The constitutions of most of our states (and of the United States) assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed; that they are entitled to freedom of person, freedom of religion, freedom of property and freedom of the press. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), US Founding Father, drafted the Declaration of Independence, 3rd US President Source a letter from Thomas Jefferson to John Cartwright in 1824 The said Constitution [shall] be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press, or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms. Samuel Adams of Massachusetts -- U.S. Constitution ratification convention, 1788 Suppose that we let a regular army, fully equal to the resources of the country, be formed; and let it be entirely at the devotion of the federal: still it would not be going to far to say that the State governments with the people at their side would be able to repel the danger...half a million citizens with arms in their hands James Madison, The Federalist Papers A people armed and free forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition and is a bulwark for the nation against foreign invasion and domestic oppression. James Madison (1751-1836), Father of the Constitution for the USA, 4th US President [Tyranny cannot be safe] without a standing army, an enslaved press, and a disarmed populace. James Madison, In his autobiography If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is no recourse left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government. Alexander Hamilton Federalist #28 THIS ONE SAYS IT ALL ...but if circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude, that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people, while there is a large body of citizens, little if at all inferior to them in discipline and use of arms, who stand ready to defend their rights... Alexander Hamilton Federalist 29
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 03:44:11 +0000
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