All those who seek to destroy the liberties of a democratic nation ought to know that war is the surest and shortest means to accomplish it.

There are two things which a democratic people will always find very difficult - to begin a war and to end it

No protracted war can fail to endanger the freedom of a democratic country.

What is most important for democracy is not that great fortunes should not exist, but that great fortunes should not remain in the same hands. In that way there are rich men, but they do not form a class.

The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.

Laws cannot succeed in rekindling the ardor of an extinguished faith, but men may be interested in the fate of their country by the laws. By this influence the vague impulse of patriotism, which never abandons the human heart, may be directed and revived; and if it be connected with the thoughts, the passions, and the daily habits of life, it may be consolidated into a durable and rational sentiment.