“On the question of liberty, as a principle, we are not what we have been. When we were the political slaves of King George, and wanted to be free, we called the maxim that all men are created equal a self-evident truth; but now when we have grown fat, and have lost all dread of being slaves ourselve…”— Abraham Lincoln, abrahamlincolnonline.org
“When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”— Abraham Lincoln, abrahamlincolnonline.org
“Of our political revolution of '76, we all are justly proud. It has given us a degree of political freedom, far exceeding that of any other nation of the earth. In it the world has found a solution of the long mooted problem, as to the capability of man to govern himself. In it was the germ which ha…”— Abraham Lincoln, abrahamlincolnonline.org
“In this our country has, in my judgment, thus far fulfilled its highest duty to suffering humanity. It has spoken and will continue to speak, not only by words, but by its acts, the language of sympathy, encouragement, and hope to those who earnestly listen to tones which pronounce for the largest n…”— Franklin Pierce, amazon.com
“Liberty? Independence? Are they to remain only words? Gentlemen, let us make them fighting words!”— Nathan Hale, amazon.com
“If the words 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' don't include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp it was written on.”— Terence McKenna, amazon.com
“History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure.”— Thurgood Marshall, thurgoodmarshall.com
“Among the basic freedoms to which men aspire that their lives might be full and uncramped, freedom from fear stands out as both a means and an end. A people who would build a nation in which strong, democratic institutions are firmly established as a guarantee against state-induced power must first…”— Aung San Suu Kyi, amazon.com
“Hope and optimism are irrepressible but there is a deep underlying premonition that the opposition to change is likely to be vicious. Often the anxious question is asked: will such an oppressive regime really give us democracy? And the answer has to be: democracy, like liberty, justice and other soc…”— Aung San Suu Kyi, amazon.com
“Fellow citizens, in the name of your rights and liberties, which I believe have been trampled upon, I refuse to take this oath.”— Sam Houston, amazon.co.uk
“I contend that the strongest of all governments is that which is most free.”— John Tyler, azquotes.com
“Patronage is the sword and cannon by which war may be made on the liberty of the human race.”— John Tyler, en.wikiquote.org
“Freedom and liberty lose out by default because good people are not vigilant.”— Desmond Tutu, amazon.com
“There are two things I’ve got a right to, and these are, Death or Liberty – one or the other I mean to have. No one will take me back alive; I shall fight for my liberty, and when the time has come for me to go, the Lord will let them, kill me.”— Harriet Tubman, harriet-tubman.org
“I grew up like a neglected weed, – ignorant of liberty, having no experience of it. Then I was not happy or contented.”— Harriet Tubman, harriet-tubman.org
“Throughout history, government has proved to be the chief instrument for thwarting man’s liberty. Government represents power in the hands of some men to control and regulate the lives of other men. And power, as Lord Acton said, corrupts men. Absolute power, he added, corrupts absolutely.”— Barry Goldwater, books.google.com
“You know, once before a great and self‐governing people gave up their liberty—a liberty far less than ours. They put themselves in the hands of their leader, asking only to be fed and entertained. They traded their votes for ‘bread and circuses.’ They traded their Senate for an emperor.”— Barry Goldwater, nytimes.com
“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!”— Barry Goldwater, washingtonpost.com
“Clouds and darkness surround us, yet Heaven is just, and the day of triumph will surely come, when justice and truth will be vindicated. Our wrongs will be made right, and we will once more taste the blessings of freedom, of which the degraded rebels would deprive us.”— Mary Todd Lincoln, amazon.com