Man, that George, he was really something....

"No, surely, No! they meant to drive us into what they termed rebellion, that they might be furnished with a pretext to disarm and then strip us of the rights and privileges of Englishmen and Citizens."

- George Washington, Valley forge, March 1, 1778.

Now that's what I'm talking about.....

“...All ships or other vessels, with their rigging, tackle, apparel and furniture, and with their cargoes, found in the possession of pirates.”

“The goods, wares and merchandizes to be adjudged contraband, are the following, that is to say,”

“Cannons, mortars, fire-arms, pistols, bombs, granadoes, bullets, balls, fuses, flints, matches, powder, salt-petre, sulphur, carcases, pikes, swords, belts, pouches, cartouch-boxes, saddles and bridles, in any quantity beyond what may be necessary for the ship's provision, and may properly appertain to, and be adjudged necessary for, every man of the ship's crew or for each passenger....”

“...Upon the capture of any other vessel, if made by a vessel of war, belonging to the United States, one half of the property condemned shall be decreed to the United States, and the other half to the captors, to be divided as aforesaid; if by a private vessel no; having a commission, the whole shall be decreed to the captors: if by any body or detachment of regular or other troops in the service of the United States, the whole shall be adjudged to the captors, to be divided in proportion to the pay in the line of the army: if by inhabitants of the country, being in arms, the whole shall be adjudged to the captors, to be divided equally among them: provided, that if any such inhabitant shall be wounded in making the capture, he shall be entitled to two shares, and if killed, his legal representatives shall be entitled to four shares; if by the crews of British vessels, the whole shall be adjudged to the captors, to be divided at the discretion of the court....”

- Journals of the Continental Congress, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1781

And the winner is --- Patrick Henry! (Best Quote):

"Mr. Henry for it. Says that a preparation for Warr is Necessary to obtain peace--That America is not Now in a State of peace--That all the Bulwarks, of Our Safety, of Our Constitn. are thrown down, That We are Now in a State of Nature-- hat We ought to ask Ourselves the Question should the planns of Nonim [portatio] n & Nonexp [oratio] n fail of success--in that Case Arms are Necessary, & if then, it is Necessary Now. Arms are a Resource to which We shall be forced, a Resource afforded Us by God & Nature, & why in the Name of both are We to hesitate providing them Now whilst in Our power."

- Silas Deane's Diary, [Oct. 3, 1774]. [Letters of Delegates to Congress: Volume 1 AUGUST 1774 - AUGUST 1775]

(See: “Agreed to found our Rights upon the Laws of Nature....”)

Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Duane, March 28, 1811:

"The last hope of human liberty in this world rests on us. We ought, for so dear a state to sacrifice every attachment and every enmity. Leave the President free to choose his own coadjutors, to pursue his own measures, and support him and them, even if we think we are wiser than they, honester than they are, or possessing more enlarged information of the state of things. If we move in mass, be it ever so circuitously, we shall attain our object; but if we break into squads, every one pursuing the path he thinks most direct, we become an easy conquest to those who can now barely hold us in check. I repeat again, that we ought not to schismatize on either men or measures. Principles alone can justify that. If we find our government in all its branches rushing headlong, like our predecessors, into the arms of monarchy, if we find them violating our dearest rights, the trial by jury, the freedom of the press, the freedom of opinion, civil or religious, or opening on our peace of mind or personal safety the sluices of terrorism, if we see them raising standing armies, when the absence of all other danger points to these as the sole objects on which they are to be employed, then indeed let us withdraw and call the nation to its tents."

[The Works of Thomas Jefferson in Twelve Volumes. Federal Edition. Collected and Edited by Paul Leicester Ford.]

George Washington: Concerning Arms in the hands of the People....

Here's a sample of some of the quotes found;

"...No Soldier whenever dismissed, is to carry away any Arms with him, that are good, and fit for service, if the Arms are his own private property, they will be appraised, and he will receive the full Value thereof: Proper persons when necessary, will be appointed to inspect, and value, the Arms, so detained...."

(Read more here).

And here's a little something from Mr. Sedgwick....

I wish the words to be struck out, because I conceive them to be unnecessary in this place. I do conceive, Mr. Speaker, that this officer will be the mere creature of the law, and that very little need be said to prove to you that of necessity this ought to be the case. I apprehend, likewise, that it requires but a small share of abilities to point out certain causes for which a person ought to be removed from office, without being guilty of treason, bribery, or malfeasance; and the nature of things demands that it should be so. Suppose, sir, a man becomes insane by the visitation of God, and is likely to ruin our affairs; are the hands of government to be confined from warding off the evil? Suppose a person in office not possessing the talents he was judged to have at the time of the appointment; is the error not to be corrected? Suppose he acquires vicious habits, an incurable indolence, or total neglect of the duties of his office, which forebode mischief to the public welfare; is there no way to arrest the threatened danger? Suppose he becomes odious and unpopular by reason of the measures which he pursues,--and this he may do without committing any positive offence against the law, must he preserve his office in despite of the public will? Suppose him grasping at his own aggrandizement, and the elevation of his connections, by every means short of the treason defined by the Constitution,--hurrying your affairs to the precipice of destruction, endangering your domestic tranquility, plundering you of the means of defence, by alienating the affections of your allies, and promoting the spirit of discord,--is there no way suddenly to seize the worthless wretch, and hurl him from the pinnacle of power? Must the tardy, tedious, desultory road; by way of impeachment, be travelled to overtake the man who, barely confining himself within the letter of the law, is employed in drawing off the vital principle of the government? Sir, the nature of things, the great objects of society, the express objects of this Constitution, require that this thing should be otherwise. Well, sir, this is admitted by gentlemen; but they say the Senate is to be united with the President in the exercise of this power. I hope, sir, this is not the case, because it would involve us in the most serious difficulty. Suppose a discovery of any of those events which I have just enumerated were to take place when the Senate is not in session; how is the remedy to be applied? This is a serious consideration, and the evil could be avoided no other way than by the Senate's sitting always. Surely no gentleman of this house contemplates the necessity of incurring such au expense. I am sure it will be very objectionable to our constituents; and yet this must be done, or the public interest he endangered by keeping an unworthy officer in place until that body shall be assembled from the extremes of the Union.

- House of Representatives, June 16, 1789. "Removal by the President.--On the Bill for establishing an executive Department, to be denominated the Department of Foreign Affairs." [Elliot's Debates, Volume 4]

Now were getting somewhere....

Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States,
WEDNESDAY, May 5, 1858.

"Resolved, That the right of the citizen of the United States to expatriate himself and transfer his allegiance to other governments, to emigrate, with arms in his hands, for the purpose of settling new countries and founding new States, is an inherent and sacred right; one that ought to be inviolate, and one of which he cannot be constitutionally deprived...."

(Click here to read rest of article).