All Might Be Free If

Man's Rights Are Evident Branches Of, Rather Than Deductions From, The Duty Of Self-preservation, Commonly Called The First Law Of Nature.

Let Us Contemplate Our Forefathers, And Posterity, And Resolve To Maintain The Rights Bequeathed To Us From The Former, For The Sake Of The Latter. The Necessity Of The Times, More Than Ever, Calls For Our Utmost Circumspection, Deliberation, Fortitude And Perseverance. Let Us Remember That "if We Suffer Tamely A Lawless Attack Upon Our Liberty, We Encourage It, And Involve Others In Our Doom," It Is A Very Serious Consideration That Millions Yet Unborn May Be The Miserable Sharers Of The Event.

Is It Not High Time For The People Of This Country Explicitly To Declare, Whether They Will Be Freemen Or Slaves? It Is An Important Question Which Ought To Be Decided. It Concerns Us More Than Any Thing In This Life. The Salvation Of Our Souls Is Interested In The Event: For Wherever Tyranny Is Establish'd, Immorality Of Every Kind Comes In Like A Torrent. It Is In The Interest Of Tyrants To Reduce The People To Ignorance And Vice.

The Liberties Of Our Country, The Freedoms Of Our Civil Constitution Are Worth Defending At All Hazards; It Is Our Duty To Defend Them Against All Attacks. We Have Received Them As A Fair Inheritance From Our Worthy Ancestors. They Purchased Them For Us With Toil And Danger And Expense Of Treasure And Blood. It Will Bring A Mark Of Everlasting Infamy On The Present Generation – Enlightened As It Is – If We Should Suffer Them To Be Wrested From Us By Violence Without A Struggle, Or To Be Cheated Out Of Them By The Artifices Of Designing Men.

In A State Of Tranquility, Wealth, And Luxury, Our Descendants Would Forget The Arts Of War And The Noble Activity And Zeal Which Made Their Ancestors Invincible. Every Art Of Corruption Would Be Employed To Loosen The Bond Of Union Which Renders Our Resistance Formidable. When The Spirit Of Liberty Which Now Animates Our Hearts And Gives Success To Our Arms Is Extinct, Our Numbers Will Accelerate Our Ruin And Render Us Easier Victims To Tyranny.