"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."
"The
said constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to
prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from
keeping their own arms."
"Were
the talents and virtues which heaven has bestowed on men given merely
to make them more obedient drudges, to be sacrificed to the follies and
ambition of a few? Or, were not the noble gifts so equally dispensed
with a divine purpose and law, that they should as nearly as possible be
equally exerted, and the blessings of Providence be equally enjoyed by
all?"
"No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can
any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffused and Virtue is
preserved. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant,
and debauched in their Manners, they will sink under their own
weight without the Aid of foreign Invaders."
"It
is always dangerous to the liberties of the people to have an army
stationed among them, over which they have no control ... The Militia is
composed of free Citizens. There is therefore no danger of their making
use of their Power to the destruction of their own Rights, or suffering
others to invade them."
"How strangely will the Tools of a Tyrant pervert the plain Meaning of Words!"
