And that, my dear Mr Jefferson, is why we have tea parties in 2009. Alas, we've been guilty of the complacency you once referred to, that comes with having abundance.

Wouldn't it be great if Pres. Obama took his governing cue from the Founding Fathers instead of Europe, or Karl Marx? Then the U.S. could get back on the right track. This quote of TJ's is just one more example of Founders' wisdom.

I almost believe that we're at a time when a peaceful division must occur to avert the destruction of the whole.

How true, as evidenced by Republicans providing the USA with a socialist president. And now they scratch their heads trying to figure out how to take the power back, though they're equally culpable and as sinister as the Democrats, save but a few.

How very true! Especially from Washington and Hollywood. I was always a liberal; now that the word has been perverted and bastardized, I'm now known as a conservative! What liberal in their right mind would support elective abortion? Think! F.A. Hayek, author of "The Road to Serfdom" written in the 1940s, describes himself and like minded folks as liberals and gives the rational and definition, which is the very antithesis of what America in 2009 refers to as a liberal. The book is deep but essentially easy to understand. I recommend it to any sane American as it was written partially as a warning to our nation.

Here we are today, the very antithesis of the quote existing alive and well in the USA. Outrageous.

Henceforth, we must protect and defend our republic! God knows our illustrious leaders are not.

Tell that to our illustrious president of 2009. His words will agree, however, his actions will reflect just the opposite.

Our federal government is overly energetic in creating new laws; it's as if they dismiss the whole of the US Consitution.

I agree with the post "the IRS" must be the first to go. This is an attainable goal, more so even now due to our current economic climate. We absolutely remove this power from the fed. govt. and return it to the people, the rightful owners of this power. The 16th amendment must be repealed and HR 25 enacted. This will be the largest transfer of power back to the people in a very long time, and benefit the nation by allowing US jobs to return and welcoming business from other countries, and allow trillions of US dollars to remain in the states as opposed to offshore accts. My very next goal is passage of HR 450, the Enumerated Powers Act, forcing congress and the president to cite that section of the Constitution which supports any and all pieces of legislation they propose. Simultaneously, we attack the outrageous spending. We must protect our government from itself for it is evident that it cannot, much to the detriment of our beloved nation.

Samuael Adams was wholly correct to forewarn us, but alas, many American citizens have failed to heed Mr. Adams' warning over a period of many years, henceforth, we now have a socialist president.

In reading these profound quotes, made by our wonderful Founding Fathers, I feel venerated, validated, as it were, in my beliefs and values. The powerful in our country today makes every attempt to undermine and destroy our very foundations, apparently not realizing that the consequence will be utter destruction.

Amen to that, Mr. Adams! How I wish you were here in 2009, along with you honorable colleagues, to educate the citizenry of the USA!

Mike from Norwalk, Unfortunately, I think you may be correct re oligarchy; scary when you realize the next, and final, step is totalinarianism. Are we now the United Socialist States of America? Simply heartbreaking. Alas, many of us continue to fight for the USA and her Constitution and will probably do so to the end.

It seems many Americans either never learned this principle or have simply been totally unaware of it all along, henceforth, Mr. Obama is our president. It will be interesting to watch the independent thinkers' reactions when they see the consequences of ignoring this valuable quote; party idealogues, however, will just blame whatever group or party that their favorite party leaders tell them to blame, rather than place the blame and responsiblity squarely where it belongs, on the shoulders of our leadership.

Evidently, Obama doesn't see any use for the 10th amendment; defeats his purposes so he'll just ignore it, pretty much like he does most of the wisdom shared with us by the Founders. After all, socialism isn't supported by Founding Fathers' wisdom, henceforth, that wisdom means little to the present administration, as it has in preceding administrations. And now we're stuck with trying to live by the Constitution in the face of an administration that openly defies the Constitution.