Also known as the Father of American Independence, John Adams was one of the most learned philosophers and America’s second president. Adams was a complex and controversial figure, but he was also one of the most important figures in American history. He was a brilliant lawyer and politician and played a key role in founding the United States. He was also a strong advocate for democracy and individual liberty. Let the wisdom and burning passion for liberty sink into your mind through the John Adams Quotes.
- “If conscience disapproves, the loudest applauses of the world are of little value.”
- “Let us tenderly and kindly cherish the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write.”
- “A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.”
- “Old minds are like old horses; you must exercise them if you wish to keep them in working order.”
- “Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.”
- “Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom! I hope you will make a good use of it.”
- “The true source of our suffering has been our timidity. We have been afraid to think…”
- “Liberty, according to my metaphysics is a self-determining power in an intellectual agent. It implies thought and choice and power.”
- “Human passions unbridled by morality and religion… would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net.”
- “Abuse of words has been the great instrument of sophistry and chicanery, of party, faction, and division of society.”
- “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.”
- “The jaws of power are always open to devour, and her arm is always stretched out, if possible, to destroy the freedom of thinking, speaking, and writing.”
- “The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.”
- “My fixed principle never to be the tool of a man, nor the partisan of any nation, would forever exclude me from the smiles and favors of court.”
- “Let the human mind loose. It must be loose. It will be loose. Superstition and dogmatism cannot confine it.”
Finally, these words of wisdom demonstrate how intelligent John Adams was in his approach to life as a man of ideas. He was a devoted politician and patriot. He firmly believed in democracy and simply wanted the best for his country. We hope these John Adams Quotes have helped you understand his effort so that future generations might live in peace and uphold the principles of liberty and democracy.
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