I would rather belong to a poor nation that was free than to a rich nation that had ceased to read more

I would rather belong to a poor nation that was free than to a rich nation that had ceased to be in love with liberty.

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of read more

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it.

As so often before, liberty has been wounded in the house of its
friends. Liberty in the wild and read more

As so often before, liberty has been wounded in the house of its
friends. Liberty in the wild and freakish hands of fanatics has
once more, as frequently in the past, proved the effective
helpmate of autocracy and the twin-brother of tyranny.

Men regard it as their right to return evil for evil and, if they cannot, feel they have lost their read more

Men regard it as their right to return evil for evil and, if they cannot, feel they have lost their liberty

Liberty, as it is conceived by current opinion, has nothing inherent about it; it is a sort of gift or read more

Liberty, as it is conceived by current opinion, has nothing inherent about it; it is a sort of gift or trust bestowed on the individual by the state pending good behavior.

The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time.

The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time.

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.

But what is liberty without wisdom, and without virtue? It is
the greatest of all possible evils; for it read more

But what is liberty without wisdom, and without virtue? It is
the greatest of all possible evils; for it is folly, vice, and
madness, without tuition or restraint.

"The liberties of our country, the freedoms of our civil Constitution are worth defending at all hazards; it is our read more

"The liberties of our country, the freedoms of our civil Constitution are worth defending at all hazards; it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors. They purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood. It will bring a mark of everlasting infamy on the present generation – enlightened as it is – if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of designing men." -Samuel Adams