citizens can not cure." Dwight David Eisenhower
"Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us." William Orville Douglas
"The American mind, unlike the English, is not formed by books, but, as Carl Sandburg once said to me, by newspapers and the Bible." Van Wyck Brooks
"Americans will put up with anything provided it doesn't block traffic." (Enoch) Arnold Bennett
"We must stop talking about the American dream and start listening to the dreams of Americans." Reubin Askew
"We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and the oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender." -- Sir Winston Leonard Spenser Churchill
"Nancy Pelosi said she was going to drain the swamp. All she did was add more gators to it, but the voters will drain it for her in November" Mark E. Howerter
"Never give in — never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." Winston Churchill
"Never, never, never give up." Winston Churchill
“You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.” Winston Churchill
“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.” Winston Churchill
"It is no use saying, 'We are doing our best.' You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary." Winston Churchill
"If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack." Winston Churchill
"If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack." Winston Churchill
"The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." Winston Churchill
"These are the days when the Christian is expected to praise every creed except his own." - 8-11-1928 GK Chesterton
"Once the sword and shield of conservative America the Republican party has abandoned our values and beliefs." Alexandria Merrell
Peasant: "What are you doing about the war on poverty ?" King: "Nothing. Its over, and you lost!"
"A citizen can hardly distinguish between a tax and a fine, except that the fine is generally much lighter." - ILN, 5/25/31 Chesterton
"It's not that we don't have enough scoundrels to curse; it's that we don't have enough good men to curse them" 3/14/08 GK Chesterton
"These are the days when the Christian is expected to praise every creed except his own." - ILN 8-11-28 G K Chesterton
"It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged." - The Cleveland Press, 3/1/1921 GK Chesterton
"For fear of the newspapers politicians are dull, and at last they are too dull even for the newspapers." - G K Chesterton 1910
"He is a [sane] man who can have tragedy in his heart and comedy in his head." - Tremendous Trifles, 1909 G K Chesterton
"Impartiality is a pompous name for indifference, which is an elegant name for ignorance." - The Speaker, 12/15/1900 G K Chesterton
"No woman shall be left aboard this ship because Ben Guggenheim is a coward." (before Titanic sank)
"Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions." - G K Chesterton
"If you attempt an actual argument with a modern paper of opposite politics, you will have no answer except slanging or silence." GK Chesterton
"The Opinion of others I very little regard, & have a thorough Contempt for all men, be their Names Characters & Stations what they may, who appear to be the irreclaimable Enemies of Religion & Liberty.
"Toleration is not the opposite of Intolerance, but is the counterfeit of it..." Thomas Paine
"Whose government is it anyway? Of the people by the people for the people? They're lecturing to us instead of listening to us.Vote them out" Mark E. Howerter
"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government lest it come to dominate our lives and interests." Patrick Henry
"Don’t be cocky or overconfident. Don’t decide you’ve done all you need to or can do. Victory is ours, but we must fight all the way to November." Mark E. Howerter
"The American people are sick and tired of being lectured to instead of being being listened to by the President & Congress." Mark E. Howerter
"The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war." ~ General George S. Patton
"Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it." - Henry David Thoreau
"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good." ~ Samuel Johnson
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." ~ Thomas Jefferson
"The measure of a mans real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out." - Thomas MacAulay
"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." - Thomas Edison
"People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses, or the problems of modern society."Coach Vince Lombardi
“A man’s admiration for absolute government is proportionate to the contempt he feels for those around him.” ~ Tocqueville
Coach Bear Bryant said, "It's not the will to win that matters - everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters."
Coach Bear Bryant said, "There's a lot of blood, sweat, and guts between dreams and success." Blood, sweat and guts then until November!
"Government is like baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end & no sense of responsibility at the other." ~ Ronald Reagan
"The public cannot be too curious concerning the characters of public men." -- Samuel Adams
"The difference between a successful person & others is not a lack of strength or knowledge, but rather in a lack of will." -VinceLombardi"
"Government is like baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end & no sense of responsibility at the other." ~ Ronald Reagan
"Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't." -Jerry Rice
"The Alaska senate race should help convince folks that their one vote really does matter!" "The public cannot be too curious
concerning the characters of public men." -- Samuel Adams "The
price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled
by evil men." - Plato "Never despair, but if you do, work on in despair." –
Edmund Burke "Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but the
Democrats believe every day is April 15th." ~ Ronald Reagan "Barack Obama has abandoned America at the place where
America’s heart was broken nine years ago..." Deb Burlingame
sister of 9/11 US pilot "My reading of history convinces me that most bad government
results from too much government." ~ Thomas Jefferson It is totally up to us patriots to take back our country. If not
us then who? If not right now then when? Vote & make sure friends
& family do "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
~ Thomas Jefferson "To compel a man 2 subsidize with his taxes the
propagation of ideas which he disbelieves & abhors is sinful
& tyrannical." Thomas Jefferson "Man is not free unless government is limited...as government
expands, liberty contracts." Ronald Reagan "Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is
legalized robbery." - Calvin Coolidge "It is the duty of the patriot to
protect his country from its government." Thomas Paine" "If ever time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the
highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its
experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." Sam Adams Great Quote by Senator DeMint "If President Obama's motto is 'Yes, we can,' the Constitution's is "No, you can't."
“Freedom is never more than one
generation away from extinction” -- Ronald Reagan" “I must study politics and war, that
my sons may have the liberty to study mathematics and philosophy..."
John Adams
"If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome." -Michael Jordan
"Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it." -Lou Holtz
"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." -Martin Luther King Jr.
"Always give without remembering & always receive without forgetting." -Brian Tracy
"I intend to live forever -- so far, so good!"
" Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little." ~ Edmund Burke
"Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it." - Henry David Thoreau
"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good." ~ Samuel Johnson
"I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle." Winston Churchill
Ben Franklin said, "Democracy is 2 wolves and a sheep voting on whats for dinner, Liberty is a well armed sheep contesting the vote."
"Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature." Benjamin Franklin
"Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail"~Ralph Waldo Emerson I plan on leaving a vapor trail. Mark E. Howerter
"God, grant me the serenity: To accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And wisdom to know the difference." Serenity Prayer
"God, grant me the serenity: To accept things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And the firepower to make the difference." Mark E. Howerter
"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." ~Bill Cosby
"Obama is usurping the power and the rights of the American people using techniques developed by Saul Alinski, a notorious militant terrorist con artist who hid his activities behind the term "community organizer." ~ Alexandria Merrell in her excellent book "Rules for Republican Radicals" now available on kindle for $9.99 at www.amazon.com
"Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results." ~ George S. Patton
"He who talks to you about others, talks to others about you."
"Try to look unimportant; the enemy may be low on ammo and not want to waste a bullet on you!"
"Has anyone heard about the agnostic dyslexic insomniac ... ... who used to lay awake nights wondering if there really was a Dog?" --Mark Marikos
"When the government fears the People, that is Liberty. When the People fear the Government, that is tyranny". --Thomas Jefferson
"The greatest glory of the American Revolution was this: It connected in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity." --John Quincy Adams
"Things don't turn up in this world until somebody turns them up."--James A. Garfield
"In America we have four boxes used to guarantee our liberty:The soap box, the ballot box, the jury box and the cartridge box""It is both possible and moral, to love one's country and hate its government."--Dr. Walter E. Williams
If you can read this you weren't aborted. Call you mom and thank her.
The most dangerous place in America for a child it its mother's womb.
In America every third baby dies from abortion.
"Those who survived the San Francisco earthquake said, 'Thank God I'm still alive.' But, of course, those who died, their lives will never be the same again." --U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer:
Isn't it something that the gold men will steal and die for here is just the asphalt we will walk on in heaven?
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." --NFL Baltimore Colts hall of fame receiver Raymond Berry
"This is the worst disaster in California since I was elected."--California Governor Pat Brown on a local flood
"The Constitution may not be perfect, but it's a lot better than what the government's using these days." --anon
"Congress is thinking about eliminating a federal program under which scientists broadcast signals to Alien beings. This would be a large mistake. Alien beings have atomic blaster death cannons. You cannot cut off their federal programs as if they were merely poor people."-Dave Barry
"To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society"-- Theodore Roosevelt
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." --Thomas
Jefferson
"There are three side effects of acid. Enhanced long term memory, decreased short term memory, and I forget the third." -- Timothy Leary
Know why tree-huggers make a bigger fuss over fur than leather? It is easier to harass rich old women than biker gangs!
"A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul."--George Bernard Shaw
The family that prays together stays together. The family that shoots together should not be messed with!
Middle of the Road: The spot where politicians pause when turning left and where they get hit by traffic coming from both sides.
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away
from those who are willing to work and give to those who would
not." --Thomas Jefferson
"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government." ~ Thomas Jefferson
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." ~ Thomas Jefferson
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~ Thomas Jefferson
"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." Thomas Jefferson
"America has become a nation of ultra-thin-skinned, whining little girls, afraid of our own shadows and so cowardly as to back away from the simple solution of speaking the truth..." Ted Nugent
"When
it comes to diversity, tolerance & accepting just about anything,
people have become so open minded their brains fell out." Mark E. Howerter
"The Obama family has had more vacations just in July this year alone than the wife and I have had in the last 15 years combined. Mark E. Howerter
"The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato
"Is it any coincidence that Titanic sunk on April 15th--tax day? The government sinks a lot of our "ships" every April 15th." Mark E. Howerter
"Man is not free unless government is limited...as government expands, liberty contracts." Ronald Reagan
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." Abraham Lincoln
"Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but the democrats believe every day is April 15th." ~ Ronald Reagan
Tip Of The Week: When going through airport customs and you are asked "Do you have any firearms with you?" Do not reply "What do you need?"
"It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action." Thomas Paine
"It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from its government." Thomas Paine
"Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery. "- Calvin Coolidge
Jesus wasn't for gun control! NIV Luke 11:21 "When a strong man, FULLY ARMED, guards his own house, his possessions are safe."
How do you spell relief? I spell it V O T E. November's coming & I can hardly wait. I'll fight my way through a 100 armed Panthers to VOTE!
"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan." Prov. 29:2 (NKJV) GROAN G R O A N
Here's the Formula: Hatred + Government + Disarmed Civilians = Genocide
How could governments kill so many people? Governments had the power & the people, the victims, were unable to resist. They'd been unarmed.
In the 20th Century Governments murdered millions more people than were killed by common criminals.
In the 20th Century Governments murdered four times as many civilians as were killed in all the international and domestic wars combined.
When the civilians are defenseless by being disarmed and their government goes bad, thousands and millions of innocents die. Proven fact.
Disarmed people are neither free nor safe - they become the criminals' prey and the tyrants' playthings.
What disarms the citizens? The idea of "gun control." It's the idea that only the government has the right to possess firearms. www.jpfo.org
Mother of All Stats: Human Cost of "Gun Control" Ideas The Genocide Chart www.JPFO.org JEWS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF FIREARMS OWNERSHIP
One of my favorite websites for over 20 years: JEWS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF FIREARMS OWNERSHIP http://www.jpfo.org/
- Aristotle considered the possession of arms synonymous with possession of political power. (Book 3, ch VII)
- In Aristotle's "Politics," "each citizen should work to earn his own living, participate in political...affairs, & should bear arms. "
- Plato and Aristotle agreed on the importance of arms-bearing to a society's political structure http://tinyurl.com/39bylxp
- The Declaration of Independence was derived from what Jefferson called, "the elementary books of public right, as Aristotle, Cicero, Locke, Sidney, etc."
- "It is in the interest of a tyrant to keep his people poor, and not be able to afford the cost of protecting themselves." - Aristotle
- Even according to conservative estimates radical Islam commands allegiance of only 7% of Muslims, i.e., that's still over 80 million souls
"Ninety-eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hardworking, honest Americans. It's the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. But then, we elected them!"--Lily Tomlin
“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.” Bertrand Russell
(Editor's Note: Some quotes pre-date the actual beginning of the revolution but were important and enough to be included.)
"I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy." -- John Adams
"[L]iberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood." -- John Adams, 1765
"Let justice be done though the heavens should fall." -- John Adams in a letter in 1777
"A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader." -- Samuel Adams, 1779
"We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately." -- Benjamin Franklin at the signing of the Declaration of Independence
"They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Ben Franklin, 1759
"I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I travelled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer." -- Ben Franklin, 1766
"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." -- Nathan Hale's last words before being hanged by British
"There! His Majesty can now read my name without glasses. And he can double the reward on my head!" -- John Hancock after signing his name in large letters on the Declaration of Independence
"The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more. I Am Not A Virginian, But An American!" -- Patrick Henry in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party.
"Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" -- Patrick Henry
"The battle, Sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, Sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable; and let it come! I repeat, Sir, let it come!" -- Patrick Henry
"They tell us Sir, that we are weak -- unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature has placed in our power." -- Patrick Henry
"Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Beside, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of Nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us." -- Patrick Henry
"That these are our grievances which we have thus laid before his majesty, with that freedom of language and sentiment which becomes a free people claiming their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate." -- Thomas Jefferson, 1774
"Our properties within our own territories [should not] be taxed or regulated by any power on earth but our own." -- Thomas Jefferson, 1774
"I have not yet begun to fight!" -- John Paul Jones
"I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." -- John Paul Jones, 1778
"One of the most essential branches of English liberty is the freedom of one's house. A man's house is his castle." -- James Otis, 1761
"These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their county; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny like hell is not easily conquered yet we have this consolation with us, the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value." -- Tom Paine after the Declaration of Independence
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." -- Tom Paine
"If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace." -- Tom Paine, 1776
"Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." -- Captain John Parker, 1775
"Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes! Then fire low!" -- Israel Putnam at the Battle Of Bunker Hill
"Patriotism is as much a virtue as justice, and is as necessary for the support of societies as natural affection is for the support of families." -- Benjamin Rush, 1773
"Yonder are the Hessians. They were bought for seven pounds and tenpence a man. Are you worth more? Prove it. Tonight the American flag floats from yonder hill or Molly Stark sleeps a widow!" -- John Stark at the Battle of Bennington in 1777
"Nevertheless, to the persecution and tyranny of his cruel ministry we will not tamely submit -- appealing to Heaven for the justice of our cause, we determine to die or be free." -- Joseph Warren, 1775
"We began a contest for liberty ill provided with the means for the war, relying on our patriotism to supply the deficiency. We expected to encounter many wants and distressed… we must bear the present evils and fortitude…" -- George Washington in 1781
"Our own Country's Honor, all call upon us for a vigorous and manly exertion, and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world. Let us therefore rely upon the goodness of the Cause, and the aid of the supreme Being, in whose hands Victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble Actions -- The Eyes of all our Countrymen are now upon us, and we shall have their blessings, and praises, if happily we are the instruments of saving them from the Tyranny mediated against them. Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and show the whole world, that a free man contending for Liberty on his own ground is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth." -- George Washington, 1776
"The hour is fast approaching, on which the Honor and Success of this army, and the safety of our bleeding Country depend. Remember officers and Soldiers, that you are free men, fighting for the blessings of Liberty -- that slavery will be your portion, and that of your posterity, if you do not acquit yourselves like men." -- George Washington, 1776
"Unhappy it is, though, to reflect that a brother's sword has been sheathed in a brother's breast and that the once-happy plains of America are either to be drenched with blood or inhabited by slaves. Sad alternative! But can a virtuous man hesitate in his choice?" -- George Washington in a letter to a friend
"Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray, but almost blind, in the service of my country." -- George Washington to officers of the Continental Army who seemed to be plotting insurrection after Congress refused to give them aid. According to the book, "The Wars Of America," many of the men were "overcome" and began "openly weeping." They then agreed to "leave their problems in Washington's hands."