Patrick Henry

"The measure of a man is by the causes he will die for."

"Providence smiles upon those who fight for justice."

"Our actions today will echo through the ages."

"The great object of my life has been to observe the link between duty and interest."

"I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience."

"Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forged their chains."

"It is the duty of every good citizen to use all the opportunities afforded him for acquiring useful knowledge."

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

"Where is the security of our property? Where is the security of our rights, if we depend upon the will of untamed rulers?"

"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."

"I am not a Virginian, but an American."

"The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American."

"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel."

"Providence has been pleased to guide us so far."

"Is the question whether we shall have liberty or slavery among us? If we will not give up our liberties, we cannot be enslaved."

"Let me have liberty or give me death!"

"Hear me for my cause, and be silent that you may hear."

"It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry Peace, Peace—but there is no peace."

"The great unalienable rights of mankind flow not from the generosity of rulers."

"I am convinced that the object sought by the agitators in the North is to bring the South under Negro rule."

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."

"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government."

"Three millions of people, so armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force."

"That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction."

"I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid in this doctrine: That the powers of the Federal Government are limited by the Constitution itself."

"The United States has been a blessing to the world."

"America is a new and important subject of the world. Her situation is critical."

"The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it always to be kept alive."

"Whether this preamble be prefixed to your laws or not, I declare to you it is the law of nature and of God."

"If we wish to be free, we must stand together."