In all my election contests, therefore, my character is at the mercy of the basest slanderer; and slander is so effective a power in all our elections, that the friends of the candidates for the highest offices use it without scruple.
Josiah Quincy reflects on the impact of slander in political elections, emphasizing its destructive power.
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His spirit of liberty was fostered and inspired by the writings of Milton, Sydney, and Locke, of which the American Declaration of Independence was an emanation, and the constitution of the United States, with the exception of the clauses…
They have transmitted that freedom to you; and upon you now devolves the duty of transmitting it unimpaired to your posterity.
He knew how little a majority of the men of his own time were disposed or qualified to estimate his character with justice.
Adams replied: "I have no hesitation to say I hold that act unconstitutional and void.
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