“The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.” — James Madison · Letter to George Thompson, June 30, 1825
“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.” — Abraham Lincoln · Letter to Henry L. Pierce, April 6, 1859
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” — Abraham Lincoln · Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863
“This, for the purpose of this celebration, is the Fourth of July. It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom.” — Frederick Douglass · What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?, July 5, 1852
“Give me liberty, or give me death!” — Patrick Henry · Speech to the Virginia Convention, March 23, 1775
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” — Thomas Jefferson · Declaration of Independence, 1776
“When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it: this is knowledge.” — Confucius · Analects, 2.17