Today is the one year anniversary of a group of patriotic Americans exercising their First Amendment right to speak freely, assemble, and air their grievances to the government by visiting our Nation’s Capitol.

Some will say it was a “riot“, a “coup“, a “rebellion“, or even an “insurrection“. They’ll talk about how it was the work of one man enabling a “fringe element” to attempt an “overthrow” of America’s institutions. Perhaps they’ll claim it was the “greatest threat to our Democracy“, or “America’s darkest period“. And, of course, they’ll demand changes to ensure it will “never happen again“.

Others will say they were “defending the Republic“, “exercising their Constitutional Rights“, and “protecting Liberty & Freedom“. They’ll talk about the “erosion of America’s values“, or maybe “the threat of Socialism“. And, of course, they’ll demand changes to ensure that America and Her fundamental values “will be preserved for all“.

And it got me thinking: If America’s Founding Fathers – Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, Hamilton, Washington, etc. – had attended that mostly peaceful protest, what might they have said? Perhaps they would have spoken the quotes which follow. See if you agree.

“Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins. Republics…derive their strength and vigor from a popular examination into the action of the magistrates.”
- Benjamin Franklin, November 17, 1737

“We are now forming a Republican government. Real liberty is never found in despotism or the extremes of Democracy, but in moderate governments.”
- Alexander Hamilton, debates of the Federal Convention, June 26, 1787

“Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights.”
- Thomas Jefferson to Richard Price, January 8, 1789

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
- The United States Bill of Rights, Amendment I, March 4th, 1789

“As a man is said to have a right to his property, he may be equally said to have a property in his rights.”
- James Madison

“Democracy is 51% of the people taking away the rights of the other 49%.”
- Thomas Jefferson

“The ancient Democracies in which the people themselves deliberated never possessed one good feature of government. Their very character was tyranny; their figure deformity.”
- Alexander Hamilton

“Eternal Vigilance is the price of democracy.”
- Thomas Jefferson

“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”
- Thomas Jefferson

“I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.”
– Thomas Jefferson

“The eyes of all our countrymen are now upon us, and we shall have their blessings and praises, if happily we are the instruments of saving them from the tyranny meditated against them.”
- George Washington

“Our cause is the cause of all mankind…we are fighting for their liberty in defending our own.”
- Benjamin Franklin

“The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it to be always kept alive. It will often be exercised when wrong, but better so than not to be exercised at all.”
– Thomas Jefferson

“The practice of arbitrary imprisonments have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.”
- Alexander Hamilton