"I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and Constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind."

"The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family."

"The will of the people, expressed by their representatives, is the only legitimate foundation of any government."

"Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition."

"I have often thought that if heaven had given me choice of my position and calling, it should have been on a rich spot of earth, well watered, and near a good market for the produce of the superflux."