A free press is even more important than a free government. George Clooney
The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty. John Adams
If any ask me what a free government is, I answer, that, for any practical purpose, it is what the people think so, - and that they, and not I, are the natural, lawful, and competent judges of this matter. Edmund Burke
The First Amendment provides the only kind of security system that can preserve a free government - one that leaves the way wide open for people to favor, discuss, advocate, or incite causes and doctrines however obnoxious and antagonistic such views may be to the rest of us. Hugo Black
The very essence of a free government consists in considering offices as public trusts, bestowed for the good of the country, and not for the benefit of an individual or a party. John C. Calhoun
The essence of a free government consists in an effectual control of rivalries. John Adams