Our great Lords and Masters are to lay taxes, raise and support armies, provide a navy, and may appropriate money for two years, call forth the militia to execute their laws, suppress insurrections, and the President is to have the command of the militia. Such things have been done, and I have no doubt will be done again, if you consent to the adoption of this new Federal Government. You fought, conquered and gained your liberty-then keep it, I pray you, as a precious jewel. The train is laid, the match is on fire, and they only wait for yourselves to put it to the train, to blow up all your liberty and commonwealth governments, and introduce aristocracy and monarchy, and despotism will follow of course in a few years. There are many among you that will not be led by the nose by rich men, and would scorn a bribe.
Rich men can live easy under any government, be it ever so tyrannical.
They come in for a great share of the tyranny, because they are the ministers of tyrants, and always engross the places of honor and profit, while the greater part of the common people are led by the nose, and played about by these very men, for the destruction of themselves and their class. Be wise, be virtuous, and catch the precious moment as it passes, to refuse this newfangled federal government, and extricate yourselves and posterity from tyranny, oppression, aristocratical or monarchical government. . . . This page developed by Robert F. Bodi for The Federalist Society , student chapter at The University of Akron - School of Law . All rights reserved. No claim of copyright is made to historical documents in the public domain.