--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have four boxes with which to defend…" description: "\"We have four boxes with which to defend our freedom: the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.\" — Larry McDonald" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f85/larry-mcdonald-72015_ballots_we-have-four-boxes-with-which-to-defend_1550159.png" --- # We have four boxes with which to defend our freedom: the… ![“We have four boxes with which to defend our freedom: the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.” quote by Larry McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f85/larry-mcdonald-72015_ballots_we-have-four-boxes-with-which-to-defend_1550159.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f85/larry-mcdonald-72015_ballots_we-have-four-boxes-with-which-to-defend_1550159.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f85/larry-mcdonald-72015_ballots_we-have-four-boxes-with-which-to-defend_1550159.png) > “We have four boxes with which to defend our freedom: the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.” [Larry McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcdonald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom can be defended through speech, voting, legal judgment, and armed resistance. **In simple terms:** Defend freedom via speech, vote, jury, or arms. Key Takeaway Use the appropriate box for the situation. Themes civic duty politics defense rights Mood defiant serious Type political motivational When to use this quote - elections - public protests - court trials - self‑defense - activism Key Concepts democracy civil liberties militarism Questions to Reflect On - Which box is most effective today? - When is force justified? A Different Perspective Violence may undermine democratic principles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ballot Box](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballot-box-463654/) [Ballots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballots/) [Box Ballot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/box-ballot-5792019/) [Boxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boxes/) [Boxes Defend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boxes-defend-5792018/) [Defend Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defend-freedom/) [Four](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Jury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jury/) [Jury Box](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jury-box-926364/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Soap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soap/) ## Related quotes > [A man's rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/a-man-s-rights-rest-in-three-boxes-the-ballot-box-the-jury-box-and/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [In America, freedom and justice have always come from the ballot box, the jury box, and when that fails, the cartridge box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-symms/in-america-freedom-and-justice-have-always-come-from-the-ballot-box/) [Steve Symms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-symms/) > [Democracy is defended in 3 stages. Ballot Box, Jury Box, Cartridge Box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/democracy-is-defended-in-3-stages-ballot-box-jury-box-cartridge-box/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [But say some, would you expose woman to the contact of rough, rude, drinking, swearing, fighting men at the ballot box? What a humiliating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernestine-rose/but-say-some-would-you-expose-woman-to-the-contact-of-rough-rude/) [Ernestine Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernestine-rose/) > [Surely these women won't lose any more of their beauty and charm by putting a ballot in a ballot box once a year than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-schneiderman/surely-these-women-won-t-lose-any-more-of-their-beauty-and-charm-by/) [Rose Schneiderman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-schneiderman/) > [But in this country we have one great privilege which they don't have in other countries. When a thing gets to be absolutely unbearable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/but-in-this-country-we-have-one-great-privilege-which-they-don-t-have/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Democracy is more than a ballot box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/democracy-is-more-than-a-ballot-box/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [My view is that discrimination against anyone at the ballot box is wrong and should have the full enforcement of the federal government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/my-view-is-that-discrimination-against-anyone-at-the-ballot-box-is/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Our 'pathway' is straight to the ballot box, with no variableness nor shadow of turning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/our-pathway-is-straight-to-the-ballot-box-with-no-variableness-nor/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [Never forgive at the ballot box!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/never-forgive-at-the-ballot-box/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [The ballot box is the surest arbiter of disputes among free men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buchanan/the-ballot-box-is-the-surest-arbiter-of-disputes-among-free-men/) [James Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buchanan/) > [Is not the very beginning of privilege, monopoly and industrial slavery this erecting of the ballot-box above the individual?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/is-not-the-very-beginning-of-privilege-monopoly-and-industrial/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [There's a direct relationship between the ballot box and the bread box, and what the union fights for and wins at the bargaining table…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-reuther/there-s-a-direct-relationship-between-the-ballot-box-and-the-bread/) [Walter Reuther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-reuther/) > [The ballot box is a most inadequate mechanism of change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-ballot-box-is-a-most-inadequate-mechanism-of-change/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The best hope for Australia is the ballot box and good education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-monash/the-best-hope-for-australia-is-the-ballot-box-and-good-education/) [John Monash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-monash/) ## More by Larry McDonald > [The drive . . . is to create a one world government ... Do I mean conspiracy? Yes I do. I am convinced there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcdonald/the-drive-is-to-create-a-one-world-government-do-i-mean-conspiracy/) [Larry McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcdonald/) > [The drive of the Rockefellers and their allies is to create a one-world government combining super capitalism and Communism under the same tent, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcdonald/the-drive-of-the-rockefellers-and-their-allies-is-to-create-a-one/) [Larry McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcdonald/) > [Dr. Lawrence Burton…in fighting cancer.(:) Many of his patients are now living normal lives after being told there was nothing more the conventional treatments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcdonald/dr-lawrence-burton-in-fighting-cancer-many-of-his-patients-are-now/) [Larry McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcdonald/) [Explore all 4 Larry McDonald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcdonald/) ## More Ballots quotes > [ The best way to marginalize the Muslim Brotherhood \[in Egypt\] is in the ballot box, not through arrests and killing people. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/the-best-way-to-marginalize-the-muslim-brotherhood-in-egypt-is-in-the/) [Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/) > [Whether you are buying a car or casting a ballot, choosing a job or planning a family, follow your moral compass. 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If you were really that Hot you wouldn't have to beg the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/models-i-m-not-voting-for-you-for-any-stupid-magazine-list-if-you/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [I think it's best if there's an amendment that goes on the ballot where the people can weigh in. Every time this issue has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-bachmann/i-think-it-s-best-if-there-s-an-amendment-that-goes-on-the-ballot/) [Michele Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-bachmann/) > [Just as feudalism was an advance over slavery, and capitalism was the next step after feudalism, socialism is the next step after capitalism…...Socialism in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-hall/just-as-feudalism-was-an-advance-over-slavery-and-capitalism-was-the/) [Gus Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-hall/) > [The Family of Man is more than 3 billion strong. It lives in more than 100 nations. 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And if you’re not ready to pay that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/it-ll-be-the-ballot-or-it-ll-be-the-bullet-it-ll-be-liberty-or-it-ll/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Too many of us dissipate our energy by being 'for all good causes,' attending meetings and passing resolutions, organizing and presenting petitions — all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/too-many-of-us-dissipate-our-energy-by-being-for-all-good-causes/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) > [To give victory to the right, not bloody bullets, but peaceful ballots only, are necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/to-give-victory-to-the-right-not-bloody-bullets-but-peaceful-ballots/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The establishment Republicans are beginning to say on the record what they had been whispering about in private for months: that Donald Trump at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalia-mogahed/the-establishment-republicans-are-beginning-to-say-on-the-record-what/) [Dalia Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalia-mogahed/) [Browse all 274 Ballots quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballots/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have four boxes with which to defend our freedom: the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Larry McDonald" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcdonald/we-have-four-boxes-with-which-to-defend-our-freedom-the-soap-box-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ballots" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcdonald/we-have-four-boxes-with-which-to-defend-our-freedom-the-soap-box-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f85/larry-mcdonald-72015_ballots_we-have-four-boxes-with-which-to-defend_1550159.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f85/larry-mcdonald-72015_ballots_we-have-four-boxes-with-which-to-defend_1550159.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f85/larry-mcdonald-72015_ballots_we-have-four-boxes-with-which-to-defend_1550159.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have four boxes with which to defend our freedom: the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the…” — Larry McDonald", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Larry McDonald", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcdonald/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We have four boxes with which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcdonald/we-have-four-boxes-with-which-to-defend-our-freedom-the-soap-box-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcdonald/we-have-four-boxes-with-which-to-defend-our-freedom-the-soap-box-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```