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Elbridge Gerry (1)
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George Mason (6)
George Washington (48)
Gouverneur Morris (4)
James Iredell (4)
James Madison (39)
James Monroe (9)
James Otis (2)
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Jean Jacques Rousseau (2)
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Your search for "
public awareness
" returned 33 results from 16 Founders.
Samuel Adams:
"If the liberties of America are ever completely ruined, of which in my opinion there is now the utmost danger, it will in all probability be the consequence of a mistaken notion of prudence, which leads men to acquiesce in measures of the most destructive tendency for the sake of present ease. When designs are form'd to rase the very foundations of a free government, those few who are to erect their grandeur and fortunes upon the general ruin, will employ every art to sooth the devoted people into a state of indolence, inattention and security. ... They are alarmed at nothing so much, as attempts to awaken the people to jealousy and watchfulness; and it has been an old game played over and over again, to hold up the men who would rouse their fellow citizens and countrymen to a sense of their real danger, and spirit them to the most zealous activity in the use of all proper means for the preservation of the
public
liberty, as a 'pretended patriots,' 'intemperate politicians,' rash, hot-headed men, Incendiaries, wretched desperadoes, who, as was said of the best of men, would turn the world upside down, or have done it already."
source: Essay in the Boston Gazette, 1771.
attention
,
neglect
,
watchfullness
,
public awareness
,
liberties
,
patriotism
John Adams:
"There must be a positive passion for the
public
good, the
public
interest, honour, power and glory, established in the minds of people, or there can be no republication government nor any real liberty: and this
public
passion must be superior to all private passions. Men must be ready, they must pride themselves and be happy to sacrifice their private pleasures, passions, and interests, nay, their private friendships and dearest connections, when they stand in competition with the rights of society."
source: To Mercy Warren, 1776.
patriotism
,
passion
,
duty
,
commitment
,
public good
,
pure intentions
,
honor
,
integrity
,
liberty
Thomas Jefferson:
"I, however, place economy among the first and most important of republican virtues, and
public
debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared"
source: Letter to William Plumer (21 July 1816)
economy
,
debt
,
public debt
Gouverneur Morris:
"The reflection and experience of many years have led me to consider the holy writings not only as the most authentic and instructive in themselves, but as the clue to all other history. They tell us what man is, and they alone tell us why he is what he is: a contradictory creature that seeing and approving of what is good, pursues and performs what is evil. All of private and
public
life is there displayed. ... From the same pure fountain of wisdom we learn that vice destroys freedom; that arbitrary power is founded on
public
immorality."
source: Collections of the New York historical Society for the Year 1821", (New York: E. Bliss and E. White, 1821), p. 30, from "An Inaugural Discourse Delivered Before the New York Historical Society byt the Honorable Gouverneur Morris", September 4, 1816
Public morality
,
morality
,
Public Virtue
,
Separation of Church and State
Samuel Adams:
"The
public
cannot be too curious concerning the characters of
public
men."
source: To James Warren, 1775.
character
,
representatives
,
living in the
public
eye
Benjamin Franklin:
"In America, salaries, where indispensable, are extremely low; but much of
public
business is done gratis. The honor of serving the
public
ably and faithfully is deemed sufficient. Public spirit really exists there, and has great effects. In England it is universally deemed a nonentity, and whoever pretends to it is laughed at as a fool, or suspected as a knave."
source: Smith, Writings of Benjamin Franklin, 7:4.
wages
,
business interactions
,
public service
,
dignity
George Washington:
"I hold the maxim no less applicable to
public
than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy."
source: Farewell Address, September 17, 1796.
honesty
,
character
,
public
Thomas Paine:
"Republican government is no other than government established and conducted for the interest of the
public
, as well individually as collectively."
source: Rights of Man, 1792.
republic
,
government
,
public
,
rights
,
liberties
Thomas Jefferson:
"The time to guard against corruption and tyranny is before they shall have gotten hold of us. It is better to keep the wolf out of the fold than to trust to drawing his teeth and talons after he shall have entered."
source: Notes on Virginia, 1782.
corruption
,
watchdogs
,
awareness
,
politicians
Noah Webster:
"Perfection is not the lot of humanity. Instead of censuring the small faults of the constitution, I am astonished, that so many clashing interests have been reconciled--and so many sacrifices made to the general interest! The mutual concessions made by the gentlemen of the convention, reflect the highest honor on their cando and liberality; at the same time, they prove that their minds were deeply impressed with a conviction, that such mutual sacrifices are essential to our union."
source: An Examination into the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, Philadelphia, October 17, 1787.
constitution
,
perfection
,
sacrifice
,
public interest
,
unity
Thomas Paine:
"A too great inattention to past occurrences retards and bewilders our judgment in every thing; while, on the contrary, by comparing what is past with what is present, we frequently hit on the true character of both, and become wise with very little trouble. It is a kind of countermarch, by which we get into the rear of time, and mark the movements and meanings of things as we make our return."
source: The Crisis, 1777.
history
,
education
,
wisdom
,
awareness
William Penn:
"Governments, like clocks, go from the motion men give them, and as governments are made and moved by men, so by them they are ruined too. Wherefore governments rather depend upon men, than men upon governments. Let men be good, and the government cannot be bad; if it be ill, they will cure it. But if men be bad, let the government be never so good, they will endeavor to warp and soil it to their turn."
source: Preface to the First Frame of Government for Pennsylvania, which was formally adopted in England, April 25, 1682.
government
,
public
,
good vs. evil
,
corruption
,
success
William Penn:
"It is admirable to consider how many millions of people come into, and go out of the world, ignorant of themselves, and of the world they have lived in."
source: Some Fruits of Solitude, 1693.
intelligence
,
awareness
,
ignorance
George Washington:
"Guard against the postures of pretended patriotism."
source: Farewell Address, September 17, 1796.
patriotism
,
knowledge
,
awareness
Alexander Hamilton:
"The republican principle demands that the deliberate sense of the community should govern the conduct of those to whom they intrust the management of their affairs; but it does not require an unqualified complaisance to every sudden breeze of passion, or to every transient impulse which the people may receive from the arts of men, who flatter their prejudices to betray their interests. It is a just observation, that the people commonly INTEND the PUBLIC GOOD. This often applies to their very errors. But their good sense would despise the adulator who should pretend that they always REASON RIGHT about the MEANS of promoting it."
source: The Federalist Papers: No. 17
good intentions
,
whims
George Washington:
"Let me now ... warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party. ... It serves always to distract the
public
councils and enfeebles the
public
administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one party against another; foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption. ... A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume."
source: Farewell Address, September 17, 1796.
political parties
,
party votes
,
disagreements
,
corruption
,
pay offs
Samuel Adams:
"The true patriot therefore, will enquire into the causes of the fears and jealousies of his countrymen; and if he finds they are not groundless, he will be far from endeavoring to allay or stifle them: On the contrary, constrain'd by the Amor Patriae and from
public
views, he will by all proper means in his power foment and cherish them: He will, as far as he is able, keep the attention of this fellow citizens awake to their grievances; and not suffer them to be at rest, till the causes of their just complaints are removed. --At such a time Philanthrop's Patriot [a King's man] may be "very cautious of charging the want of ability or integrity to those with whom any of the powers of government are entrusted": But the true patriot, will constantly be jealous of those very men: Knowing that power, especially in times of corruption, makes men wanton; that it intoxicates the mind; and unless those with whom it is entrusted, are carefully watched, such is the weakness or the perverseness of human nature, they will be apt to domineer over the people, instead of governing them, according to the known laws of the state, to which alone they have submitted. If he finds, upon the best enquiry, the want of ability or integrity; that is, an ignorance of, or a disposition to depart from, the constitution, which is the measure and rule of government & submission, he will point them out, and loudly proclaim them: He will stir up the people, incessantly to complain of such men, till they are either reform'd, or remov'd from that sacred trust, which it is dangerous for them any longer to hold. "
source: Essay in the Boston Gazette, 1771.
patriotism
,
truth
,
corruption
,
power
,
power of free speech
,
removal from office
James Otis:
"The only [worthy] principles of
public
conduct ... are to sacrifice estate, ease, health, and applause, and even life, to the sacred calls of his country. These manly sentiments, in private life, make the good citizen in
public
life, the patiot and the hero."
source: Statement in court opposing "Writs of Assistance," 1761.
patriotism
,
sacrifice
,
hero
,
patriot
Rev. Jonathan Mayhew:
"To a generous mind, the
public
good, as it is the end of government, so it is also such a noble and excellent one, that the prospect of attaining it will animate the pursuit, and being attained, it will reward the pains. The very name of patriotism is indeed become a jest with some men; which would be much stranger than it is, had not so many others made a jest of the thing, serving their own base and wicked ends, under the pretext and colour of it. But there will be hypocrites in politicks, as well as in religion. Nor ought so sacred a name to fall into contempt, however it may have been prostituted & profaned, to varnish over crimes. And those times are perilous indeed, wherein men shall be only lover of their own selves, having no concern for the good of the
public
. Shall we go to the pagans to learn this god-like virtue? Even they can teach it. ... [A Christian lacking patriotism] ... would be a reporach not only to his religion, a religion of charity and beneficence, but even to our own common nature, as corrupt and depraved as it is. But how much more infamous were this, in persons of
public
character? in those, on whom the welfare of their country, under providence, immediately depends?"
source: Election sermon, 1754.
patriotism
,
hypocrites
,
politics
,
christianity
James Madison:
"Of all the enemies to
public
liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people. The same malignant aspect in republicanism may be traced in the inequality of fortunes, and the opportunities of fraud, growing out of a state of war, and in the degeneracy of manners and of morals, engendered by both. No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare."
source: "Political Observations" April 20, 1795.
war
,
libery
,
freedom
,
conflict
,
national security
,
balance of powers
,
virtue
Elbridge Gerry:
"All monies to be raised for supplying the
public
treasury by direct taxation shall be assessed on the inhabitants of the several states according to the number of their representatives respectively in the first branch, [...] according to the general principle that taxation and representation ought to go together."
source: Ibid., p. 246
taxation without representation
,
taxation on population
,
taxes
,
fairness
George Mason:
"He would, if interrogated, be obliged to declare that his political opinions at the age of twenty-one were too crude and erroneous to merit an influence on
public
measures. It had been said that Congress had proved a good school for our young men. It might be so, for anything he knew; but if it were, he chose that they should bear the expense of their own education."
source: Madison, p. 149
maturity
,
representative
,
accountability
,
responsibility
,
election
John Adams:
"The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and
public
justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist."
source: Charles Francis Adams, ed., The words of John Adams, 10 vols. 6:9, p. 280.
property
,
socialism
,
ownership of property
,
principle of freedom
George Washington:
"I entertain a strong hope that the state of the national finances is now sufficiently matured to enable you to enter upon a systematic and effectual arrangement for the regular redemption and discharge of the
public
debt, according to the right which has been reserved to the government. No measure can be more desirable, whether viewed with an eye to its intrinsic importance, or to the general sentiment and wish of the nation."
source: Fitzpatrick, Writings of George Washington, 32:211.
debt
,
national debt
,
budget
,
deficit
James Madison:
"Conscience is the most sacred of all property [...]. To guard a man's house as his castle, to pay
public
and enforce private debts with the most exact faith, can give no title to invade a man's conscience with is more sacred than his castle."
source: Article in the National Gazette, March 29, 1792.
property
,
rights
,
conscience
,
honestly
Michel Jean De Crevecoeur:
"The easiest way of becoming acquainted with the modes of thinking, the rules of conduct, and the prevailing manners of any people, is to examine what sort of education they give their children; how they treat them at home, and what they are taught in their places of
public
worship."
source: Letters From an American Farmer, 1782.
parenting
,
education
,
respect
,
home-life
,
worship habits
John Adams:
"I do not curse the day when I engaged in
public
affairs [...]. I cannot repent of any thing I ever did conscientiously and from a sense of duty. I never engaged in
public
affairs from my own interest, pleasure, envy, jealousy, avarice, or ambition, or even the desire of fame. If any of these had been my motive, my conduct would have been very different. In every considerable transaction of my
public
life, I have invariably acted according to my best judgment, and I can look up to God for the sincerity of my intentions."
source: Ibid., pp. 208-9.
honesty
,
integrity
,
duty
,
motive
,
service
,
patriotism
Thomas Jefferson:
"For promoting the
public
happiness, those persons whom nature has endowed with genius and virtue, should be rendered by liberal education worthy to receive, and able to guard the sacred deposit of the rights and liberties of their fellow citizens; and they should be called to that charge without regard to [...] birth, or other accidental condition or circumstance."
source: Ibid., 2:221.
responsibility of citizery
,
duty
,
uphold liberties
,
prejudice
Thomas Jefferson:
"I am for a government rigorously frugal & simple, applying all the possible savings of the
public
revenue to the discharge of the national debt; and not for a multiplication of officers & salaries merely to make partisans, & for increasing, by every device, the
public
debt, on the principle of its being a
public
blessing."
source: Letter to Elbridge Gerry, January 26, 1799.
government spending
,
debt
,
frugality
,
deficit
,
revenue
,
corruption
James Madison:
"I go on the principle that
public
debt is a
public
curse."
source: Letter to Henry Lee, April 13, 1790.
debt
,
deficit
,
spending
John Adams:
"When
public
virtue is gone, when the national spirit is fled [...] the republic is lost in essence, though it may still exist in form."
source: To Benjamin Rush, 1808.
virtue and freedom
,
requirements of a free people
,
American government prerequistes
John Adams:
"The preservation of the means of knowledge among the lowest ranks is of more importance to the
public
than all the property of all the rich men in the country."
source: Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, 1765
education for all
,
liberty
,
value of education
Alexander Hamilton:
"The principal purposes to be answered by union are these--the common defense of the members; the preservation of the
public
peace, as well against internal convulsions as external attacks; the regulation of commerce with other nations and between the States; the superintendence of our intercourse, political and commercial, with foreign countries."
source: Federalist Papers, No. 23
reasons for union
,
role of federal government
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