1 version=pmwiki-2.2.130 ordered=1 urlencoded=1
2 agent=Mozilla/5.0 (X11; OpenBSD amd64; rv:82.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/82.0
10 targets=Freedom.Software,Freedom.Selfadmin,Freedom.Unix,Freedom.Educate
11 text=(:title Freedom to Fork:)%0a%0a%25width=200px rfloat%25 Attach:Marketing/comeandtakeit.png%0a%0a->When an online platform abuses and exploits its users, it is the users' right and duty to quit and create a new one.%0a%0a->To preserve our liberties, staff have to be warned from time to time that their users have the power to fork.%0a%0a->Unfair rules cannot be forced on a free network when all the users are trained and have access to the software.%0a%0aMost online communities abuse and exploit their users. This is possible by making it difficult for users to leave: by taking away control of the servers, code, and data from its users.%0a%0aTo guard against network tyranny, we ensure that users always have the power to fork. IRCNow guarantees every user [[freedom/software|the right to the source code]]. Users [[freedom/selfadmin|self-admin]] the network. Our code follows [[freedom/unix|the UNIX philosophy]] so that normal users can quickly understand and work on the code. We [[freedom/educate|educate our users]] so that the power of the code rests with the users and not merely in the hands of a few elites.%0a%0aFor this reason, IRCNow rejects the use of any proprietary software and vendor lock-in. Proprietary software and vendor lock-in restricts the users' ability to fork the project. We require network software to function using only open protocols and standards. IRCNow allows interoperability with proprietary protocols, but we never require them.%0a%0aIRCNow is focused on making every component of our infrastructure easy for anyone to self host on your own hardware. If the network staff ever abuses their power, the users always retain the freedom to fork.
14 author:1612449565=jrmu
15 diff:1612449565:1612449531:=11c11%0a%3c Most online communities abuse and exploit their users. This is possible by making it difficult for users to leave: by taking away control of the servers, code, and data from its users.%0a---%0a> Most online communities abuse and exploit their users. Staff will try to invade user privacy; unfairly restrict competition; and practice unjust censorship. This is possible by making it difficult for users to leave: by taking away control of the servers, code, and data from its users.%0a
16 host:1612449565=198.251.81.119
17 author:1612449531=jrmu
18 diff:1612449531:1612449122:=11,17c11,17%0a%3c Most online communities abuse and exploit their users. Staff will try to invade user privacy; unfairly restrict competition; and practice unjust censorship. This is possible by making it difficult for users to leave: by taking away control of the servers, code, and data from its users.%0a%3c %0a%3c To guard against network tyranny, we ensure that users always have the power to fork. IRCNow guarantees every user [[freedom/software|the right to the source code]]. Users [[freedom/selfadmin|self-admin]] the network. Our code follows [[freedom/unix|the UNIX philosophy]] so that normal users can quickly understand and work on the code. We [[freedom/educate|educate our users]] so that the power of the code rests with the users and not merely in the hands of a few elites.%0a%3c %0a%3c For this reason, IRCNow rejects the use of any proprietary software and vendor lock-in. Proprietary software and vendor lock-in restricts the users' ability to fork the project. We require network software to function using only open protocols and standards. IRCNow allows interoperability with proprietary protocols, but we never require them.%0a%3c %0a%3c IRCNow is focused on making every component of our infrastructure easy for anyone to self host on your own hardware. If the network staff ever abuses their power, the users always retain the freedom to fork.%0a\ No newline at end of file%0a---%0a> Over time, most online communities begin to abuse and exploit their users. Staff will try to invade user privacy; unfairly restrict competition; and practice unjust censorship. This is possible by making it difficult for users to leave: by taking away control of the servers, code, and data from its users.%0a> %0a> To guard against network tyranny, we must ensure that users always have the power to fork. IRCNow guarantees every user [[freedom/software|the right to the source code]]. We follow [[freedom/unix|the UNIX philosophy]] so that average users can easily understand and work on the code. We educate our users so that the power of the code [[freedom/militia|rests with the users]] and not merely in the hands of a few elites.%0a> %0a> For this reason, IRCNow rejects the use of any proprietary software, or even third-party proprietary services. Even if part of the source code is free, a dependency upon third-party proprietary services restricts the user's ability to fork the project. The network software must also be able to run using only open protocols and standards for the same reason. IRCNow allows interoperability with proprietary protocols, but it will never require it.%0a> %0a> IRCNow's ultimate goal is to make every component of its infrastructure easy for anyone to self host (to run on your own hardware). IRCNow's goal is provide clear, easy-to-read documentation for users who want to self host. It also provides training and support for users who want to join our network. This ensures that users always retain the freedom to fork.%0a\ No newline at end of file%0a
19 host:1612449531=198.251.81.119
20 author:1612449122=jrmu
21 diff:1612449122:1612449077:=11c11%0a%3c Over time, most online communities begin to abuse and exploit their users. Staff will try to invade user privacy; unfairly restrict competition; and practice unjust censorship. This is possible by making it difficult for users to leave: by taking away control of the servers, code, and data from its users.%0a---%0a> Over time, most online communities begin to abuse and exploit their users. Staff will try to invade user privacy; unfairly restrict competition; practice unjust censorship. This is possible by making it difficult for users to leave: by taking away control of the servers, code, and data from its users.%0a
22 host:1612449122=198.251.81.119
23 author:1612449077=jrmu
24 diff:1612449077:1612432171:=3c3%0a%3c %25width=200px rfloat%25 Attach:Marketing/comeandtakeit.png%0a---%0a> %25width=40pct rfloat%25 Attach:Marketing/comeandtakeit.png%0a
25 host:1612449077=198.251.81.119
26 author:1612432171=jrmu
27 diff:1612432171:1612430551:=11c11%0a%3c Over time, most online communities begin to abuse and exploit their users. Staff will try to invade user privacy; unfairly restrict competition; practice unjust censorship. This is possible by making it difficult for users to leave: by taking away control of the servers, code, and data from its users.%0a---%0a> Over time, most online communities begin to abuse and exploit their users. Owners will try to invade user privacy; unfairly restrict competition; practice unjust censorship. This is possible by making it difficult for users to leave: by taking away control of the servers, code, and data from its users.%0a
28 host:1612432171=198.251.81.119
29 author:1612430551=jrmu
30 diff:1612430551:1612430410:=3a4,5%0a> %0a> ->'''Fork''': to take an existing project, break old ties, and create an independent one%0a
31 host:1612430551=198.251.81.119
32 author:1612430410=jrmu
33 diff:1612430410:1612430347:=
34 host:1612430410=198.251.81.119
35 author:1612430347=jrmu
36 diff:1612430347:1612430113:=13,15c13,15%0a%3c Over time, most online communities begin to abuse and exploit their users. Owners will try to invade user privacy; unfairly restrict competition; practice unjust censorship. This is possible by making it difficult for users to leave: by taking away control of the servers, code, and data from its users.%0a%3c %0a%3c To guard against network tyranny, we must ensure that users always have the power to fork. IRCNow guarantees every user [[freedom/software|the right to the source code]]. We follow [[freedom/unix|the UNIX philosophy]] so that average users can easily understand and work on the code. We educate our users so that the power of the code [[freedom/militia|rests with the users]] and not merely in the hands of a few elites.%0a---%0a> Over time, most online communities begin to abuse and exploit their users. They forget to cherish their users, the very people who gave them money and power in the first place. They begin to prioritize their own self-interest and profit above that of their community. Owners might try to invade user privacy; or unfairly restrict competition; or practice unjust censorship and banning. Closed internet providers exert this control by making it difficult or impossible to leave -- by taking away all of the servers, code, and data from the users.%0a> %0a> The most effective way to guard against network tyranny is to ensure that the users always have the power to fork. For this reason, IRCNow guarantees every user [[freedom/software|the right to the source code]] used on the network. IRCNow tries to follow [[freedom/unix|the UNIX philosophy]] so that hobbyists can easily understand and work on the code. It trains and equips the users so that the power of the code [[freedom/militia|rests with the users]] and not merely in the hands of a few elites.%0a
37 host:1612430347=198.251.81.119
38 author:1612430113=jrmu
39 diff:1612430113:1611889776:=5,6c5,6%0a%3c ->'''Fork''': to take an existing project, break old ties, and create an independent one%0a%3c %0a---%0a> ->'''Fork''': when coders take an existing project and break old ties to create a new independent one.%0a> %0a11c11,17%0a%3c ->Unfair rules cannot be forced on a free network when all the users are trained and have access to the software.%0a---%0a> ->The right of the users to fork protects our liberty because it threatens the power of abusive staff.%0a> %0a> ->No corporation can ever deprive its users of their freedom so long as there is a large number of users who can fork the network, who stand ready to defend the rights of their fellow users.%0a> %0a> ->Before corporations can exploit their users, the ability to fork must be restricted, as they are in almost every online platform today. Unjust rules cannot be enforced on a free network because all the users have access to the software and the users are a force superior to any corporation.%0a> %0a> ->The corporations are afraid to trust their users with access to software.%0a
40 host:1612430113=198.251.81.119
41 author:1611889776=jrmu
42 diff:1611889776:1611889732:=3c3%0a%3c %25width=40pct rfloat%25 Attach:Marketing/comeandtakeit.png%0a---%0a> %25width=70pct rfloat%25 Attach:Marketing/comeandtakeit.png%0a
43 host:1611889776=125.231.24.226
44 author:1611889732=jrmu
45 diff:1611889732:1611889711:=3,4d2%0a%3c %25width=70pct rfloat%25 Attach:Marketing/comeandtakeit.png%0a%3c %0a17a16,17%0a> %0a> %25width=70pct rfloat%25 Attach:Marketing/comeandtakeit.png%0a
46 host:1611889732=125.231.24.226
47 author:1611889711=jrmu
48 diff:1611889711:1611889697:=2a3,4%0a> %25width=70pct lfloat%25 Attach:Marketing/comeandtakeit.png%0a> %0a16,17d17%0a%3c %0a%3c %25width=70pct rfloat%25 Attach:Marketing/comeandtakeit.png%0a
49 host:1611889711=125.231.24.226
50 author:1611889697=jrmu
51 diff:1611889697:1611889682:=3c3%0a%3c %25width=70pct lfloat%25 Attach:Marketing/comeandtakeit.png%0a---%0a> %25width=70pct rfloat%25 Attach:Marketing/comeandtakeit.png%0a
52 host:1611889697=125.231.24.226
53 author:1611889682=jrmu
54 diff:1611889682:1611488512:=3c3%0a%3c %25width=70pct rfloat%25 Attach:Marketing/comeandtakeit.png%0a---%0a> %25width=40pct%25 Attach:Marketing/comeandtakeit.png%0a
55 host:1611889682=125.231.24.226
56 author:1611488512=jrmu
57 diff:1611488512:1611488487:=3,4d2%0a%3c %25width=40pct%25 Attach:Marketing/comeandtakeit.png%0a%3c %0a17a16,17%0a> %0a> Attach:Marketing/comeandtakeit.png%0a
58 host:1611488512=125.231.20.163
59 author:1611488487=jrmu
60 diff:1611488487:1606883669:=16,17d15%0a%3c %0a%3c Attach:Marketing/comeandtakeit.png%0a
61 host:1611488487=125.231.20.163
62 author:1606883669=jrmu
63 diff:1606883669:1606883578:=19c19%0a%3c The most effective way to guard against network tyranny is to ensure that the users always have the power to fork. For this reason, IRCNow guarantees every user [[freedom/software|the right to the source code]] used on the network. IRCNow tries to follow [[freedom/unix|the UNIX philosophy]] so that hobbyists can easily understand and work on the code. It trains and equips the users so that the power of the code [[freedom/militia|rests with the users]] and not merely in the hands of a few elites.%0a---%0a> The most effective way to guard against network tyranny is to ensure that the users always have the power to fork. For this reason, IRCNow guarantees every user [[freedom/software|the right to the source code]] used on the network. IRCNow tries to follow [[freedom/unix|the UNIX philosophy]] so that hobbyists can easily understand and work on the code. It trains and equips the users so that the power of the code [[freedom/militia|rests with the users]] and not merely in the hands of a few elite professionals.%0a
64 host:1606883669=125.224.25.38
65 author:1606883578=jrmu
66 diff:1606883578:1597211037:=5,13c5,13%0a%3c ->When an online platform abuses and exploits its users, it is the users' right and duty to quit and create a new one.%0a%3c %0a%3c ->To preserve our liberties, staff have to be warned from time to time that their users have the power to fork.%0a%3c %0a%3c ->The right of the users to fork protects our liberty because it threatens the power of abusive staff.%0a%3c %0a%3c ->No corporation can ever deprive its users of their freedom so long as there is a large number of users who can fork the network, who stand ready to defend the rights of their fellow users.%0a%3c %0a%3c ->Before corporations can exploit their users, the ability to fork must be restricted, as they are in almost every online platform today. Unjust rules cannot be enforced on a free network because all the users have access to the software and the users are a force superior to any corporation.%0a---%0a> ->When a long train of abuses and exploitation shows that an online platform wants to reduce its users to slavery, it is the users' right, it is their duty, to quit such a network and provide a new one for their future security.%0a> %0a> ->What network can preserve its liberties if their sysadmins are not warned from time to time that the users have the power to fork?%0a> %0a> ->The right of the users to fork safeguards the liberties of a free network, since it offers a powerful check against the arbitrary power of sysadmins.%0a> %0a> ->No staff can ever deprive the users of their liberties so long as there is a large number of users who can fork the network, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-users.%0a> %0a> ->Before corporations can rule, the ability to fork must be restricted, as they are in almost every online platform today. Unjust rules cannot be enforced on a free network because all the users have access to the software and are a force superior to any corporation.%0a
67 host:1606883578=125.224.25.38
68 author:1597211037=jrmu
69 diff:1597211037:1597054364:=19c19%0a%3c The most effective way to guard against network tyranny is to ensure that the users always have the power to fork. For this reason, IRCNow guarantees every user [[freedom/software|the right to the source code]] used on the network. IRCNow tries to follow [[freedom/unix|the UNIX philosophy]] so that hobbyists can easily understand and work on the code. It trains and equips the users so that the power of the code [[freedom/militia|rests with the users]] and not merely in the hands of a few elite professionals.%0a---%0a> The most effective way to guard against network tyranny is to ensure that the users always have the power to fork. For this reason, IRCNow guarantees every user [[freedom/software|the right to the source code]] used on the network. IRCNow tries to follow [[freedom/unix|the UNIX philosophy]] so that amateurs can easily understand and work on the code. It trains and equips the users so that the power of the code [[freedom/militia|rests with the users]] and not merely in the hands of a few elite professionals.%0a
70 host:1597211037=38.81.163.143
71 author:1597054364=jrmu
72 diff:1597054364:1597054352:=15c15%0a%3c ->The corporations are afraid to trust their users with access to software.%0a---%0a> ->The corporations are afraid to trust the people with access to software.%0a
73 host:1597054364=38.81.163.143
74 author:1597054352=jrmu
75 diff:1597054352:1597051995:=14,15d13%0a%3c %0a%3c ->The corporations are afraid to trust the people with access to software.%0a
76 host:1597054352=38.81.163.143
77 author:1597051995=jrmu
78 diff:1597051995:1597050057:=15c15%0a%3c Over time, most online communities begin to abuse and exploit their users. They forget to cherish their users, the very people who gave them money and power in the first place. They begin to prioritize their own self-interest and profit above that of their community. Owners might try to invade user privacy; or unfairly restrict competition; or practice unjust censorship and banning. Closed internet providers exert this control by making it difficult or impossible to leave -- by taking away all of the servers, code, and data from the users.%0a---%0a> Over time, most online communities begin to abuse and exploit their users. They forget to cherish their users, the very people who gave them money and power in the first place. They begin to prioritize their own self-interest and profit above that of their community. Owners might try to invade user privacy; or unfairly restrict competition; or practice unjust censorship and banning.%0a
79 host:1597051995=38.81.163.143
80 author:1597050057=jrmu
81 diff:1597050057:1597044238:=19c19%0a%3c For this reason, IRCNow rejects the use of any proprietary software, or even third-party proprietary services. Even if part of the source code is free, a dependency upon third-party proprietary services restricts the user's ability to fork the project. The network software must also be able to run using only open protocols and standards for the same reason. IRCNow allows interoperability with proprietary protocols, but it will never require it.%0a---%0a> For this reason, IRCNow rejects the use of any proprietary software, or even third-party proprietary services. Even if part of the source code is free, a dependency upon third-party proprietary services restricts the user's ability to fork the project.%0a
82 host:1597050057=38.81.163.143
83 author:1597044238=jrmu
84 diff:1597044238:1597043882:=17c17%0a%3c The most effective way to guard against network tyranny is to ensure that the users always have the power to fork. For this reason, IRCNow guarantees every user [[freedom/software|the right to the source code]] used on the network. IRCNow tries to follow [[freedom/unix|the UNIX philosophy]] so that amateurs can easily understand and work on the code. It trains and equips the users so that the power of the code [[freedom/militia|rests with the users]] and not merely in the hands of a few elite professionals.%0a---%0a> The most effective way to guard against network tyranny is to ensure that the users always have the power to fork. For this reason, IRCNow guarantees every user [[freedom/software|the right to the source code]] used on the network. It trains and equips the users so that the power of the code [[freedom/militia|rests with the users]] and not merely in the hands of a few elite owners.%0a
85 host:1597044238=38.81.163.143
86 author:1597043882=jrmu
87 diff:1597043882:1597043818:=5c5%0a%3c ->When a long train of abuses and exploitation shows that an online platform wants to reduce its users to slavery, it is the users' right, it is their duty, to quit such a network and provide a new one for their future security.%0a---%0a> ->When a long train of abuses and exploitation shows that staff wants to reduce its users to slavery, it is the users' right, it is their duty, to quit such a network and provide a new one for their future security.%0a
88 host:1597043882=38.81.163.143
89 author:1597043818=jrmu
90 diff:1597043818:1597043700:=15,17c15,17%0a%3c Over time, most online communities begin to abuse and exploit their users. They forget to cherish their users, the very people who gave them money and power in the first place. They begin to prioritize their own self-interest and profit above that of their community. Owners might try to invade user privacy; or unfairly restrict competition; or practice unjust censorship and banning.%0a%3c %0a%3c The most effective way to guard against network tyranny is to ensure that the users always have the power to fork. For this reason, IRCNow guarantees every user [[freedom/software|the right to the source code]] used on the network. It trains and equips the users so that the power of the code [[freedom/militia|rests with the users]] and not merely in the hands of a few elite owners.%0a---%0a> Over time, most online communities begin to abuse and exploit their users. They forget to cherish their users, the very people who gave them money and power in the first place. They begin to prioritize their own self-interest and profit above that of their community. Owners might try to invade user privacy; or restrict fair competition; or practice unjust censorship and banning.%0a> %0a> The most effective way to guard against network tyranny is to ensure that the users always have the power to fork. For this reason, IRCNow guarantees every user the right to the source code used on the network. It trains and educates the users so that the power of the code rests with the users and not merely in the hands of a few elite owners.%0a
91 host:1597043818=38.81.163.143
92 author:1597043700=jrmu
93 diff:1597043700:1597043128:=15,18c15,16%0a%3c Over time, most online communities begin to abuse and exploit their users. They forget to cherish their users, the very people who gave them money and power in the first place. They begin to prioritize their own self-interest and profit above that of their community. Owners might try to invade user privacy; or restrict fair competition; or practice unjust censorship and banning.%0a%3c %0a%3c The most effective way to guard against network tyranny is to ensure that the users always have the power to fork. For this reason, IRCNow guarantees every user the right to the source code used on the network. It trains and educates the users so that the power of the code rests with the users and not merely in the hands of a few elite owners.%0a%3c %0a---%0a> The software used by the IRCNow network is designed to be easy to install, configure, and maintain on your own hardware. The software does not depend on any single cloud vendor or proprietary platform. They were selected so that even amateurs, with little training, can quickly learn the entire system and administer it. These design decisions were made so that the power of the code will always rest in the hands of the users rather than an elite class of professionals controlled by powerful corporations.%0a> %0a21c19%0a%3c IRCNow's ultimate goal is to make every component of its infrastructure easy for anyone to self host (to run on your own hardware). IRCNow's goal is provide clear, easy-to-read documentation for users who want to self host. It also provides training and support for users who want to join our network. This ensures that users always retain the freedom to fork.%0a\ No newline at end of file%0a---%0a> The ultimate goal of the IRCNow project is to self host every component of the infrastructure on the network and to make it easy for other users to do so.%0a\ No newline at end of file%0a
94 host:1597043700=38.81.163.143
95 author:1597043128=jrmu
96 diff:1597043128:1597043098:=5c5%0a%3c ->When a long train of abuses and exploitation shows that staff wants to reduce its users to slavery, it is the users' right, it is their duty, to quit such a network and provide a new one for their future security.%0a---%0a> ->When a long train of abuses and exploitation shows that staff wants to reduce users to slavery, it is the users' right, it is their duty, to quit such a network and provide a new one for their future security.%0a
97 host:1597043128=38.81.163.143
98 author:1597043098=jrmu
99 diff:1597043098:1597043087:=3c3%0a%3c ->'''Fork''': when coders take an existing project and break old ties to create a new independent one.%0a---%0a> ->''Fork'': when coders take an existing project and break old ties to create a new independent one.%0a
100 host:1597043098=38.81.163.143
101 author:1597043087=jrmu
102 diff:1597043087:1597043067:=3c3%0a%3c ->''Fork'': when coders take an existing project and break old ties to create a new independent one.%0a---%0a> ->**Fork**: when coders take an existing project and break old ties to create a new independent one.%0a
103 host:1597043087=38.81.163.143
104 author:1597043067=jrmu
105 diff:1597043067:1597042401:=3c3%0a%3c ->**Fork**: when coders take an existing project and break old ties to create a new independent one.%0a---%0a> ->A project fork is when coders take an existing project and break away to create a new independent project.%0a
106 host:1597043067=38.81.163.143
107 author:1597042401=jrmu
108 diff:1597042401:1596527445:=1,6d0%0a%3c (:title Freedom to Fork:)%0a%3c %0a%3c ->A project fork is when coders take an existing project and break away to create a new independent project.%0a%3c %0a%3c ->When a long train of abuses and exploitation shows that staff wants to reduce users to slavery, it is the users' right, it is their duty, to quit such a network and provide a new one for their future security.%0a%3c %0a
109 host:1597042401=38.81.163.143
110 author:1596527445=jrmu
111 diff:1596527445:1596449029:=11c11%0a%3c For this reason, IRCNow rejects the use of any proprietary software, or even third-party proprietary services. Even if part of the source code is free, a dependency upon third-party proprietary services restricts the user's ability to fork the project.%0a---%0a> For this reason, IRCNow rejects the use of any proprietary softwae, or even third-party proprietary services. Even if part of the source code is free, a dependency upon third-party proprietary services restricts the user's ability to fork the project.%0a
112 host:1596527445=38.81.163.143
113 author:1596449029=jrmu
114 diff:1596449029:1596430647:=5c5%0a%3c ->No staff can ever deprive the users of their liberties so long as there is a large number of users who can fork the network, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-users.%0a---%0a> ->No staff can ever deprive the people of their liberties so long as there is a large number of users who can fork the network, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-users.%0a
115 host:1596449029=38.81.163.143
116 author:1596430647=jrmu
117 diff:1596430647:1596399479:=7c7%0a%3c ->Before corporations can rule, the ability to fork must be restricted, as they are in almost every online platform today. Unjust rules cannot be enforced on a free network because all the users have access to the software and are a force superior to any corporation.%0a---%0a> ->Before corporations can rule, the ability to fork must be restricted, as they are in almost every online platform today. Unjust laws cannot be enforced on a free network because all the users have access to the software and are a force superior to any corporation.%0a
118 host:1596430647=38.81.163.143
119 author:1596399479=jrmu
120 diff:1596399479:1596363258:=5c5%0a%3c ->No staff can ever deprive the people of their liberties so long as there is a large number of users who can fork the network, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-users.%0a---%0a> ->No staff can ever be deprive the people of their liberties so long as there is a large number of users who can fork the network, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-users.%0a
121 host:1596399479=38.81.163.143
122 author:1596363258=jrmu
123 diff:1596363258:1596360778:=7,13c7%0a%3c ->Before corporations can rule, the ability to fork must be restricted, as they are in almost every online platform today. Unjust laws cannot be enforced on a free network because all the users have access to the software and are a force superior to any corporation.%0a%3c %0a%3c The software used by the IRCNow network is designed to be easy to install, configure, and maintain on your own hardware. The software does not depend on any single cloud vendor or proprietary platform. They were selected so that even amateurs, with little training, can quickly learn the entire system and administer it. These design decisions were made so that the power of the code will always rest in the hands of the users rather than an elite class of professionals controlled by powerful corporations.%0a%3c %0a%3c For this reason, IRCNow rejects the use of any proprietary softwae, or even third-party proprietary services. Even if part of the source code is free, a dependency upon third-party proprietary services restricts the user's ability to fork the project.%0a%3c %0a%3c The ultimate goal of the IRCNow project is to self host every component of the infrastructure on the network and to make it easy for other users to do so.%0a\ No newline at end of file%0a---%0a> ->Before corporations can rule, the ability to fork must be restricted, as they are in almost every online platform today. Unjust laws cannot be enforced on a free network because all the users have access to the software and are a force superior to any corporation.%0a\ No newline at end of file%0a
124 host:1596363258=38.81.163.143
125 author:1596360778=jrmu
126 diff:1596360778:1596345666:=1,2c1,2%0a%3c ->What network can preserve its liberties if their sysadmins are not warned from time to time that the users have the power to fork?%0a%3c %0a---%0a> ->What network can preserve its liberties if their sysadmins are not warned from time to time that their users have the power to fork?%0a> %0a5c5%0a%3c ->No staff can ever be deprive the people of their liberties so long as there is a large number of users who can fork the network, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-users.%0a---%0a> ->No staff can ever be deprive the people of their liberties so long as there is a large number of users who are familiar with the software, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-users.%0a
127 host:1596360778=38.81.163.143
128 author:1596345666=jrmu
129 diff:1596345666:1596344974:=4,5d3%0a%3c %0a%3c ->No staff can ever be deprive the people of their liberties so long as there is a large number of users who are familiar with the software, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-users.%0a
130 host:1596345666=38.81.163.143
131 author:1596344974=jrmu
132 diff:1596344974:1596344791:=1,2c1,2%0a%3c ->What network can preserve its liberties if their sysadmins are not warned from time to time that their users have the power to fork?%0a%3c %0a---%0a> ->What network can preserve its liberties if their sysadmins are not warned from time to time that their users can fork?%0a> %0a5c5,329%0a%3c ->Before corporations can rule, the ability to fork must be restricted, as they are in almost every online platform today. Unjust laws cannot be enforced on a free network because all the users have access to the software and are a force superior to any corporation.%0a\ No newline at end of file%0a---%0a> ->Before corporations can rule, the ability to fork must be restricted, as they are in almost every online platform today. Unjust laws cannot be enforced on a free network because all the users have access to the software and are a force superior to any corporation.%0a> %0a> “The Constitutions of most of our states assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves, in all cases to which they think themselves competent, (as in electing their functionaries executive and legislative, and deciding by a jury of themselves, both fact and law, in all judiciary cases in which any fact is involved) or they may act by representatives, freely and equally chosen; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed; that they are entitled to freedom of person; freedom of religion; freedom of property; and freedom of the press.”%0a> %0a> “I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” ~ letter to Archibald Stuart, Philadelphia, December 23, 1791 (Technically, this quote is not referring directly to the second amendment, but rather refers to the writing of the constitution. We included it because it is concerns the amount of control the government should have.)%0a> %0a> %0a> “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” ~ Memoirs of the life and writings of Benjamin Franklin, 1818%0a> %0a> Read more quotes by Benjamin Franklin%0a> %0a> Read more about Benjamin Franklin%0a> John Adams%0a> %0a> “The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.” ~ notes for an oration at Braintree, Spring 1772%0a> %0a> “In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.” ~ The Federalist No. 51, February 6, 1788%0a> %0a> “Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments … forms a foorier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of. Notwithstanding the military establishments of the several kingdoms of Europe, the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.” ~ The Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788%0a> %0a> “Arms like laws discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The balance of power is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not others dare not lay them aside. And while a single nation refuses to lay them down, it is proper that all should keep them up. Horrid mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them; for while avarice and ambition have a place in the heart of man, the weak will become a prey to the strong. The history of every age and nation establishes these truths, and facts need but little arguments when they prove themselves.” Thoughts on Defensive War, 1775%0a> %0a> “The truth is, all might be free, if they valued freedom and defended it as they ought.” ~ published in the Boston Gazette, October 14, 1771 under the name “Candidus”%0a> %0a> “The liberties of our Country, the freedom of our civil constitution are worth defending at all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have receiv’d them as a fair Inheritance from our worthy Ancestors: They purchas’d them for us with toil and danger and expence of treasure and blood; and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle; or be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men. Of the latter we are in most danger at present: Let us therefore be aware of it. Let us contemplate our forefathers and posterity; and resolve to maintain the rights bequeath’d to us from the former, for the sake of the latter—instead of sitting down satisfied with the efforts we have already made, which is the wish of our enemies, the necessity of the times, more than ever, calls for our utmost circumspection, deliberation, fortitude, and perseverance. Let us remember that ‘if we suffer tamely a lawless attack upon our liberty, we encourage it, and involve others in our doom.’ It is a very serious consideration, which should deeply impress our minds, that millions yet unborn may be the miserable sharers of the event.” ~ published in the Boston Gazette, October 14, 1771 under the name “Candidus”%0a> %0a> “Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these: First, a right to life; Secondly, to liberty; Thirdly, to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can. These are evident branches of, rather than deductions from, the duty of self-preservation, commonly called the first law of nature.” ~ The Rights of the Colonists, 1772%0a> %0a> Read more about Samuel Adams here.%0a> George Mason%0a> %0a> “When the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great Britain, the British Parliament was advised by an artful man, who was governor of Pennsylvania, to disarm the people; that it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them; but that they should not do it openly, but weaken them, and let them sink gradually, by totally disusing and neglecting the militia … Why should we not provide against the danger of having our militia, our real and natural strength, destroyed? The general government ought, at the same time, to have some such power. But we need not give them power to abolish our militia.” ~ Debate in Virginia Ratifying Convention June 14, 1788%0a> %0a> “That the People have a right to keep and bear arms; 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.” ~ %0a> %0a> Within Mason’s declaration of “the essential and unalienable Rights of the People”, later adopted by the Virginia ratification convention (1788).%0a> Samuel Nasson%0a> %0a> Nasson is not a well-known Founding Father, so not much is written on him on this site. He was a captain in the Continental Army and after the war he rose in his local political hierarchy to the Massachusetts General Court. He was a delegate to the state ratifying convention and was one of the Maine territory’s most important Antifederalists. He strongly opposed the three-fifth’s compromise because it gave too much power to one party. He believed that the Constitution did not provide for the people’s rights and made the United States Government too much like Britain’s. He also opposed federal taxation power, standing armies, or the right to bear arms in peacetime.%0a> %0a> “Only think how fatal [arms] were to the peace of this country in 1770, what confusion they brought on the fatal 5 of March [the Boston Massacre]. I think the remembrance of that night is enough to make us careful how we introduce them in a free republican government—I therefore hope they will be discouraged for I think the man that enters as a soldier in a time of peace only for a living is only a fit tool to enslave his fellows.” ~ Letter to George Thatcher, July 9, 1787%0a> Noah Webster%0a> %0a> Noah Webster is sometimes listed as a Founding Father, but more frequently is called the “Father of American Scholarship and Education”. He discarded the traditional British lesson plans and educational books for children that were “corrupted by British aristocracy” and wrote his own—updating and “americanizing” the spelling—which were used for generations. It is his name that we use on the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.%0a> %0a> He was an avid Federalist and as such, severely disliked Jeffersonian Republicans. He helped found an anti-slavery society, but wrote to his daughter: “Slavery is a great sin and a general calamity—but it is not our sin, though it may prove to be a terrible calamity to us in the North. But we cannot legally interfere with the South on this subject … To come north to preach and thus disturb our peace, when we can legally do nothing to effect this object, is, in my view, highly criminal and the preachers of abolitionism deserve the penitentiary.”%0a> %0a> “Another source of power in government is a military force. But this, to be efficient, must be superior to any force that exists among the people, or which they can command; for otherwise, this force would be annihilated, on the first exercise of acts of oppression. Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretense raised in the United States.” ~ “An Examination Into the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution Proposed by the Late Convention Held at Philadelphia, With Answers to the Principal Objections that Have Been Raised Against the System” January 1, 1787%0a> %0a> Post navigation%0a> George Read%0a> Declaration of Independence Transcription%0a> Popular Articles%0a> %0a> Articles of Confederation Transcript%0a> North and South Carolina Colony%0a> Bill of Rights: Unratified Amendments to the United States Constitution%0a> Roanoke: “The Lost Colony”%0a> Plymouth Colony%0a> Richard Stockton%0a> Colonial History%0a> Caesar Rodney%0a> Charles Carroll of Carrollton%0a> New Netherland%0a> Richard Henry Lee%0a> Aaron Burr%0a> George Clymer%0a> Thomas Stone%0a> Famous American History Documents%0a> Philip Livingston%0a> General John Sullivan%0a> Thomas Heyward, Jr.%0a> Francis Lewis%0a> George Wythe%0a> George Ross%0a> Carter Braxton%0a> John Penn%0a> Thomas Lynch%0a> Bill of Rights Amendments to the US Constitution%0a> Lyman Hall%0a> Francis Hopkinson%0a> George Walton%0a> William Ellery%0a> Arthur Middleton%0a> John Morton%0a> Edward Rutledge%0a> William Whipple%0a> Francis Lightfoot Lee%0a> James Smith%0a> Matthew Thornton%0a> US Constitution Text: The Most Famous of Historical Documents%0a> John Witherspoon%0a> Abraham Clark%0a> Joseph Hewes%0a> Thomas McKean%0a> Revolutionary-War.net Bookshelf%0a> William Floyd%0a> Lewis Morris%0a> William Hooper%0a> Josiah footlett%0a> Samuel Chase%0a> Francis Salvador%0a> Stephen Hopkins%0a> Royal Proclamation of 1763%0a> %0a> © Revolutionary War 2010-2020%0a> Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Cookies Policy %0a> %0a> %0a> Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia:%0a> %0a> “No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.” — Proposed Virginia Constitution, 1776%0a> %0a> Advertisement - story continues below%0a> %0a> “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms. . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. . . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.” — Jefferson`s “Commonplace Book,” 1774-1776, quoting from On Crimes and Punishment, by criminologist Cesare Beccaria, 1764%0a> George Mason, of Virginia:%0a> %0a> TRENDING: CBS Mail-In Voting Experiment Blows Dem Narrative, Yields Troubling Results, 3%25 of Ballots Never Received%0a> %0a> “[W]hen the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great Britain, the British Parliament was advised by an artful man, who was governor of Pennsylvania, to disarm the people; that it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them; but that they should not do it openly, but weaken them, and let them sink gradually.”. . . I ask, who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers.” — Virginia`s U.S. Constitution ratification convention, 1788%0a> %0a> Advertisement - story continues below%0a> %0a> “That the People have a right to keep and bear Arms; that a well regulated Militia, composed of the Body of the People, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe Defence of a free state.” — Within Mason`s declaration of “the essential and unalienable Rights of the People,” — later adopted by the Virginia ratification convention, 1788%0a> %0a> 90492-050-98565DFB%0a> Samuel Adams, of Massachusetts:%0a> %0a> “The said Constitution [shall] be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press, or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms.” — Massachusetts` U.S. Constitution ratification convention, 1788%0a> William Grayson, of Virginia:%0a> %0a> “[A] string of amendments were presented to the lower House; these altogether respected personal liberty.” — Letter to Patrick Henry, June 12, 1789, referring to the introduction of what became the Bill of Rights%0a> %0a> Advertisement - story continues below%0a> Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia:%0a> %0a> “A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves . . . and include all men capable of bearing arms. . . To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms… The mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly anti-republican principle.” — Additional Letters From The Federal Farmer, 1788%0a> %0a> RELATED: Congressman Mo Brooks Sticks To His Guns After Alexandria Shooting%0a> %0a> James_Madison_by_Gilbert_Stuart%0a> James Madison, of Virginia:%0a> %0a> Advertisement - story continues below%0a> %0a> The Constitution preserves “the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation. . . (where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.” — The Federalist, No. 46%0a> Tench Coxe, of Pennsylvania:%0a> %0a> “The militia, who are in fact the effective part of the people at large, will render many troops quite unnecessary. They will form a powerful check upon the regular troops, and will generally be sufficient to over-awe them.” — An American Citizen, Oct. 21, 1787%0a> %0a> “Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American . . . . The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people.” — The Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788%0a> %0a> Advertisement - story continues below%0a> %0a> “As the military forces which must occasionally be raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the next article (of amendment) in their right to keep and bear their private arms.” — Federal Gazette, June 18, 1789%0a> Noah Webster, of Pennsylvania:%0a> %0a> “Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States. A military force, at the command of Congress, can execute no laws, but such as the people perceive to be just and constitutional; for they will possess the power.” — An Examination of The Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, Philadelphia, 1787%0a> %0a> Alexander_Hamilton_portrait_by_John_Trumbull_1806%0a> %0a> Advertisement - story continues below%0a> Alexander Hamilton, of New York:%0a> %0a> “[I]f circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude, that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little if at all inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their rights and those of their fellow citizens.” — The Federalist, No. 29%0a> Thomas Paine, of Pennsylvania:%0a> %0a> “[A]rms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. . . Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them.” — Thoughts On Defensive War, 1775%0a> %0a> Advertisement - story continues below%0a> %0a> 4795007871%0a> Fisher Ames, of Massachusetts:%0a> %0a> “The rights of conscience, of bearing arms, of changing the government, are declared to be inherent in the people.” — Letter to F.R. Minoe, June 12, 1789%0a> %0a> Advertisement - story continues below%0a> Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts:%0a> %0a> “What, sir, is the use of militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty. . . Whenever Government means to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise a standing army upon its ruins.” — Debate, U.S. House of Representatives, August 17, 1789%0a> %0a> PatrickHenry%0a> Patrick Henry, of Virginia:%0a> %0a> Advertisement - story continues below%0a> %0a> “Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel.” — Virginia`s U.S. Constitution ratification convention%0a> %0a> “I ask who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers.” – George Mason, Address to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 4, 1788%0a> %0a> “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%0a> %0a> “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country.” – James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434, June 8, 1789%0a> %0a> “The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.” – Samuel Adams, Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, 1788%0a> %0a> “What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty …. Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins.” – Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, I Annals of Congress 750, August 17, 1789%0a> %0a> “If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers, may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual state. In a single state, if the persons entrusted with supreme power become usurpers, the different parcels, subdivisions, or districts of which it consists, having no distinct government in each, can take no regular measures for defense. The citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert, without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair.” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28%0a> %0a> “[I]f circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little, if at all, inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-citizens. This appears to me the only substitute that can be devised for a standing army, and the best possible security against it, if it should exist.” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28, January 10, 1788%0a> %0a> To disarm the people…[i]s the most effectual way to enslave them.” – George Mason, referencing advice given to the British Parliament by Pennsylvania governor Sir William Keith, The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, June 14, 1788%0a> %0a> In light of the overwhelming evidence from the men who crafted the Declaration, wrote the Constitution, included the Bill of Rights, and led the United States during its first decades of existence it is abundantly clear to all but the very gullible (or those who would impose tyranny), that our founders wished us to be armed. They demanded we be armed. And in force, capability and training so as to thwart any infringement by a runaway government. Noah Webster, often considered the father of American Education and Scholarship wrote:%0a> %0a> “Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops.” – Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, October 10, 1787%0a> %0a> George Washington was concerned that a Civilian Militia would be lacking in training and organization, and so he wrote, “A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies.”%0a> %0a> %0a> %0a> Thomas Jefferson of Virginia:%0a> %0a> "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." — Proposed Virginia Constitution, 1776%0a> %0a> "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms. . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. . . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." — Jefferson's "Commonplace Book," 1774-1776, quoting from On Crimes and Punishment, by criminologist Cesare Beccaria, 1764%0a> %0a> George Mason of Virginia:%0a> %0a> "[W]hen the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great Britain, the British Parliament was advised by an artful man, who was governor of Pennsylvania, to disarm the people; that it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them; but that they should not do it openly, but weaken them, and let them sink gradually.". . . I ask, who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers." — Virginia's U.S. Constitution ratification convention, 1788%0a> %0a> "That the People have a right to keep and bear Arms; that a well regulated Militia, composed of the Body of the People, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe Defence of a free state." — Within Mason`s declaration of "the essential and unalienable Rights of the People," — later adopted by the Virginia ratification convention, 1788%0a> %0a> %0a> %0a> Samuel Adams of Massachusetts:%0a> %0a> "The said Constitution [shall] be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press, or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms." — Massachusetts' U.S. Constitution ratification convention, 1788%0a> %0a> %0a> %0a> William Grayson of Virginia:%0a> %0a> "[A] string of amendments were presented to the lower House; these altogether respected personal liberty." — Letter to Patrick Henry, June 12, 1789, referring to the introduction of what became the Bill of Rights%0a> %0a> %0a> %0a> Richard Henry Lee of Virginia:%0a> %0a> "A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves . . . and include all men capable of bearing arms. . . To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms... The mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly anti-republican principle." — Additional Letters From The Federal Farmer, 1788%0a> %0a> %0a> %0a> James Madison of Virginia:%0a> %0a> The Constitution preserves "the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation. . . (where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." — The Federalist, No. 46%0a> %0a> %0a> %0a> Tench Coxe of Pennsylvania:%0a> %0a> "The militia, who are in fact the effective part of the people at large, will render many troops quite unnecessary. They will form a powerful check upon the regular troops, and will generally be sufficient to over-awe them." — An American Citizen, Oct. 21, 1787%0a> %0a> "Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American . . . . The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people." — The Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788%0a> %0a> "As the military forces which must occasionally be raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the next article (of amendment) in their right to keep and bear their private arms." — Federal Gazette, June 18, 1789%0a> %0a> %0a> %0a> Noah Webster of Pennsylvania:%0a> %0a> "Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States. A military force, at the command of Congress, can execute no laws, but such as the people perceive to be just and constitutional; for they will possess the power." — An Examination of The Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, Philadelphia, 1787%0a> %0a> %0a> %0a> Alexander Hamilton of New York:%0a> %0a> "[I]f circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude, that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little if at all inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their rights and those of their fellow citizens." — The Federalist, No. 29%0a> %0a> %0a> %0a> Thomas Paine of Pennsylvania:%0a> %0a> "[A]rms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. . . Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them." — Thoughts On Defensive War, 1775%0a> %0a> %0a> %0a> Fisher Ames of Massachusetts:%0a> %0a> "The rights of conscience, of bearing arms, of changing the government, are declared to be inherent in the people." — Letter to F.R. Minoe, June 12, 1789%0a> %0a> %0a> %0a> Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts:%0a> %0a> "What, sir, is the use of militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty. . . Whenever Government means to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise a standing army upon its ruins." — Debate, U.S. House of Representatives, August 17, 1789%0a> %0a> %0a> %0a> Patrick Henry of Virginia:%0a> %0a> "Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel." — Virginia's U.S. Constitution ratification convention%0a> %0a> %0a> %0a> For more information, see Halbrook, Stephen P., "The Right of the People or the Power of the State: Bearing Arms, Arming Militias, and the Second Amendment," Valparaiso Univ. Law Review, Vol. 26, No. 1, Fall, 1991; and "That Every Man Be Armed: The Evolution of a Constitutional Right," Univ. of N.M. Press, 1984%0a> %0a> %0a> “O sir, we should have fine times, indeed, if, to punish tyrants, it were only sufficient to assemble the people! Your arms, wherewith you could defend yourselves, are gone; and you have no longer an aristrocratical, no longer a democratical spirit. Did you ever read of any revolution in a nation, brought about by the punishment of those in power, inflicted by those who had no power at all?”%0a> %0a> Founding Fathers Quotes on Guns and the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in the Second Amendment“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.”%0a> %0a> “Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States.”%0a> %0a> “There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet an enemy.”%0a> %0a> “Whenever governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins.”%0a> %0a> “A people who would stand fast in their liberty, should furnish themselves with weapons proper for their defence, and learn the use of them. It is indeed an hard case, that those who are happy in the blessings of providence, and disposed to live peaceably with all men, should be obliged to keep up the idea of blood and slaughter, and expend their time and treasure to acquire the arts and instruments of death. But this is a necessity which the depravity of human nature has laid upon every state. Nor was there ever a people that continued, for any considerable time, in the enjoyment of liberty, who were not in a capacity to defend themselves against invaders, unless they were too poor and inconsiderable to tempt an enemy.”%0a> %0a> “For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security.”%0a> %0a> “Men are also bound, individuals and societies, to take care of their temporal happiness, and do all they lawfully can, to promote it. But what can be more inconsistent with this duty, than submitting to great encroachments upon our liberty? Such submission tends to slavery; and compleat slavery implies every evil that the malice of man and devils can inflict.”%0a> %0a> “Always remember that an armed and trained militia is the firmest bulwark of republics – that without standing armies their liberty can never be in danger, nor with large ones safe.”%0a> %0a> “In a general view there are very few conquests that repay the charge of making them, and mankind are pretty well convinced that it can never be worth their while to go to war for profit sake. If they are made war upon, their country invaded, or their existence at stake, it is their duty to defend and preserve themselves, but in every other light and from every other cause is war inglorious and detestable.”%0a> %0a> “The ultimate authority...resides in the people alone...The advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation...forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition.”%0a> %0a> “Are we at last brought to such a humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our own defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in our possession and under our own direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?”%0a> %0a> “None but an armed nation can dispense with a standing army.”%0a\ No newline at end of file%0a
133 host:1596344974=38.81.163.143
134 author:1596344791=jrmu
135 diff:1596344791:1596344177:=1,5c1,5%0a%3c ->What network can preserve its liberties if their sysadmins are not warned from time to time that their users can fork?%0a%3c %0a%3c ->The right of the users to fork safeguards the liberties of a free network, since it offers a powerful check against the arbitrary power of sysadmins.%0a%3c %0a%3c ->Before corporations can rule, the ability to fork must be restricted, as they are in almost every online platform today. Unjust laws cannot be enforced on a free network because all the users have access to the software and are a force superior to any corporation.%0a---%0a> ->What network can preserve its liberties if their sysadmins are not warned from time to time that their users preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them have the right to fork.%0a> %0a> ->The right of the users to fork the software has justly been considered the safeguard of the liberties of a free network; since it offers a powerful check against the arbitrary power of sysadmins; and will enable the users to resist and triumph over them.%0a> %0a> ->Before corporations can rule, the use of the software must be restricted, as they are in almost every online platform today. Unjust laws cannot be enforced on a free network because all the users have access to the software and are a force superior to any band of corporate developers.%0a
136 host:1596344791=38.81.163.143
137 author:1596344177=jrmu
138 diff:1596344177:1596343873:=3,5c3,13%0a%3c ->The right of the users to fork the software has justly been considered the safeguard of the liberties of a free network; since it offers a powerful check against the arbitrary power of sysadmins; and will enable the users to resist and triumph over them.%0a%3c %0a%3c ->Before corporations can rule, the use of the software must be restricted, as they are in almost every online platform today. Unjust laws cannot be enforced on a free network because all the users have access to the software and are a force superior to any band of corporate developers.%0a---%0a> ->To take control of the software away from the users is the most effectual way to enslave them.%0a> %0a> ->The right of the users to use and modify the software has justly been considered the safeguard of the liberties of a free network; since it offers a strong moral check against the arbitrary power of sysadmins; and will enable the users to resist and triumph over them.%0a> %0a> ->What, sir, is the use of the source code? It is to prevent the establishment of corporate professionals, the bane of liberty .... Whenever corporations mean to invade the rights and liberties of the users, they always attempt to confiscate access to the software, in order to raise a tyranny upon their ruins.%0a> %0a> ->Before corporations can rule, the use of the software must be restricted, as they are in almost every social network today. Unjust laws cannot be enforced on a free network because all the users have access to the software and constitute a force superior to any band of corporate developers.%0a> %0a> "...the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone..."%0a> - James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788%0a> %0a
139 host:1596344177=38.81.163.143
140 author:1596343873=jrmu
141 diff:1596343873:1596343830:=7c7%0a%3c ->What, sir, is the use of the source code? It is to prevent the establishment of corporate professionals, the bane of liberty .... Whenever corporations mean to invade the rights and liberties of the users, they always attempt to confiscate access to the software, in order to raise a tyranny upon their ruins.%0a---%0a> ->What, sir, is the use of the source code? It is to prevent the establishment of professional developers, the bane of liberty .... Whenever corporations mean to invade the rights and liberties of the users, they always attempt to confiscate access to the software, in order to raise a tyranny upon their ruins.%0a
142 host:1596343873=38.81.163.143
143 author:1596343830=jrmu
144 diff:1596343830:1596343745:=7c7%0a%3c ->What, sir, is the use of the source code? It is to prevent the establishment of professional developers, the bane of liberty .... Whenever corporations mean to invade the rights and liberties of the users, they always attempt to confiscate access to the software, in order to raise a tyranny upon their ruins.%0a---%0a> ->What, sir, is the use of the source code? It is to prevent the establishment of proprietary software, the bane of liberty .... Whenever corporations mean to invade the rights and liberties of the users, they always attempt to confiscate access to the software, in order to raise a tyranny upon their ruins.%0a
145 host:1596343830=38.81.163.143
146 author:1596343745=jrmu
147 diff:1596343745:1596343724:=3c3%0a%3c ->To take control of the software away from the users is the most effectual way to enslave them.%0a---%0a> ->To take control of the software away from the users is the most effectual way to enslave them."%0a
148 host:1596343745=38.81.163.143
149 author:1596343724=jrmu
150 diff:1596343724:1596343499:=3,10c3,10%0a%3c ->To take control of the software away from the users is the most effectual way to enslave them."%0a%3c %0a%3c ->The right of the users to use and modify the software has justly been considered the safeguard of the liberties of a free network; since it offers a strong moral check against the arbitrary power of sysadmins; and will enable the users to resist and triumph over them.%0a%3c %0a%3c ->What, sir, is the use of the source code? It is to prevent the establishment of proprietary software, the bane of liberty .... Whenever corporations mean to invade the rights and liberties of the users, they always attempt to confiscate access to the software, in order to raise a tyranny upon their ruins.%0a%3c %0a%3c ->Before corporations can rule, the use of the software must be restricted, as they are in almost every social network today. Unjust laws cannot be enforced on a free network because all the users have access to the software and constitute a force superior to any band of corporate developers.%0a%3c %0a---%0a> ->To take the source code away the users...[i]s the most effectual way to enslave them."%0a> %0a> ->The right of the users to use and modify source code has justly been considered the safeguard of the liberties of a free network; since it offers a strong moral check against the arbitrary power of sysadmins; and will enable the users to resist and triumph over them.%0a> %0a> ->What, sir, is the use of the source code? It is to prevent the establishment of proprietary software, the bane of liberty .... Whenever corporations mean to invade the rights and liberties of the users, they always attempt to confiscate the source code, in order to raise a tyranny upon their ruins.%0a> %0a> ->Before proprietary software can rule, the use of the source code must be restricted, as they are in almost every social network today. Unjust laws cannot be enforced on a free network because all the users have the source code and constitute a force superior to any band of corporate developers.%0a> %0a14a15,18%0a> “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."%0a> - Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759%0a> %0a> %0a26a31,32%0a> “Here every private person is authorized to arm himself, and on the strength of this authority, I do not deny the inhabitants had a right to arm themselves at that time, for their defense, not for offence.” ~ In defense of the soldiers on trial for the Boston Massacre.%0a> %0a28a35,37%0a> Read more about John Adams.%0a> James Madison%0a> %0a32a42,55%0a> Read more about James Madison here.%0a> Patrick Henry%0a> %0a> “Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force.” ~ Virginia’s Constitution ratification convention, June 5, 1788%0a> %0a> “My great objection to this government is, that it does not leave us the means of defending our rights, or of waging war against tyrants.” ~ Virginia’s Constitution ratification convention, June 5, 1788%0a> %0a> “Where and when did freedom exist when the power of the sword and purse were given up from the people?” ~ Virginia’s Constitution ratification convention, June 5, 1788%0a> %0a> Read more about Patrick Henry here.%0a> Thomas Paine%0a> %0a> “I would gladly agree with all the world to lay aside the use of arms, and settle matters by negotiation; but unless the whole will, the matter ends, and I take up my musket and thank heaven he has put it in my power. Whoever considers the unprincipled enemy we have to cope with, will not hesitate to declare that nothing but arms or miracles can reduce them to reason and moderation. They have lost sight of the limits of humanity.” Thoughts on Defensive War, 1775%0a> %0a33a57,59%0a> %0a> Read more about Thomas Paine here.%0a> Samuel Adams%0a
151 host:1596343724=38.81.163.143
152 author:1596343499=jrmu
153 diff:1596343499:1596342626:=1,14c1,17%0a%3c ->What network can preserve its liberties if their sysadmins are not warned from time to time that their users preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them have the right to fork.%0a%3c %0a%3c ->To take the source code away the users...[i]s the most effectual way to enslave them."%0a%3c %0a%3c ->The right of the users to use and modify source code has justly been considered the safeguard of the liberties of a free network; since it offers a strong moral check against the arbitrary power of sysadmins; and will enable the users to resist and triumph over them.%0a%3c %0a%3c ->What, sir, is the use of the source code? It is to prevent the establishment of proprietary software, the bane of liberty .... Whenever corporations mean to invade the rights and liberties of the users, they always attempt to confiscate the source code, in order to raise a tyranny upon their ruins.%0a%3c %0a%3c ->Before proprietary software can rule, the use of the source code must be restricted, as they are in almost every social network today. Unjust laws cannot be enforced on a free network because all the users have the source code and constitute a force superior to any band of corporate developers.%0a%3c %0a%3c "...the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone..."%0a%3c - James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c %0a---%0a> "What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance. Let them take arms."%0a> - Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, December 20, 1787%0a> %0a> "The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."%0a> - Thomas Jefferson, Commonplace Book (quoting 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria), 1774-1776%0a> %0a> "A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Peter Carr, August 19, 1785%0a> %0a> "The Constitution of most of our states (and of the United States) assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed."%0a> - Thomas Jefferson, letter to to John Cartwright, 5 June 1824%0a> %0a> "On every occasion [of Constitutional interpretation] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying [to force] what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, [instead let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."%0a> - Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, 12 June 1823%0a> %0a> "I enclose you a list of the killed, wounded, and captives of the enemy from the commencement of hostilities at Lexington in April, 1775, until November, 1777, since which there has been no event of any consequence ... I think that upon the whole it has been about one half the number lost by them, in some instances more, but in others less. This difference is ascribed to our superiority in taking aim when we fire; every soldier in our army having been intimate with his gun from his infancy."%0a> - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Giovanni Fabbroni, June 8, 1778%0a> %0a18c21,76%0a%3c %0a---%0a> "To disarm the people...[i]s the most effectual way to enslave them."%0a> - George Mason, referencing advice given to the British Parliament by Pennsylvania governor Sir William Keith, The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adooption of the Federal Constitution, June 14, 1788%0a> %0a> "I ask who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers."%0a> - George Mason, Address to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 4, 1788%0a> %0a> "Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops."%0a> - Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, October 10, 1787%0a> %0a> "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."%0a> - James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788%0a> %0a> "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country."%0a> - James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434, June 8, 1789%0a> %0a> "...the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone..."%0a> - James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788%0a> %0a> "Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."%0a> - William Pitt (the Younger), Speech in the House of Commons, November 18, 1783%0a> %0a> “A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves…and include, according to the past and general usuage of the states, all men capable of bearing arms… "To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."%0a> - Richard Henry Lee, Federal Farmer No. 18, January 25, 1788%0a> %0a> "Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined.... The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able might have a gun."%0a> - Patrick Henry, Speech to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 5, 1778%0a> %0a> "This may be considered as the true palladium of liberty.... The right of self defense is the first law of nature: in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest limits possible. Wherever standing armies are kept up, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any color or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction."%0a> - St. George Tucker, Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, 1803%0a> %0a> "The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms, like law, discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The balance ofpower is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside. And while a single nation refuses to lay them down, it is proper that all should keep them up. Horrid mischief would ensue were one-half the world deprived of the use of them; for while avarice and ambition have a place in the heart of man, the weak will become a prey to the strong. The history of every age and nation establishes these truths, and facts need but little arguments when they prove themselves."%0a> - Thomas Paine, "Thoughts on Defensive War" in Pennsylvania Magazine, July 1775%0a> %0a> "The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."%0a> - Samuel Adams, Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, 1788%0a> %0a> "The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them."%0a> - Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, 1833%0a> %0a> "What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty .... Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins."%0a> - Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, I Annals of Congress 750, August 17, 1789%0a> %0a> "For it is a truth, which the experience of ages has attested, that the people are always most in danger when the means of injuring their rights are in the possession of those of whom they entertain the least suspicion."%0a> - Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 25, December 21, 1787 %0a> %0a> "If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers, may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual state. In a single state, if the persons intrusted with supreme power become usurpers, the different parcels, subdivisions, or districts of which it consists, having no distinct government in each, can take no regular measures for defense. The citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert, without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair."%0a> - Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28%0a> %0a> "[I]f circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little, if at all, inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-citizens. This appears to me the only substitute that can be devised for a standing army, and the best possible security against it, if it should exist."%0a> - Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28, January 10, 1788%0a> %0a> "As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the article in their right to keep and bear their private arms."%0a> - Tench Coxe, Philadelphia Federal Gazette, June 18, 1789%0a> %0a> “The safety of these States and everything dear to a free people must depend in an eminent degree on the militia...This arrangement should be formed, too, in time of peace, to be the better prepared for war.”%0a> %0a20a79,93%0a> “A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves . . . and include all men capable of bearing arms. . . To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms… The mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly anti-republican principle.” — Additional Letters From The Federal Farmer, 1788%0a> %0a> “A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves . . . and include all men capable of bearing arms. . . To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms… The mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly anti-republican principle.” — Additional Letters From The Federal Farmer, 1788%0a> %0a> “A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies.” ~ First Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union, January 8, 1790%0a> %0a> “By teaching the people themselves to know and to value their own rights; to discern and provide against invasions of them; to distinguish between oppression and the necessary exercise of lawful authority; between burthens [archaic version of ‘burdens’] proceeding from a disregard to their convenience and those resulting from the inevitable exigencies of society; to discriminate the spirit of liberty from that of licentiousness [archaic version of ‘promiscuity’]—cherishing the first, avoiding the last—and uniting a speedy by temperate vigilance against encroachments, with an inviolable respect to the laws.” ~ First Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union, January 8, 1790%0a> %0a> “The [militia] is certainly an object of primary importance whether viewed in reference to the national security to the satisfaction of the community or to the preservation of order. In connection with this the establishment of competent magazines and arsenals and the fortification of such places as are peculiarly important and vulnerable naturally present themselves to consideration.” ~ Third Annual Message, October 25, 1791%0a> %0a> Read more about George Washington here.%0a> %0a> Read more quotes by George Washington here.%0a> Thomas Jefferson%0a> %0a22a96,99%0a> “The constitutions of most of our States assert, that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves … or they may act by representatives, freely and equally chosen; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed; that they are entitled to freedom of person, freedom of religion, freedom of property, and freedom of the press.” ~ Letter to Major John Cartwright, June 5, 1824%0a> %0a> Read more about Thomas Jefferson here.%0a> Benjamin Franklin%0a
154 host:1596343499=38.81.163.143
155 author:1596342626=jrmu
156 diff:1596342626:1596341182:=1,78d0%0a%3c "What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance. Let them take arms."%0a%3c - Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, December 20, 1787%0a%3c %0a%3c "The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."%0a%3c - Thomas Jefferson, Commonplace Book (quoting 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria), 1774-1776%0a%3c %0a%3c "A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Peter Carr, August 19, 1785%0a%3c %0a%3c "The Constitution of most of our states (and of the United States) assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed."%0a%3c - Thomas Jefferson, letter to to John Cartwright, 5 June 1824%0a%3c %0a%3c "On every occasion [of Constitutional interpretation] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying [to force] what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, [instead let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."%0a%3c - Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, 12 June 1823%0a%3c %0a%3c "I enclose you a list of the killed, wounded, and captives of the enemy from the commencement of hostilities at Lexington in April, 1775, until November, 1777, since which there has been no event of any consequence ... I think that upon the whole it has been about one half the number lost by them, in some instances more, but in others less. This difference is ascribed to our superiority in taking aim when we fire; every soldier in our army having been intimate with his gun from his infancy."%0a%3c - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Giovanni Fabbroni, June 8, 1778%0a%3c %0a%3c “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."%0a%3c - Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759%0a%3c %0a%3c "To disarm the people...[i]s the most effectual way to enslave them."%0a%3c - George Mason, referencing advice given to the British Parliament by Pennsylvania governor Sir William Keith, The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adooption of the Federal Constitution, June 14, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c "I ask who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers."%0a%3c - George Mason, Address to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 4, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c "Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops."%0a%3c - Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, October 10, 1787%0a%3c %0a%3c "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."%0a%3c - James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country."%0a%3c - James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434, June 8, 1789%0a%3c %0a%3c "...the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone..."%0a%3c - James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c "Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."%0a%3c - William Pitt (the Younger), Speech in the House of Commons, November 18, 1783%0a%3c %0a%3c “A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves…and include, according to the past and general usuage of the states, all men capable of bearing arms… "To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."%0a%3c - Richard Henry Lee, Federal Farmer No. 18, January 25, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c "Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined.... The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able might have a gun."%0a%3c - Patrick Henry, Speech to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 5, 1778%0a%3c %0a%3c "This may be considered as the true palladium of liberty.... The right of self defense is the first law of nature: in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest limits possible. Wherever standing armies are kept up, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any color or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction."%0a%3c - St. George Tucker, Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, 1803%0a%3c %0a%3c "The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms, like law, discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The balance ofpower is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside. And while a single nation refuses to lay them down, it is proper that all should keep them up. Horrid mischief would ensue were one-half the world deprived of the use of them; for while avarice and ambition have a place in the heart of man, the weak will become a prey to the strong. The history of every age and nation establishes these truths, and facts need but little arguments when they prove themselves."%0a%3c - Thomas Paine, "Thoughts on Defensive War" in Pennsylvania Magazine, July 1775%0a%3c %0a%3c "The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."%0a%3c - Samuel Adams, Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c "The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them."%0a%3c - Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, 1833%0a%3c %0a%3c "What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty .... Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins."%0a%3c - Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, I Annals of Congress 750, August 17, 1789%0a%3c %0a%3c "For it is a truth, which the experience of ages has attested, that the people are always most in danger when the means of injuring their rights are in the possession of those of whom they entertain the least suspicion."%0a%3c - Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 25, December 21, 1787 %0a%3c %0a%3c "If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers, may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual state. In a single state, if the persons intrusted with supreme power become usurpers, the different parcels, subdivisions, or districts of which it consists, having no distinct government in each, can take no regular measures for defense. The citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert, without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair."%0a%3c - Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28%0a%3c %0a%3c "[I]f circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little, if at all, inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-citizens. This appears to me the only substitute that can be devised for a standing army, and the best possible security against it, if it should exist."%0a%3c - Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28, January 10, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c "As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the article in their right to keep and bear their private arms."%0a%3c - Tench Coxe, Philadelphia Federal Gazette, June 18, 1789%0a%3c %0a%3c “The safety of these States and everything dear to a free people must depend in an eminent degree on the militia...This arrangement should be formed, too, in time of peace, to be the better prepared for war.”%0a%3c %0a%3c “The Constitutions of most of our states assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves, in all cases to which they think themselves competent, (as in electing their functionaries executive and legislative, and deciding by a jury of themselves, both fact and law, in all judiciary cases in which any fact is involved) or they may act by representatives, freely and equally chosen; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed; that they are entitled to freedom of person; freedom of religion; freedom of property; and freedom of the press.”%0a%3c %0a414,440d335%0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c “O sir, we should have fine times, indeed, if, to punish tyrants, it were only sufficient to assemble the people! Your arms, wherewith you could defend yourselves, are gone; and you have no longer an aristrocratical, no longer a democratical spirit. Did you ever read of any revolution in a nation, brought about by the punishment of those in power, inflicted by those who had no power at all?”%0a%3c %0a%3c Founding Fathers Quotes on Guns and the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in the Second Amendment“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.”%0a%3c %0a%3c “Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States.”%0a%3c %0a%3c “There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet an enemy.”%0a%3c %0a%3c “Whenever governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins.”%0a%3c %0a%3c “A people who would stand fast in their liberty, should furnish themselves with weapons proper for their defence, and learn the use of them. It is indeed an hard case, that those who are happy in the blessings of providence, and disposed to live peaceably with all men, should be obliged to keep up the idea of blood and slaughter, and expend their time and treasure to acquire the arts and instruments of death. But this is a necessity which the depravity of human nature has laid upon every state. Nor was there ever a people that continued, for any considerable time, in the enjoyment of liberty, who were not in a capacity to defend themselves against invaders, unless they were too poor and inconsiderable to tempt an enemy.”%0a%3c %0a%3c “For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security.”%0a%3c %0a%3c “Men are also bound, individuals and societies, to take care of their temporal happiness, and do all they lawfully can, to promote it. But what can be more inconsistent with this duty, than submitting to great encroachments upon our liberty? Such submission tends to slavery; and compleat slavery implies every evil that the malice of man and devils can inflict.”%0a%3c %0a%3c “Always remember that an armed and trained militia is the firmest bulwark of republics – that without standing armies their liberty can never be in danger, nor with large ones safe.”%0a%3c %0a%3c “In a general view there are very few conquests that repay the charge of making them, and mankind are pretty well convinced that it can never be worth their while to go to war for profit sake. If they are made war upon, their country invaded, or their existence at stake, it is their duty to defend and preserve themselves, but in every other light and from every other cause is war inglorious and detestable.”%0a%3c %0a%3c “The ultimate authority...resides in the people alone...The advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation...forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition.”%0a%3c %0a%3c “Are we at last brought to such a humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our own defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in our possession and under our own direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?”%0a%3c %0a%3c “None but an armed nation can dispense with a standing army.”%0a\ No newline at end of file%0a
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159 diff:1596341182:1596339550:=247,335c247%0a%3c George Washington was concerned that a Civilian Militia would be lacking in training and organization, and so he wrote, “A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies.”%0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c Thomas Jefferson of Virginia:%0a%3c %0a%3c "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." — Proposed Virginia Constitution, 1776%0a%3c %0a%3c "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms. . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. . . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." — Jefferson's "Commonplace Book," 1774-1776, quoting from On Crimes and Punishment, by criminologist Cesare Beccaria, 1764%0a%3c %0a%3c George Mason of Virginia:%0a%3c %0a%3c "[W]hen the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great Britain, the British Parliament was advised by an artful man, who was governor of Pennsylvania, to disarm the people; that it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them; but that they should not do it openly, but weaken them, and let them sink gradually.". . . I ask, who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers." — Virginia's U.S. Constitution ratification convention, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c "That the People have a right to keep and bear Arms; that a well regulated Militia, composed of the Body of the People, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe Defence of a free state." — Within Mason`s declaration of "the essential and unalienable Rights of the People," — later adopted by the Virginia ratification convention, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c Samuel Adams of Massachusetts:%0a%3c %0a%3c "The said Constitution [shall] be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press, or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms." — Massachusetts' U.S. Constitution ratification convention, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c William Grayson of Virginia:%0a%3c %0a%3c "[A] string of amendments were presented to the lower House; these altogether respected personal liberty." — Letter to Patrick Henry, June 12, 1789, referring to the introduction of what became the Bill of Rights%0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c Richard Henry Lee of Virginia:%0a%3c %0a%3c "A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves . . . and include all men capable of bearing arms. . . To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms... The mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly anti-republican principle." — Additional Letters From The Federal Farmer, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c James Madison of Virginia:%0a%3c %0a%3c The Constitution preserves "the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation. . . (where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." — The Federalist, No. 46%0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c Tench Coxe of Pennsylvania:%0a%3c %0a%3c "The militia, who are in fact the effective part of the people at large, will render many troops quite unnecessary. They will form a powerful check upon the regular troops, and will generally be sufficient to over-awe them." — An American Citizen, Oct. 21, 1787%0a%3c %0a%3c "Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American . . . . The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people." — The Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c "As the military forces which must occasionally be raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the next article (of amendment) in their right to keep and bear their private arms." — Federal Gazette, June 18, 1789%0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c Noah Webster of Pennsylvania:%0a%3c %0a%3c "Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States. A military force, at the command of Congress, can execute no laws, but such as the people perceive to be just and constitutional; for they will possess the power." — An Examination of The Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, Philadelphia, 1787%0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c Alexander Hamilton of New York:%0a%3c %0a%3c "[I]f circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude, that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little if at all inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their rights and those of their fellow citizens." — The Federalist, No. 29%0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c Thomas Paine of Pennsylvania:%0a%3c %0a%3c "[A]rms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. . . Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them." — Thoughts On Defensive War, 1775%0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c Fisher Ames of Massachusetts:%0a%3c %0a%3c "The rights of conscience, of bearing arms, of changing the government, are declared to be inherent in the people." — Letter to F.R. Minoe, June 12, 1789%0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts:%0a%3c %0a%3c "What, sir, is the use of militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty. . . Whenever Government means to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise a standing army upon its ruins." — Debate, U.S. House of Representatives, August 17, 1789%0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c Patrick Henry of Virginia:%0a%3c %0a%3c "Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel." — Virginia's U.S. Constitution ratification convention%0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c For more information, see Halbrook, Stephen P., "The Right of the People or the Power of the State: Bearing Arms, Arming Militias, and the Second Amendment," Valparaiso Univ. Law Review, Vol. 26, No. 1, Fall, 1991; and "That Every Man Be Armed: The Evolution of a Constitutional Right," Univ. of N.M. Press, 1984%0a---%0a> George Washington was concerned that a Civilian Militia would be lacking in training and organization, and so he wrote, “A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies.”%0a\ No newline at end of file%0a
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162 diff:1596339550:1596339550:=1,247d0%0a%3c “A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves . . . and include all men capable of bearing arms. . . To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms… The mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly anti-republican principle.” — Additional Letters From The Federal Farmer, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c “A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves . . . and include all men capable of bearing arms. . . To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms… The mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly anti-republican principle.” — Additional Letters From The Federal Farmer, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c “A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies.” ~ First Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union, January 8, 1790%0a%3c %0a%3c “By teaching the people themselves to know and to value their own rights; to discern and provide against invasions of them; to distinguish between oppression and the necessary exercise of lawful authority; between burthens [archaic version of ‘burdens’] proceeding from a disregard to their convenience and those resulting from the inevitable exigencies of society; to discriminate the spirit of liberty from that of licentiousness [archaic version of ‘promiscuity’]—cherishing the first, avoiding the last—and uniting a speedy by temperate vigilance against encroachments, with an inviolable respect to the laws.” ~ First Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union, January 8, 1790%0a%3c %0a%3c “The [militia] is certainly an object of primary importance whether viewed in reference to the national security to the satisfaction of the community or to the preservation of order. In connection with this the establishment of competent magazines and arsenals and the fortification of such places as are peculiarly important and vulnerable naturally present themselves to consideration.” ~ Third Annual Message, October 25, 1791%0a%3c %0a%3c Read more about George Washington here.%0a%3c %0a%3c Read more quotes by George Washington here.%0a%3c Thomas Jefferson%0a%3c %0a%3c “I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” ~ letter to Archibald Stuart, Philadelphia, December 23, 1791 (Technically, this quote is not referring directly to the second amendment, but rather refers to the writing of the constitution. We included it because it is concerns the amount of control the government should have.)%0a%3c %0a%3c “The constitutions of most of our States assert, that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves … or they may act by representatives, freely and equally chosen; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed; that they are entitled to freedom of person, freedom of religion, freedom of property, and freedom of the press.” ~ Letter to Major John Cartwright, June 5, 1824%0a%3c %0a%3c Read more about Thomas Jefferson here.%0a%3c Benjamin Franklin%0a%3c %0a%3c “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” ~ Memoirs of the life and writings of Benjamin Franklin, 1818%0a%3c %0a%3c Read more quotes by Benjamin Franklin%0a%3c %0a%3c Read more about Benjamin Franklin%0a%3c John Adams%0a%3c %0a%3c “Here every private person is authorized to arm himself, and on the strength of this authority, I do not deny the inhabitants had a right to arm themselves at that time, for their defense, not for offence.” ~ In defense of the soldiers on trial for the Boston Massacre.%0a%3c %0a%3c “The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.” ~ notes for an oration at Braintree, Spring 1772%0a%3c %0a%3c Read more about John Adams.%0a%3c James Madison%0a%3c %0a%3c “In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.” ~ The Federalist No. 51, February 6, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c “Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments … forms a foorier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of. Notwithstanding the military establishments of the several kingdoms of Europe, the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.” ~ The Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c Read more about James Madison here.%0a%3c Patrick Henry%0a%3c %0a%3c “Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force.” ~ Virginia’s Constitution ratification convention, June 5, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c “My great objection to this government is, that it does not leave us the means of defending our rights, or of waging war against tyrants.” ~ Virginia’s Constitution ratification convention, June 5, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c “Where and when did freedom exist when the power of the sword and purse were given up from the people?” ~ Virginia’s Constitution ratification convention, June 5, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c Read more about Patrick Henry here.%0a%3c Thomas Paine%0a%3c %0a%3c “I would gladly agree with all the world to lay aside the use of arms, and settle matters by negotiation; but unless the whole will, the matter ends, and I take up my musket and thank heaven he has put it in my power. Whoever considers the unprincipled enemy we have to cope with, will not hesitate to declare that nothing but arms or miracles can reduce them to reason and moderation. They have lost sight of the limits of humanity.” Thoughts on Defensive War, 1775%0a%3c %0a%3c “Arms like laws discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The balance of power is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not others dare not lay them aside. And while a single nation refuses to lay them down, it is proper that all should keep them up. Horrid mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them; for while avarice and ambition have a place in the heart of man, the weak will become a prey to the strong. The history of every age and nation establishes these truths, and facts need but little arguments when they prove themselves.” Thoughts on Defensive War, 1775%0a%3c %0a%3c Read more about Thomas Paine here.%0a%3c Samuel Adams%0a%3c %0a%3c “The truth is, all might be free, if they valued freedom and defended it as they ought.” ~ published in the Boston Gazette, October 14, 1771 under the name “Candidus”%0a%3c %0a%3c “The liberties of our Country, the freedom of our civil constitution are worth defending at all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have receiv’d them as a fair Inheritance from our worthy Ancestors: They purchas’d them for us with toil and danger and expence of treasure and blood; and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle; or be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men. Of the latter we are in most danger at present: Let us therefore be aware of it. Let us contemplate our forefathers and posterity; and resolve to maintain the rights bequeath’d to us from the former, for the sake of the latter—instead of sitting down satisfied with the efforts we have already made, which is the wish of our enemies, the necessity of the times, more than ever, calls for our utmost circumspection, deliberation, fortitude, and perseverance. Let us remember that ‘if we suffer tamely a lawless attack upon our liberty, we encourage it, and involve others in our doom.’ It is a very serious consideration, which should deeply impress our minds, that millions yet unborn may be the miserable sharers of the event.” ~ published in the Boston Gazette, October 14, 1771 under the name “Candidus”%0a%3c %0a%3c “Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these: First, a right to life; Secondly, to liberty; Thirdly, to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can. These are evident branches of, rather than deductions from, the duty of self-preservation, commonly called the first law of nature.” ~ The Rights of the Colonists, 1772%0a%3c %0a%3c Read more about Samuel Adams here.%0a%3c George Mason%0a%3c %0a%3c “When the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great Britain, the British Parliament was advised by an artful man, who was governor of Pennsylvania, to disarm the people; that it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them; but that they should not do it openly, but weaken them, and let them sink gradually, by totally disusing and neglecting the militia … Why should we not provide against the danger of having our militia, our real and natural strength, destroyed? The general government ought, at the same time, to have some such power. But we need not give them power to abolish our militia.” ~ Debate in Virginia Ratifying Convention June 14, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c “That the People have a right to keep and bear arms; 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.” ~ %0a%3c %0a%3c Within Mason’s declaration of “the essential and unalienable Rights of the People”, later adopted by the Virginia ratification convention (1788).%0a%3c Samuel Nasson%0a%3c %0a%3c Nasson is not a well-known Founding Father, so not much is written on him on this site. He was a captain in the Continental Army and after the war he rose in his local political hierarchy to the Massachusetts General Court. He was a delegate to the state ratifying convention and was one of the Maine territory’s most important Antifederalists. He strongly opposed the three-fifth’s compromise because it gave too much power to one party. He believed that the Constitution did not provide for the people’s rights and made the United States Government too much like Britain’s. He also opposed federal taxation power, standing armies, or the right to bear arms in peacetime.%0a%3c %0a%3c “Only think how fatal [arms] were to the peace of this country in 1770, what confusion they brought on the fatal 5 of March [the Boston Massacre]. I think the remembrance of that night is enough to make us careful how we introduce them in a free republican government—I therefore hope they will be discouraged for I think the man that enters as a soldier in a time of peace only for a living is only a fit tool to enslave his fellows.” ~ Letter to George Thatcher, July 9, 1787%0a%3c Noah Webster%0a%3c %0a%3c Noah Webster is sometimes listed as a Founding Father, but more frequently is called the “Father of American Scholarship and Education”. He discarded the traditional British lesson plans and educational books for children that were “corrupted by British aristocracy” and wrote his own—updating and “americanizing” the spelling—which were used for generations. It is his name that we use on the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.%0a%3c %0a%3c He was an avid Federalist and as such, severely disliked Jeffersonian Republicans. He helped found an anti-slavery society, but wrote to his daughter: “Slavery is a great sin and a general calamity—but it is not our sin, though it may prove to be a terrible calamity to us in the North. But we cannot legally interfere with the South on this subject … To come north to preach and thus disturb our peace, when we can legally do nothing to effect this object, is, in my view, highly criminal and the preachers of abolitionism deserve the penitentiary.”%0a%3c %0a%3c “Another source of power in government is a military force. But this, to be efficient, must be superior to any force that exists among the people, or which they can command; for otherwise, this force would be annihilated, on the first exercise of acts of oppression. Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretense raised in the United States.” ~ “An Examination Into the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution Proposed by the Late Convention Held at Philadelphia, With Answers to the Principal Objections that Have Been Raised Against the System” January 1, 1787%0a%3c %0a%3c Post navigation%0a%3c George Read%0a%3c Declaration of Independence Transcription%0a%3c Popular Articles%0a%3c %0a%3c Articles of Confederation Transcript%0a%3c North and South Carolina Colony%0a%3c Bill of Rights: Unratified Amendments to the United States Constitution%0a%3c Roanoke: “The Lost Colony”%0a%3c Plymouth Colony%0a%3c Richard Stockton%0a%3c Colonial History%0a%3c Caesar Rodney%0a%3c Charles Carroll of Carrollton%0a%3c New Netherland%0a%3c Richard Henry Lee%0a%3c Aaron Burr%0a%3c George Clymer%0a%3c Thomas Stone%0a%3c Famous American History Documents%0a%3c Philip Livingston%0a%3c General John Sullivan%0a%3c Thomas Heyward, Jr.%0a%3c Francis Lewis%0a%3c George Wythe%0a%3c George Ross%0a%3c Carter Braxton%0a%3c John Penn%0a%3c Thomas Lynch%0a%3c Bill of Rights Amendments to the US Constitution%0a%3c Lyman Hall%0a%3c Francis Hopkinson%0a%3c George Walton%0a%3c William Ellery%0a%3c Arthur Middleton%0a%3c John Morton%0a%3c Edward Rutledge%0a%3c William Whipple%0a%3c Francis Lightfoot Lee%0a%3c James Smith%0a%3c Matthew Thornton%0a%3c US Constitution Text: The Most Famous of Historical Documents%0a%3c John Witherspoon%0a%3c Abraham Clark%0a%3c Joseph Hewes%0a%3c Thomas McKean%0a%3c Revolutionary-War.net Bookshelf%0a%3c William Floyd%0a%3c Lewis Morris%0a%3c William Hooper%0a%3c Josiah footlett%0a%3c Samuel Chase%0a%3c Francis Salvador%0a%3c Stephen Hopkins%0a%3c Royal Proclamation of 1763%0a%3c %0a%3c © Revolutionary War 2010-2020%0a%3c Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Cookies Policy %0a%3c %0a%3c %0a%3c Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia:%0a%3c %0a%3c “No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.” — Proposed Virginia Constitution, 1776%0a%3c %0a%3c Advertisement - story continues below%0a%3c %0a%3c “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms. . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. . . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.” — Jefferson`s “Commonplace Book,” 1774-1776, quoting from On Crimes and Punishment, by criminologist Cesare Beccaria, 1764%0a%3c George Mason, of Virginia:%0a%3c %0a%3c TRENDING: CBS Mail-In Voting Experiment Blows Dem Narrative, Yields Troubling Results, 3%25 of Ballots Never Received%0a%3c %0a%3c “[W]hen the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great Britain, the British Parliament was advised by an artful man, who was governor of Pennsylvania, to disarm the people; that it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them; but that they should not do it openly, but weaken them, and let them sink gradually.”. . . I ask, who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers.” — Virginia`s U.S. Constitution ratification convention, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c Advertisement - story continues below%0a%3c %0a%3c “That the People have a right to keep and bear Arms; that a well regulated Militia, composed of the Body of the People, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe Defence of a free state.” — Within Mason`s declaration of “the essential and unalienable Rights of the People,” — later adopted by the Virginia ratification convention, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c 90492-050-98565DFB%0a%3c Samuel Adams, of Massachusetts:%0a%3c %0a%3c “The said Constitution [shall] be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press, or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms.” — Massachusetts` U.S. Constitution ratification convention, 1788%0a%3c William Grayson, of Virginia:%0a%3c %0a%3c “[A] string of amendments were presented to the lower House; these altogether respected personal liberty.” — Letter to Patrick Henry, June 12, 1789, referring to the introduction of what became the Bill of Rights%0a%3c %0a%3c Advertisement - story continues below%0a%3c Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia:%0a%3c %0a%3c “A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves . . . and include all men capable of bearing arms. . . To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms… The mind that aims at a select militia, must be influenced by a truly anti-republican principle.” — Additional Letters From The Federal Farmer, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c RELATED: Congressman Mo Brooks Sticks To His Guns After Alexandria Shooting%0a%3c %0a%3c James_Madison_by_Gilbert_Stuart%0a%3c James Madison, of Virginia:%0a%3c %0a%3c Advertisement - story continues below%0a%3c %0a%3c The Constitution preserves “the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation. . . (where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.” — The Federalist, No. 46%0a%3c Tench Coxe, of Pennsylvania:%0a%3c %0a%3c “The militia, who are in fact the effective part of the people at large, will render many troops quite unnecessary. They will form a powerful check upon the regular troops, and will generally be sufficient to over-awe them.” — An American Citizen, Oct. 21, 1787%0a%3c %0a%3c “Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American . . . . The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people.” — The Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c Advertisement - story continues below%0a%3c %0a%3c “As the military forces which must occasionally be raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the next article (of amendment) in their right to keep and bear their private arms.” — Federal Gazette, June 18, 1789%0a%3c Noah Webster, of Pennsylvania:%0a%3c %0a%3c “Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretence, raised in the United States. A military force, at the command of Congress, can execute no laws, but such as the people perceive to be just and constitutional; for they will possess the power.” — An Examination of The Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, Philadelphia, 1787%0a%3c %0a%3c Alexander_Hamilton_portrait_by_John_Trumbull_1806%0a%3c %0a%3c Advertisement - story continues below%0a%3c Alexander Hamilton, of New York:%0a%3c %0a%3c “[I]f circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude, that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little if at all inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their rights and those of their fellow citizens.” — The Federalist, No. 29%0a%3c Thomas Paine, of Pennsylvania:%0a%3c %0a%3c “[A]rms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. . . Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them.” — Thoughts On Defensive War, 1775%0a%3c %0a%3c Advertisement - story continues below%0a%3c %0a%3c 4795007871%0a%3c Fisher Ames, of Massachusetts:%0a%3c %0a%3c “The rights of conscience, of bearing arms, of changing the government, are declared to be inherent in the people.” — Letter to F.R. Minoe, June 12, 1789%0a%3c %0a%3c Advertisement - story continues below%0a%3c Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts:%0a%3c %0a%3c “What, sir, is the use of militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty. . . Whenever Government means to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise a standing army upon its ruins.” — Debate, U.S. House of Representatives, August 17, 1789%0a%3c %0a%3c PatrickHenry%0a%3c Patrick Henry, of Virginia:%0a%3c %0a%3c Advertisement - story continues below%0a%3c %0a%3c “Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel.” — Virginia`s U.S. Constitution ratification convention%0a%3c %0a%3c “I ask who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers.” – George Mason, Address to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 4, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c “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%0a%3c %0a%3c “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country.” – James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434, June 8, 1789%0a%3c %0a%3c “The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.” – Samuel Adams, Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c “What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty …. Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins.” – Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, I Annals of Congress 750, August 17, 1789%0a%3c %0a%3c “If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers, may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual state. In a single state, if the persons entrusted with supreme power become usurpers, the different parcels, subdivisions, or districts of which it consists, having no distinct government in each, can take no regular measures for defense. The citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert, without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair.” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28%0a%3c %0a%3c “[I]f circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little, if at all, inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-citizens. This appears to me the only substitute that can be devised for a standing army, and the best possible security against it, if it should exist.” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28, January 10, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c To disarm the people…[i]s the most effectual way to enslave them.” – George Mason, referencing advice given to the British Parliament by Pennsylvania governor Sir William Keith, The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, June 14, 1788%0a%3c %0a%3c In light of the overwhelming evidence from the men who crafted the Declaration, wrote the Constitution, included the Bill of Rights, and led the United States during its first decades of existence it is abundantly clear to all but the very gullible (or those who would impose tyranny), that our founders wished us to be armed. They demanded we be armed. And in force, capability and training so as to thwart any infringement by a runaway government. Noah Webster, often considered the father of American Education and Scholarship wrote:%0a%3c %0a%3c “Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops.” – Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, October 10, 1787%0a%3c %0a%3c George Washington was concerned that a Civilian Militia would be lacking in training and organization, and so he wrote, “A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies.”%0a\ No newline at end of file%0a
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