Sylvanius Jackson Quinn

“ That all elections ought to be free; and that all men having sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with, and attachment to, the community have the right of suffrage and cannot be taxed or deprived of their property for public uses, without their own consent or that of their representatives so elected, nor bound by any law to which they have not, in like manner, assented for the public good. ”

“ That in all capital or criminal prosecutions, a man hath the right to demand the cause and nature of his accusation, to be confronted with the accusers and witnesses, to call for evidence in his favor and to a speedy trial by an impartial jury of twelve men of his vicinage, without whose unanimous consent he cannot be found guilty; nor can he be compelled to give evidence against himself; that no man be deprived of his liberty, except by the law of the land or the judgment of his peers. ”

“ That all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights of which when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety. ”

“ And this we do, not in any spirit of vanity, but that there may be grouped together and brought to public attention, in permanent form, historical facts, if known to the public, long forgotten and unappreciated, that Fredericksburg may be placed, where it rightly belongs, as the most historical spot in the most historical State in this great nation, that will soon, if it does not now, dominate the nations of the earth and fully justify her sons in recounting their deeds, if it shall be termed bragging. ”

“ If we wish to be free—if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending—if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the object of our contest shall be obtained—we must fight ! ”

“ If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery. Our chains are forged; their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston. The war is inevitable, and let it come. ”

“ The last resolution was in these words:
" 'Resolved, therefore, that the General Assembly of this colony have the sole right and power to lay taxes and impositions upon the inhabitants of this colony; and that every attempt to vest such power in any person or persons whatsoever, other than the General Assembly aforesaid, has a manifest tendency to destroy British as well as American freedom.'
"A warm debate ensued. Pendleton, Bland, Wythe and Randolph all opposed the resolutions; but Henry was the master-mind, and made an impression which is felt to this day. ”

“ That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience ”

“ It was to prepare the people for any breach of the law or outrage upon the people's rights, which had been threatened by the authorities at Williamsburg, and commenced in the gunpowder act, that the Fredericksburg resolutions were adopted, and the great pity is they were not handed down to succeeding generations and preserved as the first Declaration of Independence since the days of Bacon. ”

“ The general warrants, whereby an officer or messenger may be commanded to search suspected places without evidence of a fact committed, or to seize any person not named, or whose offence is not particularly described and supported by evidence, are grievous and oppressive, and ought not to be granted. ”

“ That no man, or set of men, are entitled to exclusive or separate emoluments or privileges from the community, but in consideration of public services; which, not being descendible, neither ought the offices of magistrate, legislator or judge be hereditary. ”

“ He submitted a set of resolutions, calling attention to the presence of British armies and the dangers then threatening American freedom, and proposed that Virginia should be put in a state of defense, and that measures should at once be taken for embodying, arming and disciplining such a number of men as may be sufficient for that purpose. ”

“ Cotton, who wrote an account of this Bacon movement the year it occurred, and who did not fully endorse all that Bacon did, states that a large council was held on Bacon's premises in May, at which Bacon charged that the authorities were guilty of wrong in their eagerness to get rich; that some persons were rich who were guilty of unjust methods in obtaining their wealth ”