Ulysses S. Grant Quote

“The right of revolution is an inherent one. When people are oppressed by their government, it is a natural right they enjoy to relieve themselves of the oppression, if they are strong enough, either by withdrawal from it, or by overthrowing it and substituting a government more acceptable.”

~ Ulysses S. Grant

Personal Memoirs, 1885

Ratings and Comments


Mike, Norwalk

There you have it, straight from the horses mouth.

L. Hanson, edmonton, canada

Wow. I guess the opression that occurred during the Reagan/Bush years was so well packaged that no one noticed until the criminals had escaped. The crisis came and then you wanted change. Wow.

Jack, Brussels, Belgium

I'm British so I don't really understand these things, but wasn't Grant a UNIONIST general?

jim k, Austin,Tx

Jack, yes ,Grant was a unionist general in Lincoln's war of aggression against the South. Over 600,000 men died because Lincoln wanted centralized power in Washington. As to the "Great Emancipator" freeing the slaves, Lincoln only "freed" the slaves in the States that wanted to seceed. This war was primarily about secession, not about freeing any slaves. The South got all the flak about slavery but it actually started in the Northern states.

J Carlton, Calgary

Hanson makes a good point, but every administration since 1913 has been escalating greater control and Leviathan government...that includes the left. America really needs to restore itself as a Constitutional Republic, end the socialist policies of the left, the crony capitalism of the right, and the nation building and social engineering of both.

Mike, Norwalk

Jack, Grant's optimal phrase here was: "if they are strong enough,". After the war of aggression, the North placed what had earlier been considered a standing army (local police) for the purposes of enforcing a foreigners dictatorial despotism. The original concept was that each individual was a sovereign with all rights inherent and inalienable, policing authority being a personal responsibility (from the smallest of communities to the federal government). The county sheriff was the supreme enforcement officer in the country with as few a people as was necessary to assist the locals. For fear of retaliation (again the strong enough thing) compelled compliance, license, victimless crimes, larceny with impunity, loss of absolute or perfected ownership, deprivation of personal sovereignty, etc. gradually expanded and over time became the norm for a nation of ignorant helots, serfs, and slaves. L. Hanson, the oppression that occurred from Wilson, to Carter, to the latest socialist, has been waking people up concerning the malefactor's unconstitutional / unlawful doings. Mr. Obamunist Goodwrench the assassin may be the criminal that has catalyzed an information revolution exposing the loss of freedom, liberty, law, justice, personal sovereignty and inalienable rights. It is my hope that with enlightenment of the oppression, a personal realization in strength will occur in righteousness.

Byron, Fort Collins, CO

jim k, J Carlton, and Mike, THANK YOU (jim k) for setting the record straight, one post at a time, (J Carlton) for speaking the truth about America's failed two-party system, and (Mike) for pointing out the key phrase, "if they are strong enough", and that key catalyst, Barry Obama--that Narcissistic walking disaster who is awakening even the most complacent Americans.

GunnyCee, Durham

Mr. L. Hanson, you should thank your lucky stars that the South DIDN'T win the war of secession. Had they won, the state of slavery might very well be alive and well today in both the North and South. The reason the North had to send enforcers to the South during the Reconstruction Period was because the South, although defeated militarily, was still determined to dominate the North as they had before the war with their "Slave Power" vote. The North could not compete with the 3/5th law that allowed the South to represent each slave with 3/5 of a vote. Therefore, they always were in the majority. Even though the slaves were Emancipated by Lincoln, after the war, the Southern Democrats had no intention of giving them the same rights as a white man. Now, instead of "Slaves" representing a 3/5 vote, they reworded their state constitutions to include properited whites (White Planters) and others who had enough property so as to be able to avoid coercion by the state, and that "ALL OTHERS" would be represented by a 3/5 vote. Nobody was fooled by who the "AlLL OTHERS" were. Northern Congressman named Sumner who fought for Civil Rights for the Southern Negros was almost beaten to death by a Southern Democrat's cane...right in the House! The North had to force the South to give their freed slaves civil rights and that is what the Northern troops were all about. The South should take the rap for the atrocities of slavery. Ever since the Constitutional Conventions, they threatened to shatter the fragile beginnings of a union if they were not allowed to continue their practice of slavery. Even today, the issue of what to do with the blacks is alive and well. It was a Southern Democrat LBJ who thought he would solve it by creating the Great Society. We can see it only made matters worse.

Mike, Norwalk

GunnyCee, you forgot the Democrat Woodrow Wilson, one of, if not the most prejudicial, bigoted, socialist and destructive to freedom, liberty, law, justice, the Constitution, and individual sovereignty with inherent and inalienable rights of any President in US history. To Wilson's opprobrium, he implemented segregation in the military with non-whites, as a matter of policy, being treated as an inferior subspecies. As the supreme executive, Wilson lead the progressive's movement (a most destructive combination of fascism and communism) in a political revolution, overthrowing the Representative Republic with its Constitution, substituting a socialist government of men (as is averse to a government of law - acceptable only to willing helots, serfs, slaves and the most powerful slave masters).

E Archer, NYC

A politician's hypocrisy knows no bounds...

rashanda brown, dillwyn va

I LOVE THIS QUOTE VERY MUCH.OMG I CRIED WHEN I READ THIS QUOTE.

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