“What a glorious morning is this!” (on hearing the sound of gunfire at Lexington on April 19th, 1775)
“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 Rights of Colonists, 1772)
“Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these: First, a right to life; Secondly, to liberty; Thirdly, to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can. These are evident branches of, rather than deductions from, the duty of self-preservation, commonly called the first law of nature.” (The Rights of Colonists, 1772)
“May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!“
“Let us remember that if we suffer tamely a lawless attack upon our liberty, we encourage it, and involve others in our doom.” (essay published in The Boston Gazette under the name “Candidus,” 1771)
“We have proclaimed to the world our determination to die freemen, rather than to live slaves.” (address to the Continental Congress, 1777)
“Contemplate the mangled bodies of your countrymen, and then say, ‘What should be the reward of such sacrifices?’ Bid us and our posterity bow the knee, supplicate the friendship and plough, and sow, and reap, to glut the avarice of the men who have let loose on us the dogs of war to riot in our blood and hunt us from the face of the earth? If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom — go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!” (speech at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, 1776)
“How strangely will the tools of a tyrant pervert the plain meaning of words!” (letter to John Pitts, 1776)
“If ever the 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.” (letter to James Warren, 1780)
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB