"A just security to property is not afforded by that government, under which unequal taxes oppress one species of property and reward another species."
-- James Madison, Essay on Property, 1792
"It is sufficiently obvious, that persons and property are the two great subjects on which Governments are to act; and that the rights of persons, and the rights of property, are the objects, for the protection of which Government was instituted. These rights cannot well be separated."
-- James Madison, Speech at the Virginia Convention, 1829
"Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connexions with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."
"...he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed...."
--U.S.Constitution, Article II, Section 3, concerning the obligations of the President
"No person shall be...deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law...."
--U.S. Constitution, Amendment V, part of the Laws which the President is to ensure are faithfully executed
"'I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.'"
--U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1, containing the words of the oath which the President takes upon entering office
"There is not a single instance in history in which civil liberty was lost, and religious liberty preserved entire. If therefore we yield up our temporal property, we at the same time deliver the conscience into bondage."
--John Witherspoon, The Dominion of Providence Over the Passions of Men, 1776
"Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths?"
-- George Washington
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