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A Man Without Religion
“A man without religion or spiritual vision is like a captain who finds himself in the midst of an uncharted sea, without compass, rudder and steering wheel. He never knows where he is, which way he is going and where he is going to land.”
– William J. H. Boetcker
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One of the Most Solemn Trusts
“Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual — or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.”
– Samuel Adams
*The County Election by George Caleb Bingham, 1846 (source)
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Power by the People
“In all our associations; in all our agreements let us never lose sight of this fundamental maxim — that all power was originally lodged in, and consequently is derived from, the people.”
– George Mason
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The People Are Responsible
“Now more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature. . .[I]f the next centennial does not find us a great nation. . .it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.”
– James A. Garfield
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America’s First Chief Justice
October 19th, 1789
John Jay is sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the United States“The Americans are the first people whom heaven has favoured with an opportunity of deliberating upon and choosing forms of government under which they should live. . .
“Every member of the State ought diligently to read and to study the constitution of his country. . .By knowing their rights, they will sooner perceive when they are violated and be the better prepared to defend and assert them.”
– John Jay,
selections from his “Charge to the Grand Jury of Ulster County”, 1777*Portrait of John Jay by Gilbert Stuart, 1794 (source)
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True Education
“The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. . . We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”
– Martin Luther King Jr.
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The Militia is the People
“I ask, Sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.”
– George Mason
*The Minute Man statue in Concord, Massachusetts (source)
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Always Time For Courtesy
“Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Death of Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams
September 27th, 1722 – October 2nd, 1803“The liberties of our Country, the freedom of our civil constitution are worth defending at all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have receiv’d them as a fair Inheritance from our worthy Ancestors: They purchas’d them for us with toil and danger and expence 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 be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men. Of the latter we are in most danger at present: Let us therefore be aware of it. Let us contemplate our forefathers and posterity; and resolve to maintain the rights bequeath’d to us from the former, for the sake of the latter. — Instead of sitting down satisfied with the efforts we have already made, which is the wish of our enemies, the necessity of the times, more than ever, calls for our utmost circumspection, deliberation, fortitude, and perseverance. Let us remember that ‘if we suffer tamely a lawless attack upon our liberty, we encourage it, and involve others in our doom.’ It is a very serious consideration, which should deeply impress our minds, that millions yet unborn may be the miserable sharers of the event.”
– Samuel Adams,
essay written under the pseudonym “Candidus” in The Boston Gazette,
October 14th, 1771*Portrait of Samuel Adams by John Singleton Copley, c. 1772 (source)
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The End of Study
“You will ever remember that all the end of study is to make you a good man and a useful citizen.”
– John Adams
