Each quote below is checked against the primary record. The archive presents what it holds. Where a document exists at a confirmed institutional archive, it is linked. Where the attribution is disputed or unconfirmed, that is stated directly.
Confirmed — named primary document at confirmed archive
Disputed — sentiment documented but exact wording unconfirmed
Not in the record — not confirmed at any primary source
Confirmed in the Primary Record
13 quotes · Named documents · Confirmed institutional archives · Linked below
01
"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 · August 2, 1776 · National Archives
The Declaration of Independence is at the National Archives. The text is confirmed. Jefferson wrote the draft. Congress made changes — including replacing "sacred and undeniable" with "self-evident," a change attributed to Franklin. The final adopted text is the primary document. National Archives →
02
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. It is it's natural manure."
Thomas Jefferson · Letter to William Stephens Smith · November 13, 1787 · Founders Online
Confirmed at Founders Online. Jefferson was writing from Paris, responding to news of Shays' Rebellion in Massachusetts. The letter is in the Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 12, pp. 355–57. Founders Online →
03
"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."
John Adams · Closing Argument · Boston Massacre Trial · October–November 1770 · Founders Online
Confirmed at Founders Online in Adams's Legal Papers, vol. 3. Adams delivered this in closing argument during the trial of the British soldiers. The full trial record is documented. Founders Online →
04
"Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness."
George Washington · Farewell Address · September 19, 1796 · Yale Avalon
Confirmed at Yale Avalon. The Farewell Address was written with Hamilton's assistance and published in the American Daily Advertiser on September 19, 1796. Full text at Yale Avalon. Yale Avalon →
05
"If men were angels, no government would be necessary."
James Madison · Federalist No. 51 · February 6, 1788 · Yale Avalon
Confirmed at Yale Avalon. Federalist No. 51 was published in the New York Packet under the pseudonym "Publius." Madison's authorship is confirmed. The full text of Federalist No. 51 is at Yale Avalon. Yale Avalon →
06
"The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for, among old parchments, or musty records. They are written, as with a sun beam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself."
Alexander Hamilton · The Farmer Refuted · February 23, 1775 · Founders Online
Confirmed at Founders Online. Written while Hamilton was a student at King's College in New York, arguing the Patriot case against the Loyalist pamphleteer Samuel Seabury. Published anonymously. Founders Online →
07
"Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must more approve the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear."
Thomas Jefferson · Letter to Peter Carr · August 10, 1787 · Founders Online
Confirmed at Founders Online. Jefferson wrote this to his nephew Peter Carr from Paris when Carr was seventeen years old. The letter advises Carr on reading, morals, and religion. Founders Online →
08
"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man and his God... building a wall of separation between Church and State."
Thomas Jefferson · Letter to the Danbury Baptist Association · January 1, 1802 · Library of Congress
Confirmed at the Library of Congress. The original manuscript is held at the LOC. This letter is the origin of the phrase "wall of separation between Church and State" in American constitutional discourse. Library of Congress →
09
"The Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion."
Treaty of Peace and Friendship with Tripoli · Article 11 · Ratified unanimously by the Senate · June 7, 1797 · Yale Avalon
Confirmed at Yale Avalon. Negotiated under Washington, signed under Adams, ratified unanimously by the Senate. Note: the Arabic original of the treaty does not contain Article 11 — the article appears only in the English translation. This discrepancy is documented in historical scholarship. Yale Avalon →
10
"The Government of the United States... gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance."
George Washington · Letter to the Hebrew Congregation at Newport · August 18, 1790 · Founders Online
Confirmed at Founders Online. Washington wrote this in reply to a letter from Moses Seixas of the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island. The phrase echoes Seixas's own letter — Washington adopted it and returned it with force. Founders Online →
11
"Liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker."
John Adams · A Dissertation on the Canon and the Feudal Law · Boston Gazette · August 1765 · Founders Online
Confirmed at Founders Online. Adams published this in the Boston Gazette in four installments in 1765, the same year as the Stamp Act. It was his first major political publication. Founders Online →
12
"As we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously."
Benjamin Franklin · The Autobiography · Written 1771–1790 · Project Gutenberg
Confirmed at Project Gutenberg. Franklin wrote this in the Autobiography explaining why he refused a patent on the Franklin Stove. He applied the same principle to every invention he made. Project Gutenberg →
13
"I believe in one God, Creator of the Universe. That He governs it by his Providence... I think the System of Morals devised by Jesus... the best the World ever saw; but I have... some Doubts as to his Divinity."
Benjamin Franklin · Letter to Ezra Stiles · March 9, 1790 · Yale Franklin Papers
Confirmed at the Yale Franklin Papers. Franklin wrote this five weeks before his death at age 84, in reply to a direct question from Stiles about his religious beliefs. It is the only letter in which Franklin stated his full creed. Yale Franklin Papers →
14
"I have resolved, if our interview is to take place, to throw away my first fire, and I have thoughts even of reserving my second fire."
Alexander Hamilton · Statement on the Duel · July 10, 1804 · Founders Online
Confirmed at Founders Online. Hamilton wrote this the evening before his duel with Aaron Burr at Weehawken, New Jersey. He had decided not to shoot. He was killed the following morning, July 11, 1804. Founders Online →
NEW_A
"And since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people."
George Washington · First Inaugural Address · April 30, 1789 · Founders Online · National Archives
Confirmed at Founders Online and the National Archives. Washington delivered the first presidential inaugural address to a joint session of Congress at Federal Hall in New York City on April 30, 1789. The original manuscript is at the National Archives, Records of the U.S. Senate, RG 46. Founders Online →
NEW_B
"Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires. But it could not be less folly to abolish liberty, which is essential to political life, because it nourishes faction, than it would be to wish the annihilation of air."
James Madison · Federalist No. 10 · November 22, 1787 · Yale Avalon · Founders Online
Confirmed at Yale Avalon and Founders Online. Federalist No. 10 was published in the Daily Advertiser on November 22, 1787, under the pseudonym Publius. Madison's authorship is confirmed. Yale Avalon →
NEW_C
"Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem." — I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.
Thomas Jefferson · To James Madison · January 30, 1787 · Founders Online
Confirmed at Founders Online. Jefferson used this Latin phrase in a letter to Madison written from Paris on January 30, 1787 — discussing Shays' Rebellion and the nature of republican government. Note: this quote is sometimes given with an incorrect date of December 20, 1787. The correct date is January 30, 1787. Founders Online →
Disputed — Sentiment Documented, Exact Wording Unconfirmed
3 quotes · The underlying idea is in the record · The specific wording is not confirmed at a primary source
15
"Give me liberty, or give me death."
Attributed to Patrick Henry · Virginia Convention · March 23, 1775 · Disputed
No transcript of Henry's speech survives from 1775. The text was reconstructed by William Wirt in his 1817 biography of Henry — forty-two years after the speech, based on interviews with people who claimed to have been present. Wirt acknowledged that "no one who then heard it can give any distinct account of it." Henry's role in the Virginia Convention on that date is confirmed. The specific words are not in any primary document from 1775. The channel's Forgotten Founders episode on Patrick Henry documents this gap.
16
"We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."
Attributed to Benjamin Franklin · At the signing of the Declaration · August 2, 1776 · Disputed
This remark is widely attributed to Franklin at the signing but does not appear in any confirmed primary document written at the time. It appears in later accounts and collections. It is consistent with Franklin's documented wit and the circumstances of the signing, but the channel cannot cite a primary source for the exact words. Franklin's presence at the signing is confirmed at the National Archives.
17
"The price of liberty is eternal vigilance."
Attributed to Thomas Jefferson · Not confirmed at any Jefferson primary source · Disputed
This phrase is widely attributed to Jefferson but does not appear in his confirmed papers at Founders Online. The phrase was used by abolitionist Wendell Phillips in a speech in Boston on January 28, 1852 — he attributed a similar sentiment to John Philpot Curran in 1790, not to Jefferson. No Jefferson letter or document containing this phrase has been confirmed by the Papers of Thomas Jefferson project. The Monticello research team lists it as spurious.
Not in the Primary Record
4 quotes · Widely circulated · Not confirmed at any primary source at any institutional archive
18
"When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny."
Widely attributed to Thomas Jefferson · Not in the primary record
This quote does not appear in Jefferson's confirmed papers at Founders Online. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello lists it as spurious. No primary document source has been identified. The sentiment is consistent with things Jefferson wrote, but the specific language is not confirmed in any primary document at any institutional archive. The Monticello research team actively maintains a list of misattributed Jefferson quotes: monticello.org/research-education/for-researchers/spurious-quotes/
19
"A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you have."
Attributed to Jefferson, Franklin, and others · Not in the primary record
This quote has been attributed to Jefferson, Franklin, Gerald Ford, and Barry Goldwater, among others. It does not appear in the confirmed papers of Jefferson or Franklin at Founders Online or Project Gutenberg. President Gerald Ford used a version of it in a 1974 address to Congress. No founding era primary document source has been confirmed. The attribution to founding figures is not supported by the primary record.
20
"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government."
Widely attributed to Patrick Henry · Not in the primary record
This quote does not appear in any confirmed Patrick Henry primary document. Henry's surviving papers are limited — he reportedly asked that many be burned. The sentiment broadly reflects Henry's Anti-Federalist position, which is documented in the Virginia Ratification Convention debates of 1788. But the specific language has not been confirmed in any primary document at any institutional archive. It appears to originate in the 20th century.
21
"I predict future happiness for Americans, if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
Attributed to Thomas Jefferson · Not confirmed in the primary record
This quote does not appear in Jefferson's confirmed papers at Founders Online. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello lists it as unverified. No primary document source — no letter, no speech, no published work — has been identified that contains this language. The attribution circulates widely in political commentary but is not supported by the primary record.
The Second Amendment — Primary Documents
5 confirmed quotes · Named primary documents at institutional archives
SA1
"The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; a well armed, and well regulated militia being the best security of a free country: but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms, shall be compelled to render military service in person."
James Madison · Proposed Amendments to the Constitution · June 8, 1789 · Founders Online · Online Library of Liberty
Confirmed at Founders Online. This is Madison's original proposed language — not the ratified text. The religious conscientious objector clause was debated extensively and removed before ratification. The final Second Amendment reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Founders Online →
SA2
"That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that, in all cases, the military should be under strict subordination to, and be governed by, the civil power."
George Mason · Virginia Declaration of Rights · Article XIII · June 12, 1776 · Yale Avalon · National Archives · Gunston Hall
Confirmed at Yale Avalon, the National Archives, and the Gunston Hall research archive. Adopted unanimously by the Virginia Convention of Delegates on June 12, 1776. Mason's Declaration of Rights predates and directly influenced both the Declaration of Independence and the federal Bill of Rights. Yale Avalon →
SA3
"Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of."
James Madison · Federalist No. 46 · January 29, 1788 · Yale Avalon · Founders Online
Confirmed at Yale Avalon and Founders Online. Federalist No. 46 was published in the New York Packet on January 29, 1788, under the pseudonym Publius. Madison contrasts the armed American citizenry with the disarmed populations of European nations. Yale Avalon →
SA4
"If a well-regulated militia be the most natural defense of a free country, it ought certainly to be under the regulation and at the disposal of that body which is constituted the guardian of the national security... The project of disciplining all the militia of the United States is as futile as it would be injurious if it were capable of being carried into execution."
Alexander Hamilton · Federalist No. 29 · January 10, 1788 · Yale Avalon
Confirmed at Yale Avalon. Federalist No. 29 was published in the Daily Advertiser on January 10, 1788, under the pseudonym Publius. Hamilton argues for federal regulation of the militia while affirming the citizen base and the impracticality of disciplining every able-bodied man. Yale Avalon →
SA5
"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
Thomas Jefferson · First Draft of a Constitution for Virginia · 1776 · Founders Online
Confirmed at Founders Online. This appears in Jefferson's First Draft of a Constitution for Virginia, written before June 1776. Important note: this was Jefferson's draft — it was not adopted. The Virginia Constitution that was enacted did not contain this language. The document is at Founders Online as part of the Jefferson Papers. Founders Online →
Religion, Faith, and Inclusion — Primary Documents
3 confirmed quotes · Jews · Muslims · Atheists · In the founders' own hand
R1
"They meant to comprehend, within the mantle of it's protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan, the Hindoo, and Infidel of every denomination."
Thomas Jefferson · Autobiography · 1821 · Founders Online
Confirmed at Founders Online. Jefferson wrote this in his Autobiography (1821) describing the defeat of an attempt to add "Jesus Christ" to the preamble of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom during the 1786 legislative debate. The Monticello research archive documents the citation: "Jefferson, Autobiography (1821), Ford 1:53. Transcription available at Founders Online." Founders Online →
R2
"If they are good workmen, they may be of Assia, Africa, or Europe. They may be Mahometans, Jews, or Christian of any Sect—or they may be Athiests."
George Washington · To Tench Tilghman · March 24, 1784 · Founders Online
Confirmed at Founders Online. Washington was writing to his former aide-de-camp Tench Tilghman asking him to hire tradesmen for Mount Vernon — a house joiner and bricklayer from a ship of Palatine immigrants docked in Baltimore. Washington's criterion was skill, not faith or origin. Founders Online →
R3
"The design in building not being to accommodate any particular sect, but the inhabitants in general; so that even if the Mufti of Constantinople were to send a missionary to preach Mohammedanism to us, he would find a pulpit at his service."
Benjamin Franklin · The Autobiography · Written 1771–1790 · Project Gutenberg
Confirmed at Project Gutenberg. Franklin wrote this in the Autobiography describing a hall built in Philadelphia for George Whitefield's preaching, which was vested in trustees "for the use of any preacher of any religious persuasion who might desire to say something to the people at Philadelphia." Project Gutenberg →
A Note on the Archive and Misattribution
The founding era is one of the most heavily misquoted periods in American history. The Monticello research team maintains a dedicated database of spurious Jefferson quotes at monticello.org/research-education/for-researchers/spurious-quotes/ — it is long. The Mount Vernon research team maintains a similar resource for Washington misattributions. The channel cites only what is confirmed at named primary documents at approved institutional archives. Where a quote is disputed or unconfirmed, that is stated directly. The archive is a living document — as new primary materials are digitized and confirmed, this episode will be updated.
Go Deeper — Primary Sources
Confirmed archive links for the 13 verified quotes above
National Archives
Declaration of Independence · Full text · "We hold these truths to be self-evident" · Quote 01 confirmed
archives.gov
Founders Online
Adams · Boston Massacre closing argument · 1770 · "Facts are stubborn things" · Quote 02 confirmed
founders.archives.gov
Yale Avalon
Washington · Farewell Address · 1796 · "Religion and morality are indispensable supports" · Quote 03 confirmed
avalon.law.yale.edu
Yale Avalon
Madison · Federalist No. 51 · 1788 · "If men were angels, no government would be necessary" · Quote 04 confirmed
avalon.law.yale.edu
Founders Online
Hamilton · The Farmer Refuted · 1775 · "The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for, among old parchments" · Quote 05 confirmed
founders.archives.gov
Founders Online
Jefferson · To Peter Carr · 1787 · "Question with boldness even the existence of a god" · Quote 06 confirmed
founders.archives.gov
Library of Congress
Jefferson · Danbury Baptists · 1802 · "wall of separation between Church and State" · Quote 07 confirmed
loc.gov
Yale Avalon
Treaty of Tripoli · Article 11 · 1797 · "not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion" · Quote 08 confirmed
avalon.law.yale.edu
Founders Online
Washington · Hebrew Congregation Newport · 1790 · "gives to bigotry no sanction" · Quote 09 confirmed
founders.archives.gov
Founders Online
Adams · Dissertation on Canon and Feudal Law · 1765 · "Liberty must at all hazards be supported" · Quote 10 confirmed
founders.archives.gov
Project Gutenberg
Franklin · Autobiography · "we should do freely and generously" · Patent refusal · Quote 11 confirmed
gutenberg.org
Yale Franklin Papers
Franklin · To Ezra Stiles · March 9, 1790 · "I believe in one God, Creator of the Universe" · Quote 12 confirmed
franklinpapers.org
Founders Online
Hamilton · Statement on the duel · July 10, 1804 · "I have resolved to throw away my first fire" · Quote 13 confirmed
founders.archives.gov
Founders Online
Jefferson · To William Stephens Smith · November 13, 1787 · "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants" · Quote 14 confirmed
founders.archives.gov
Thomas Jefferson Foundation · Monticello
Spurious Quotes attributed to Jefferson · Monticello's maintained research database · Covers Quotes 17, 18, and 20 above
monticello.org
Founders Online · National Archives
Washington · First Inaugural Address · April 30, 1789 · "sacred fire of liberty... experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people" · Confirmed
founders.archives.gov
Yale Avalon
Madison · Federalist No. 10 · November 22, 1787 · "Liberty is to faction what air is to fire" · Confirmed
avalon.law.yale.edu
Founders Online
Jefferson · To Madison · January 30, 1787 · "Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem" · I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery · Confirmed
founders.archives.gov
Founders Online
Madison · Proposed Bill of Rights · June 8, 1789 · Original Second Amendment draft with conscientious objector clause · Not the ratified text
founders.archives.gov
Yale Avalon
Mason · Virginia Declaration of Rights · Article XIII · June 12, 1776 · "well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people" · Confirmed
avalon.law.yale.edu
Yale Avalon
Madison · Federalist No. 46 · January 29, 1788 · "advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess" · Confirmed
avalon.law.yale.edu
Yale Avalon
Hamilton · Federalist No. 29 · January 10, 1788 · "well-regulated militia... most natural defense of a free country" · Confirmed
avalon.law.yale.edu
Founders Online
Jefferson · First Draft Virginia Constitution · 1776 · "No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms" · Draft — not adopted · Confirmed
founders.archives.gov
Founders Online
Washington · To Tench Tilghman · March 24, 1784 · "They may be Mahometans, Jews, or Christian of any Sect—or they may be Athiests" · Confirmed
founders.archives.gov