I always defended the Constitution, because it was for liberty. It was ordained by the people of the United States. Not by a superannuated old mummy of a judge, and a Jesuit at that, but by the people of the United States. To establish justice, secure the blessing of liberty for themselves and their posterity, and to secure the natural rights of every human being within its exclusive jurisdiction. Therefore, I love it. These men can perceive nothing in the Constitution but slavery.

— Owen Lovejoy Speech to the U.S. House of Representatives (1860)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Owen Lovejoy (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.