Thomas Paine: “A great field was opening to the view of mankind by means of the French Revolution.”

They had a cause at stake, on which depended their freedom or their slavery.

In fine, society performs for itself almost everything which is ascribed to government.

But the spirit of the nation was not to be overcome, and it was so fully sensible of the strong ground it had taken--that of withholding taxes--that it contented itself with keeping up a sort of quiet resistance, which effectually…

A constitution is not a thing in name only, but in fact.