"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."

-Thomas Jefferson

"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 

"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 

"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 

"The people are the best guardians of their own rights and it is the duty of their executive branch to abstain from interfering in or thwarting the sacred exercise of the lawmaking functions of their government."

- William Henry Harrison 

"No other people have a government more worthy of their respect and love or a land so magnificent in extent, so pleasant to look upon, and so full of generous suggestion to enterprise and labor."

-Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President