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If This Be Treason, Make The Most Of It!

-Patrick Henry

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If This Be Treason,

Patrick Henry

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If This Be Treason, Make The Most Of It!

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My Political Curiosity, Exclusive Of My Anxious Solicitude For The Public Welfare, Leads Me To Ask Who Authorized Them (the Framers Of The Constitution) To Speak The Language Of 'we, The People,' Instead Of 'we, The States'?

The Bible Is Worth All The Other Books Which Have Ever Been Printed.

The King Has Degenerated Into A Tyrant And Forfeits All Rights To His Subjects' Obedience.

Suffer Not Yourselves To Be Betrayed With A Kiss. Ask Yourselves How This Gracious Reception Of Our Petition Comports With Those Warlike Preparations Which Cover Our Waters And Darken Our Land. Are Fleets And Armies Necessary To A Work Of Love And Reconciliation? Have We Shown Ourselves So Unwilling To Be Reconciled, That Force Must Be Called In To Win Back Our Love? Let Us Not Deceive Ourselves, Sir. These Are The Implements Of War And Subjugationthe Last Arguments To Which Kings Resort.

The Battle, Sir, Is Not To The Strong Alone; It Is To The Vigilant, The Active, The Brave.

There Is A Just God Who Presides Over The Destinies Of Nations, And Who Will Raise Up Friends To Fight Our Battles For Us.

Have We The Means Of Resisting Disciplined Armies, When Our Only Defense, The Militia, Is Put In The Hands Of Congress? Of What Service Would Militia Be To You When, Most Probably, You Will Not Have A Single Musket In The State? For, As Arms Are To Be Provided By Congress, They May Or May Not Provide Them.

My Most Cherished Possession I Wish I Could Leave You Is My Faith In Jesus Christ, For With Him And Nothing Else You Can Be Happy, But Without Him And With All Else You'll Never Be Happy.

Adversity Toughens Manhood, And The Characteristic Of The Good Or The Great Man Is Not That He Has Been Exempt From The Evils Of Life, But That He Has Surmounted Them.

Is Life So Dear Or Peace So Sweet As To Be Purchased At The Price Of Chains And Slavery? Forbid It, Almighty God! I Know Not What Course Others May Take, But As For Me, Give Me Liberty, Or Give Me Death!

Oh, How Wretched Should I Be At This Moment, If I Had Not Made My Peace With God.

If We Wish To Be Free; If We Mean To Preserve Inviolate Those Inestimable Privileges For Which We Have Been So Long Contending; If We Mean Not Basely To Abandon The Noble Struggle In Which We Have Been So Long Engaged, And Which We Have Pledged Ourselves Never To Abandon Until The Glorious Object Of Our Contest Shall Be Obtained - We Must Fight! I Repeat It, Sir, We Must Fight! An Appeal To Arms, And To The God Of Hosts, Is All That Is Left Us.

Whether This Will Prove A Blessing Or A Curse, Will Depend Upon The Use Our People Will Make Of The Blessings Which A Gracious God Hath Bestowed On Us. If They Are Wise, They Will Be Great And Happy. If They Are Of A Contrary Character, They Will Be Miserable. Righteousness Alone Can Exalt Them As A Nation. Reader! Whoever Thou Art, Remember This: And In Thy Sphere Practice Virtue Thyself, An Encourage It In Others.

They Tell Us, Sir, That We Are Weak; Unable To Cope With So Formidable An Adversary. But When Shall We Be Stronger? Will It Be The Next Week, Or The Next Year? Will It Be When We Are Totally Disarmed, And When A British Guard Shall Be Stationed In Every House?

I Look On That Paper (the Constitution) As The Most Fatal Plan That Could Possibly Be Conceived To Enslave A Free People.

I Believe A Time Will Come When An Opportunity Will Be Offered To Abolish This Lamentable Evil. Everything We Do Is To Improve It, If It Happens In Our Day; If Not, Let Us Transmit To Our Descendants, Together With Our Slaves, A Pity For Their Unhappy Lot And An Abhorrence Of Slavery.

Fear Is The Passion Of Slaves.

Hospitality Invites To Prayer Before It Checks Credentials, Welcomes To The Table Before Administering The Entrance Exam.

The People Have A Right To Keep And Bear Arms.

Second Amendment

Power Is The Great Evil With Which We Are Contending. We Have Divided Power Between Three Branches Of Government And Erected Checks And Balances To Prevent Abuse Of Power. However, Where Is The Check On The Power Of The Judiciary? If We Fail To Check The Power Of The Judiciary, I Predict That We Will Eventually Live Under Judicial Tyranny.

Were My Soul Trembling On The Wing Of Eternity, Were This Hand Freezing To Death, Were My Voice Choking With The Last Struggle, I Would Still, With The Last Gasp Of That Voice, Implore You To Remember The Truth: God Has Given America To Be Free.

Human Nature Will Never Part With Power. Look For An Example Of A Voluntary Relinquishment Of Power From One End Of The Globe To Another - You Will Find None.

We Have Not Yet Begun To Fight.

If You Have Given Up Your Militia, And Congress Shall Refuse To Arm Them, You Have Lost Every Thing. Your Existence Will Be Precarious, Because You Depend On Others, Whose Interests Are Not Affected By Your Infelicity.

Suspicion Is A Virtue, If In The Interests Of The Good Of The People.

Be Of Good Courage, My Son, And Remember That The Best Men Always Make Themselves.

He That Hath A Blind Conscience Which Sees Nothing, A Dead Conscience Which Feels Nothing, And A Dumb Conscience Which Says Nothing, Is In As Miserable A Condition As A Man Can Be On This Side Of Hell.

O Sir, We Should Have Fine Times, Indeed, If, To Punish Tyrants, It Were Only Sufficient To Assemble The People! Your Arms, Wherewith You Could Defend Yourselves, Are Gone; And You Have No Longer An Aristocratical, No Longer A Democratical Spirit. Did You Ever Read Of Any Revolution In A Nation, Brought About By The Punishment Of Those In Power, Inflicted By Those Who Had No Power At All?

My Great Objection To This Government Is, That It Does Not Leave Us The Means Of Defending Our Rights, Or Of Waging War Against Tyrants.

It Is The Business Of A Virtuous Clergyman To Censure Vice In Every Appearance Of It.

Show Me That Age And Country Where The Rights And Liberties Of The People Were Placed On The Sole Chance Of Their Rulers Being Good Men, Without A Consequent Loss Of Liberty?

The Officers Of Congress, May Come Upon You Now, Fortified With All The Terrors Of Paramount Federal Authority. Excisemen Taxmen May Come In Multitudes; For The Limitation Of Their Numbers No Man Knows. They May, Unless The General Government Be Restrained ... Go Into Your Cellars And Rooms, And Search, Ransack, And Measure, Everything You Eat, Drink, And Wear.

Being A Christian... Is A Character Which I Prize Far Above All This World Has Or Can Boast.

. . . Virtue, Morality, And Religion. This Is The Armor, My Friend, And This Alone That Renders Us Invincible. These Are The Tactics We Should Study. If We Lose These, We Are Conquered, Fallen Indeed . . . So Long As Our Manners And Principles Remain Sound, There Is No Danger.

We Should Transmit To Posterity Our Abhorrence Of Slavery.

Gentlemen May Cry, Peace, Peace! – But There Is No Peace.

Amongst Other Strange Things Said Of Me, I Hear It Is Said By The Deists That I Am One Of The Number; And Indeed, That Some Good People Think I Am No Christian. This Thought Gives Me Much More Pain Than The Appellation Of Tory; Because I Think Religion Of Infinitely Higher Importance Than Politics; And I Find Much Cause To Reproach Myself That I Have Lived So Long, And Have Given No Decided And Public Proofs Of My Being A Christian. But, Indeed, My Dear Child, This Is A Character Which I Prize Far Above All This World Has, Or Can Boast.

Shall We Acquire The Means Of Effectual Resistance By Lying Supinely On Our Backs And Hugging The Delusive Phantom Of Hope, Until Our Enemies Shall Have Bound Us Hand And Foot?

You Are Not To Inquire How Your Trade May Be Increased, Nor How You Are To Become A Great And Powerful People, But How Your Liberties Can Be Secured; For Liberty Ought To Be The Direct End Of Your Government.

It Is When A People Forget God, That Tyrants Forge Their Chains.

The American Revolution Was The Grand Operation, Which Seemed To Be Assigned By The Deity To The Men Of This Age In Our Country, Over And Above The Common Duties Of Life

There Is A Book Worth All Other Books Which Were Ever Printed.

I Am Not A Virginian, I Am An American.

....i Am Sure That The Dangers Of This System (the Federal Constitution) Are Real, When Those Who Have No Similar Interest With The People Of This Country (the South) Are To Legislate For Us - When Our Dearest Rights Are To Be Left, In The Hands Of Those, Whose Advantage It Will Be To Infringe Them.

It Is In Vain, Sir, To Extenuate The Matter. Gentlemen May Cry, “peace! Peace!” — But There Is No Peace. The War Is Actually Begun! The Next Gale That Sweeps From The North Will Bring To Our Ears The Clash Of Resounding Arms! Our Brethren Are Already In The Field! Why Stand We Here Idle? What Is It That Gentlemen Wish? What Would They Have? Is Life So Dear, Or Peace So Sweet, As To Be Purchased At The Price Of Chains And Slavery? Forbid It, Almighty God! I Know Not What Course Others May Take; But As For Me, Give Me Liberty, Or Give Me Death!

What Right Do They Have To Say "we The People" Rather Than We The States?

I Know Not What Others May Choose But, As For Me, Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death.

It Is Natural For Man To Indulge In The Illusions Of Hope. We Are Apt To Shut Our Eyes Against A Painful Truth, And Listen To The Song Of That Siren Till She Transforms Us Into Beasts... For My Part, Whatever Anguish Of Spirit It May Cost, I Am Willing To Know The Whole Truth, To Know The Worst, And To Provide For It.

You Ought To Be Extremely Cautious, Watchful, Jealous Of Your Liberty; For Instead Of Securing Your Rights, You May Lose Them Forever.

Suspicion Is A Virtue As Long As Its Object Is The Public Good, And As Long As It Stays Within Proper Bounds. Guard With Jealous Attention The Public Liberty. Suspect Every One Who Approaches That Jewel.

This Is All The Inheritance I Give To My Dear Family. The Religion Of Christ Will Give Them One Which Will Make Them Rich Indeed.

This House Protected By An Armed Citizen. There Is Absolutely Nothing Here Worth Dying For.

The Eternal Difference Between Right And Wrong Does Not Fluctuate, It Is Immutable.

The Liberties Of A People Never Were, Nor Ever Will Be, Secure, When The Transactions Of Their Rulers May Be Concealed From Them.

Is The Relinquishment Of The Trial By Jury And The Liberty Of The Press Necessary For Your Liberty? Will The Abandonment Of Your Most Sacred Rights Tend To The Security Of Your Liberty? Liberty, The Greatest Of All Earlthy Blessings - Give Us That Precious Jewel, And You May Take Every Things Else! . . . Guard With Jealous Attention The Public Liberty. Suspect Every One Who Approaches That Jewel.

Bad Men Cannot Make Good Citizens. A Vitiated State Of Morals, A Corrupted Public Conscience Are Incompatible With Freedom.

The Militia Is Our Ultimate Safety. We Can Have No Security Without It. The Great Object Is That Every Man Be Armed.

[our Constitution] Is An Instrument For The People To Restrain The Government.

Tyranny Founding Fathers

I Have Now Disposed Of All My Property To My Family. There Is One Thing More I Wish I Could Give Them, And That Is The Christian Religion.

Should I Keep Back My Opinions At Such A Time, Through Fear Of Giving Offense, I Should Consider Myself As Guilty Of Treason Towards My Country, And Of An Act Of Disloyalty Toward The Majesty Of Heaven, Which I Revere Above All Earthly Kings.

United We Stand, Divided We Fall. Let Us Not Split Into Factions Which Must Destroy That Union Upon Which Our Existence Hangs.

Shall We Gather Strength By Irresolution And Inaction?

American Freedom

I Know Of No Way Of Judging The Future But By The Past.

I Have The Highest Veneration Of Those Gentleman, -- But, Sir, Give Me Leave To Demand, What Right Had They To Say, We, The People? My Political Curiosity, Exclusive Of My Anxious Solicitude For The Public Welfare, Leads Me To Ask Who Authorized Them To Speak The Language Of, We, The People, Instead Of We, The States? States Are The Characteristics, And The Soul Of The Confederation. If The States Be Not The Agents Of This Compact, It Must Be One Of Great Consolidated National Government Of The People Of All The States.

Implements Of War And Subjugation Are The Last Arguments To Which Kings Resort.

Are We At Last Brought To Such Humiliating And Debasing Degradation That We Cannot Be Trusted With Arms For Our Defense? Where Is The Difference Between Having Our Arms In Possession And Under Our Direction, And Having Them Under The Management Of Congress? If Our Defense Be The Real Object Of Having Those Arms, In Whose Hands Can They Be Trusted With More Propriety, Or Equal Safety To Us, As In Our Own Hands?

Are We At Last Brought To Such An Humiliating And Debasing Degradation, That We Cannot Be Trusted With Arms For Our Defense?

Second Amendment

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.

For My Part, Whatever Anguish Of Spirit It May Cost, I Am Willing To Know The Whole Truth; To Know The Worst And Provide For It.

I Shall Act As I Think My Duty Requires.

When The American Spirit Was In Its Youth, The Language Of America Was Different: Liberty, Sir, Was The Primary Object.

It Is Natural To Man To Indulge In The Illusion Of Hope. We Are Apt To Shut Our Eyes Against A Painful Truth, Till She Transforms Us Into Beasts.

The Battle Is Not To The Strong Alone. It Is To The Vigilant, The Active, And The Brave. A Small, Disciplined Militia Can Not Only Hold Out Against A Larger Force, But Drive It Back, Because What They're Fighting For Rightfully Belongs To Them.

The Great Object Is That Every Man Be Armed.

Bad Men Cannot Make Good Citizens. It Is When A People Forget God That Tyrants Forge Their Chains. A Vitiated State Of Morals, A Corrupted Public Conscience, Is Incompatible With Freedom. 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; And By A Frequent Recurrence To Fundamental Principles.

Righteousness Alone Can Exalt Them [america] As A Nation. Reader! Whoever Thou Art, Remember This, And In Thy Sphere Practice Virtue Thyself And Encourage It In Others.

If This Be Treason, Make The Most Of It!

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