What did the Founders have to say?

With Independence Day quickly approaching, we’re taking a moment to reflect on the great leaders who stood up to tyranny and fearlessly founded a new nation. Our Founding Fathers envisioned a country in which everyone has the chance to prosper – one grounded in the principles of liberty and justice for all.

Our nation’s founders came from all walks of life and had differing visions for the future, many of them disagreeing sharply on everything from the proper role of government to the necessity of the Bill of Rights. Despite their differences, the founders realized the importance of their effort transcended their divisions and therefore committed themselves to compromise in the pursuit of the greater good.

Today, that same spirit of compromise is all-too-often absent in our legislative chambers. Our current climate frequently encourages disagreement in order to tear down the other side of the aisle. Leaders will always differ with one another, but we can urge them to model their behavior after the founders, and turn their disagreements into consensus-building that works for all Americans.

As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day, let us reflect on the example of governance embodied by our nation’s founders, and commit to navigating beyond our divisions. Check out their words below – what can our current Congress learn from them?

“The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.”

– James Madison

“I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.”

– Thomas Jefferson

“We must indeed hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”

 – Benjamin Franklin

“There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism.”

 – Alexander Hamilton

“A little matter will move a party, but it must be something great that moves a nation.”

– Thomas Paine