Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion,
religious or political; peace, commerce, and honest friendship with
all nations,--entangling alliances with none; the support of the State
governments in all their rights, as the most competent administrations
for our domestic concerns, and the surest bulwarks against anti-republican
tendencies; the preservation of the general government in its whole
constitutional vigour, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and
safety abroad;...freedom of religion; freedom of the press; freedom
of person under the protection of the habeas corpus; and trial by
juries impartially selected,--these principles form the bright constellation
which has gone before us, and guided our steps through an age of revolution
and reformation.
-- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
-- First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801
