"For myself, therefore, I desire to declare that the principle that will govern me in the high duty to which my country call me is a adherence to the letter and spirit of the Constitution as it was designed by those who framed it."

-Martin Van Buren 

"No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency; and in the important revolution just accomplished in the system of their united government the tranquil deliberation and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities from which the event has resulted can not be compared with the means by which most governments have been established without some return of pious gratitude, along with and humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seems to presage."

-George Washington 

First Inaugural Address 

"The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people." 

-Martin Luther King 

"What is government but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary."

-James Madison 

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."

-Ronald Reagan 

"You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand."

-Woodrow Wilson

"I believe that any man's life will be filled with constant and unexpected encouragement, if he makes up his mind to do his level best each day, and as nearly as possible reaching the high mark of pure and useful living."

-Booker T. Washington 

"Fear of something is at the root of hate for others, and hate within will eventually destroy the hater."

-George Washington Carver 

"For more than half a century, during which kingdoms and empires have fallen, this Union has stood unshaken. The patriots who formed it have long since descended to the grave; yet still it remains, the proudest monument to their memory..."

-Zachary Taylor 

"The chief duty of governments, in so far as they are coercive, is to restrain those who would interfere with the inalienable rights of the individual, among which are the right to life, the right to liberty, the right to the pursuit of happiness, and the right to worship God according to the dictates of one's conscience." 

-William Jennings Bryan 

"Let it be borne on the flag under which we rally in every exigency, that we have one country, one constitution, one destiny."

-Daniel Webster 

"Always do right. This will gratify some and astonish the rest." 

-Mark Twain

"Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and pure (and) which insures to the good eternal happiness, are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments."

- Charles Carroll

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and success of liberty." 

- John F. Kennedy  

"A printer publishes a lie for which he ought to stand in pillory, for the people believe in and act upon it."

- George Clymer

"I am sorry to say that sometimes matters of very small importance waste a good deal of precious time, by the long and repeated speeches and chicanery of gentlemen who will not wholly throw off the lawyer even in Congress"

 -William Whipple 

"I am constrained to express my adoration of the Author of my existence for His forgiving mercy revealed to the world through Jesus Christ, through whom I hope for never ending happiness in a future state." 

- Robert Treat Paine

"Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company"

- George Washington 

"The liberties of our country, the freedom 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, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of 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 false and designing men."

-Samuel Adams 

"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined."

-Patrick Henry

"Our fates are in the hands of An Almighty God, to whom I can with pleasure confide my own; He can can save us or destroy us; His Councils are fixed and cannot be disappointed, and all His designs will be accomplished."

-Abraham Clark