All men are by nature born equally free and independent.
All power was originally lodged in, and consequently is derived from, the people.
Every master of slaves is born a petty tyrant. They bring the judgment of heaven on a country.
Every society, all government, and every kind of civil compact therefore, is or ought to be, calculated for the general good and safety of the community.
It is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other.
No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people, but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue....
Religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence....
The British parliament was advised [that] to disarm the people...was the best and most effectual way to enslave them.
The freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments.
