5 Quotes & Sayings By Joseph Warren

Joseph Warren was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, on January 6, 1742. He graduated from Harvard University in 1759 and then went to Europe, where he studied medicine at the University of Leyden. He practiced medicine for a short time in Boston before moving to North Carolina to practice medicine. While practicing medicine in Halifax, North Carolina, he became interested in politics and was elected to the North Carolina General Assembly in 1775 Read more

He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1776 and served until 1783. During this time, he wrote several bills that were passed by the Congress and is credited with authoring the first Declaration of Independence (August 1, 1776). He served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War until September 12, 1775.

After the war ended, he returned to North Carolina and continued practicing medicine until his death on June 24, 1813.

1
May our land be a land of liberty, the seat of virtue, the asylum of the oppressed, a name and a praise in the whole Earth, until the last shock of time shall bury the empires of the whole world in one common undistinguished ruin! Joseph Warren
2
That man is formed for social life is an observation which, upon our first inquiry, presents itself immediately to our view, and our reason approves that wise and generous principle which actuated the first founders of civil government, an institution which hat its origin in the weakness of individuals, and hath for its end the strength and security of all; and so long as the means of effecting this important end are thoroughly known and religiously attended to government is one of the richest blessings to mankind, and ought to be held in the highest veneration . Joseph Warren
3
Stain not the glory of your worthy ancestors, but like them resolve never to part with your birthright; be wise in your deliberations, and determined in your exertions for the preservation of your liberties. Fllow not the dictates of passion, but enlist yourselves under the sacred banner of reason; use every method in your power to secure your rights. Joseph Warren
4
And it is undeniably true that the greatest and most important right of a British subject is that he shall be governed by no laws but those to which he, either in person or by his representatives, hath given his consent; and this, I will venture to assert, is the great basis of British freedom; it is interwoven with the Constitution, and whenever this is lost, the Constitution must be destroyed. Joseph Warren