Abraham Lincoln on invading the South

[W]e denounce the lawless invasion by armed force of the soil of any State or Territory, no matter what pretext, as among the gravest of crimes.

~ Abraham Lincoln, inaugural address, March 4, 1861

(Lincoln's pledge was broken within a month.)

Credo - Lincoln
1960-1961

Patrick Henry on government accountability

The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.

~ Patrick Henry

Jefferson on government vs. liberty

The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.

~ Thomas Jefferson

Credo - Jefferson
1960-1961

Ben Franklin on education and freedom

This will be the best security for maintaining our liberties. A nation of well-informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God had given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the religion of ignorance that tyranny begins.

~ Benjamin Franklin

Credo - Franklin
1960-1961