J
Jackson, Robert H.
“Freedom to differ is not limited to things that do not matter much. That would be a mere shadow of freedom. …” – Robert H. Jackson, opinion, West Virginia State Board v. Barnette, 1943
Jay, John
“…let not your attachment to freedom be manifested only in your words.” – John Jay, To the General Committee of Tryon County July 22, 1777
Jefferson, Thomas (See also The Declaration of Independence
“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” – Thomas Jefferson
“We are acting for all mankind.” – Thomas Jefferson
The Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms—1775
“Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.” – Motto on Thomas Jefferson’s seal
Thomas Jefferson’s Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge, 1778
Thomas Jefferson’s “A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom,” known as The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, 1786
“…The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. …” – Thomas Jefferson, letter to Col. William S. Smith, Paris Nov 13, 1787
Jefferson’s and Madison ’s Kentucky
“…freedom of religion; freedom of the press and freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus, and trial by juries impartially selected. …” – Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, Mar 4, 1801
“…the flames kindled on the fourth of July, 1776 , have spread over too much of the globe to be extinguished by the feeble engines of despotism; on the contrary, they will consume these engines and all who work them.” – Thomas Jefferson, Letter to John Adams, Sep 12, 1821
Johnson, Lyndon B.
“Come now, let us reason together, Lyndon B. Johnson, Saying
Jones, Florence
“…Float, O starry flag of freedom! Flag our fathers died to save; He on whom your shadow lingers Never more can be a slave. …” – Florence
Jones, John Paul
“I have not yet begun to fight!” – John Paul Jones, when asked whether he had lowered his flag, as his ship, the Bonhomme Richard was sinking off the British coast, Sep 23, 1779
K
Kennedy Onassis, Jacqueline
“We should all do something to right the wrongs we see…We owe that to our country.” – Jacqueline Kennedy, televised speech on behalf of the John F. Kennedy Library, May 29, 1964
Kennedy, John F.
“Freedom is not merely a word or an abstract theory, but the most effective instrument for advancing the welfare of man.” – John F. Kennedy
“…And so my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America Washington Jan 20, 1961
“…The great revolution in the history of man, past, present and future, is the revolution of those determined to be free.” – John F. Kennedy, note to Nikita Khrushchev, 1961
“The wave of the future is not the conquest of the world by a single dogmatic creed but the liberation of the diverse energies of free nations and free men.” – John F. Kennedy, Address at the University of California , Berkeley Mar 23, 1962
“…the elementary right of free men…is to make a free choice. …Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free. …” – John F. Kennedy, Address at City Hall, West Berlin , Jun 26, 1963
Kennedy, Robert F.
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.” – Robert F. Kennedy
Key, Francis Scott
“Oh, say! Can you see by the dawn’s early light, What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro’ the perilous fight, O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof thro’ the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say, does the Star-Spangled Banner yet wave O’er the land of the free and home of the brave? On the shore, dimly seen thro’ the mists of the deep, Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep, As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam, In full glory reflected now shines on the stream. ‘Tis the Star-Spangled Banner! Oh, long many it wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave. Oh, thus be it e’er, when freemen shall stand, Between their lov’d homes and war’s desolation! Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserv’d us a nation! And conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.” And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.” – Francis Scott Key, ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ Sep 14, 1814
Kilmer, Joyce
“…No flags are fair, if Freedom’s flag be furled. …” – Joyce Kilmer, “The Peacemaker,” Jun 14, 1918
King, Martin Luther Jr.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Martin Luther King, Jr., “On Being a Good Neighbor,” sermon, 1956
“…I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. …I have a dream today. …When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’ ” – Martin Luther King, Jr., speech, “I Have a Dream,” Lincoln Memorial, Washington , D.C. Aug 28, 1963
Kittredge, Walter
Walter Kittredge’s “Tenting on the Old Camp Ground,” 1863
L
Lazarus, Emma
“…Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” – Emma Lazarus, The New Colossus, 1883
Lee, Richard Henry
The Lee-Adams Resolution of Independence Jul 2, 1776
Lincoln, Abraham
“As a nation of free men, we will live forever or die by suicide.” – Abraham Lincoln, 1837
“Be not deceived. Revolutions do not go backward.” – Abraham Lincoln, Speech, Bloomington , Illinois May 19, 1856
“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves, and, under a just God, cannot long retain it.” – Abraham Lincoln, Letter to Henry L. Pierce and others, Apr 6, 1859
“This is essentially a people’s contest. …It is a struggle for maintaining in the world that form and substance of government whose leading object is to elevate the condition of men – to lift artificial weights from all shoulders – to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all – to afford all an unfettered start, and a fair chance, in the race of life. …and ballots are the rightful successors to bullets…” – Abraham Lincoln, Message to Congress in Special Session, Jul 4, 1861
“…then, thenceforward, and forever free.” – Abraham Lincoln, Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, Sep 22, 1862
“…all persons held as slaves within said designated states and parts of states are, and henceforward shall be, free…” – Abraham Lincoln, Emancipation Proclamation, Jan 1, 1863
“…we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation shall, under God, have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” – Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg , Pennsylvania Nov 19, 1863
“…With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in…to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.” – Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, closing remarks, Mar 4, 1865
“Important principles may and must be inflexible.” – Abraham Lincoln, Last public address, Washington D.C. Apr 11, 1865
Lockwood, Belva Ann
“I do not believe in sex discrimination in literature, law, politics or trade – or that modesty and virtue are more becoming to women than men.” – Belva Ann Lockwood
Lodge, Henry Cabot
“It is the flag just as much of the man who was naturalized yesterday as of the man whose people have been here many generations.” – Henry Cabot Lodge, Address, 1915
Lombardi, Vince
“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth
“Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State! Sail on, O Union, strong and great!…” – Henry Wadsrworth Longfellow, The Building of the Ship, 1849
Lowell, James Russell
“And I honor the man who is willing to sink Half his present repute for the freedom to think, And, when he has thought, be his cause strong or weak, Will risk t’other half for freedom to speak.” – James Russell Lowell, A Fable for Critics, 1848
M
MacArthur, Douglas
“I came through and I shall return.” – Douglas MacArthur, Mar 20, 1942 , on reaching Australia , having broken through Japanese lines en route from Corregidor
“I see that the old flagpole still stands. Have your troops hoist the colors to its peak, and let no enemy ever haul them down.” – Douglass MacArthur, To Col. George M. Jones and 503rd Regimental Combat Team, who recaptured Corregidor , Mar 2, 1945
Madison, Dolley
“There is one secret, and that is the power we all have in forming our own destinies.” – Dolley Madison, letter to her niece Mary Cutts, Aug 1, 1833
Madison, James
James Madison’s Remonstrances Against Religious Assessments (Dec. 24, 1784 )
“Liberty
“It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard the society against oppression of its rulers, but to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part. If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” – James Madison, The Federalist, 1788, No. 51
Jefferson’s and Madison ’s Kentucky
“…to preserve’ the history of a Constitution on which would be staked the happiness of a people great even in its infancy, and possibly the cause of liberty throughout the world.” – James Madison, 1840, on his purpose for keeping a journal, Journal of the Federal Convention
Mann, Horace
“...Education…beyond all other devices of human origin, is a great equalizer of conditions of men – the balance wheel of the social machinery. …” – Horace Mann, 12th Annual Report to the President of Antioch College
Marshall, John
“…an act of the legislature, repugnant to the constitution, is void.” – John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison
“The people made the Constitution, and the people can unmake it. It is the creature of their own will, and lives only by their will.” – John Marshall, in Cohens v. Virginia
Marshall, Thurgood
“We will only attain freedom if we learn to appreciate what is different, and muster the courage to discover what is, fundamentally, the same…knock down the fences which divide. Tear apart the walls that imprison you. Reach out. Freedom lies just on the other side. We shall have liberty for all.” – Thurgood Marshall, Liberty Medical acceptance speech, Jul 4, 1992
McAuliffe, Anthony
“To the Commander: NUTS! The American Commander.” – Anthony McAuliffe, written reply to the German demand to surrender at Bastogne , Belgium Dec 22, 1944
McGroarty, John S.
“…Wave, banners, wave, above each hero’s grave, Fold them, O thou stainless flag that they died to save…” – John S. McGroarty, Blow, Bugles, Blow
Monroe, James
“…the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintained, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European power. …” – James Monroe, principle that became known as the ‘Monroe Dec 2, 1823
Monsoor, Michael A.
“Roger that.” – Michael A. Monsoor
Morris, George Pope
“The union of hearts – the union of hands – And the flag of our Union forever!” – George Pope Morris, The Flag of Our Union , 1851
Mott, Lucretia (See Declaration of Sentiments, written by Mott and others)
N
Nimitz, Chester
“Uncommon valor was a common virtue.” – Chester Nimitz, Of the Marines at Iwo Jima , Feb–May 1945
O
Obama, Barack
“Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.” – Barack Obama, Inaugural Address, Jan 20, 2009 , Washington , D.C.
Otis, James
“Taxation without representation is tyranny.” – James Otis, 1763, Attributed, watchword of the Revolution
P
Page, William Tyler
“I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes. I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies.” – William Tyler Page, The American’s Creed, 1917
Paine, Thomas
“He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.” – Thomas Paine
“Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” – Thomas Paine
“…O ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose not only the tyranny but the tyrant, stand forth! Every spot of the old world is over-run with oppression. Freedom hath been hunted round the Globe. …O! receive the fugitive, and prepare in time an asylum for mankind.” – Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776
“The cause of America Feb 14, 1776
“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed, if so celestial an article as Freedom should not be highly rated.” – Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, no. 1, Dec 23, 1776
“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” – Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, no. 4, Sep 12, 1777
Palmer, Thomas H.
“If at first you don’t succeed, Try, try again.” – Thomas H. Palmer, Teacher’s Manual, 1840
Parker, Jonas
“Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.” – Jonas Parker, to his Minute Men, prior to the Battle of Lexington Apr 19, 1775
Parker, Theodore
“…a democracy – that is, a government of all the people, by all the people, for all the people (1); of course, a government of the principles of eternal justice, the unchanging law of God; for shortness’ sake I will call it the idea of Freedom.” – Theodore Parker, Address, New England Anti-Slavery Convention, Boston May 29, 1850
“I had been pushed as far as I could stand to be pushed. I had decided that I would have to know once and for all what rights I had as a human being and a citizen.” – Rosa Parks
Parnell, Thomas
“My days have been so wondrous free, The little birds that fly With careless ease from tree to tree, Were but as bless’d as I.” – Thomas Parnell, “My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free,” 1714, st. 1
Patton, George S.
“A pint of sweat will save a gallon of blood.” – George S. Patton, War As I Knew It, 1947, Appendix D. letter [Apr 3, 1944 ]
Paul, Alice
“When you put your hands to the plow, you can’t put it down until you get to the end of the row.” – Alice Paul
Paul, Ron
“Liberty America
Penn, William
“No people can be truly happy, though under the greatest Enjoyment of Civil Liberties, if abridged of the Freedom of their Consciences. ...” – William Penn, Charter of Liberties
Powell, Adam Clayton Jr.
“Unless man is committed to the belief that all of mankind are his brothers, then he labors in vain and hypocritically in the vineyards of equality.” – Adam Clayton Powell, Keep the Faith, Baby!, 1967
Powell, Colin
“You can’t make someone else’s choices. You shouldn’t let someone else make yours.” – Colin Powell, My American Journey, 1995
Powers, John A.
“All systems go. Everything is A-OK.” – John A. Powers, Statement as public information officer for U.S.
“Don’t one of you shoot until you see the whites of their eyes.” – Israel Putnam, at Battle of Bunker Hill , Jun 17, 1775
