Tag: Founding Fathers

Quote Files: John Adams on Innocence, Guilt, and Punishment

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“It is more important that innocence be protected than it is that guilt be punished, for guilt and crimes are so frequent in this world that they cannot all be punished. But if innocence itself is brought to the bar and condemned, perhaps to die, then the citizen will say, “whether I do good or … Continued

Quote Files: James Madison on Christianity: ‘Superstition, Bigotry, and Persecution’

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The Founding Fathers are always everyone’s top choice when looking to bolster their argument, and despite being a generally skeptical lot (Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Paine, and Franklin were deists), they are frequently and inaccurately invoked by the religious to support the claim that “America was founded as a Christian nation.” But despite so many irreligious … Continued