--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are bound to maintain public liberty…" description: "\"We are bound to maintain public liberty, and, by the example of our own systems, to convince the world that order and law, religion and morality, the r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/daniel-webster-2347_argument_we-are-bound-to-maintain-public-liberty_2570270.jpg" --- # We are bound to maintain public liberty, and, by the… ![“We are bound to maintain public liberty, and, by the example of our own systems, to convince the world that order and law, religion and morality, the rights of conscience, the rights of persons, and the rights of property, may all be preserved and secured, in the most perfect manner, by a…” quote by Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/daniel-webster-2347_argument_we-are-bound-to-maintain-public-liberty_2570270.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/daniel-webster-2347_argument_we-are-bound-to-maintain-public-liberty_2570270.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/daniel-webster-2347_argument_we-are-bound-to-maintain-public-liberty_2570270.jpg) > “We are bound to maintain public liberty, and, by the example of our own systems, to convince the world that order and law, religion and morality, the rights of conscience, the rights of persons, and the rights of property, may all be preserved and secured, in the most perfect manner, by a government entirely and purely elective. If we fail in this, our disaster will be significant, and will furnish an argument, stronger than has yet been found, in support of those opinions which maintain that government can rest safely on nothing but power and coercion.” [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates that a government elected by the people must protect liberty, law, religion, morality, and property; failure justifies authoritarian rule. **In simple terms:** Democracy must safeguard rights; otherwise tyranny rises. Key Takeaway Protect rights through elected government. Themes liberty government rights democracy law Mood cautious reflective serious Type political philosophical When to use this quote - Legislative debates - citizen voting - policy making - human rights advocacy Key Concepts Social contract political theory civil liberties Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure elected leaders uphold rights? - What safeguards prevent power abuse? A Different Perspective Assumes all elected officials act ethically; neglects power dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) [Coercion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coercion/) [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Perfect man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect-man/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) [Voting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [ Government, in its very essence, is opposed to all increase in knowledge. Its tendency is always towards permanence and against change...\[T\]he progress of humanity,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/government-in-its-very-essence-is-opposed-to-all-increase-in/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Our government should be entirely and purely secular. The religious views of a candidate should be kept entirely out of sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/our-government-should-be-entirely-and-purely-secular-the-religious/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [I am struggling to maintain the government, not to overthrow it. I am struggling especially to prevent others from overthrowing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-struggling-to-maintain-the-government-not-to-overthrow-it-i-am/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Whatever the economy needs to maintain itself, the government will do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bond/whatever-the-economy-needs-to-maintain-itself-the-government-will-do/) [Edward Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bond/) > [It might be a good idea to have government totally by the people - that each person takes four or five hours of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-slick/it-might-be-a-good-idea-to-have-government-totally-by-the-people-that/) [Grace Slick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-slick/) > [“But our rulers can have authority over such natural rights only as we have submitted to them. 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However, when you're considering something that constitutes an extreme abridgement of your rights, conscience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-savio/you-can-t-disobey-the-rules-every-time-you-disapprove-however-when/) [Mario Savio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-savio/) > [“...legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/legitimate-powers-of-government-reach-actions-only-not-opinions-i/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ At the time of the adoption of the constitution, and of the amendment to it, now under consideration \[i.e., the First Amendment\], the general,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-story/at-the-time-of-the-adoption-of-the-constitution-and-of-the-amendment/) [Joseph Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-story/) > [“Luther, the hero of Worms, the champion of the sacred rights of conscience, was, in words, the most violent, but in practice, the least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-schaff/luther-the-hero-of-worms-the-champion-of-the-sacred-rights-of/) [Philip Schaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-schaff/) ## More by Daniel Webster > [In the nature of things, those who have no property and see their neighbors possess much more than they think them to need, cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/in-the-nature-of-things-those-who-have-no-property-and-see-their/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [“Liberty and Union, now and for ever, one and inseparable!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/liberty-and-union-now-and-for-ever-one-and-inseparable/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [If we work on marble it will perish. 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