I would rather be right than be President

I have no commiseration for princes. My sympathies are reserved for the great mass of mankind ….

I am not, sir, in favor of cherishing the passion of conquest. I am permitted … to indulge the hope of seeing, ere long, the new United States, (if you will allow me the expression,) embracing not only the old ….

Precedents deliberately established by wise men are entitled to great weight. They are evidence of truth, but only evidence...But a solitary precedent...which has never been reexamined, cannot be conclusive.

How often are we forced to charge fortune with partiality towards the unjust!

Whether we assert our rights by sea, or attempt their maintenance by land—whithersoever we turn ourselves, this phantom incessantly pursues us. Already has it had too much influence on the councils of the nation.

If you wish to avoid foreign collision, you had better abandon the ocean.