Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Hancock

Outside Independence Hall when
the Constitutional Convention of 1787 ended,
Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia asked Benjamin Franklin,
"Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?"
With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded,
"A republic, if you can keep it."
-- Benjamin Franklin
(1706-1790) US Founding Father
1787
Source: as recorded by Constitution signer James McHenry in a diary entry.
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Benjamin.Franklin.Quote.21EA


"I answered that the die was now cast; I had passed the Rubicon.
Swim or sink, live or die, survive or perish with my country
was my unalterable determination."
-- John Adams
(1735-1826) Founding Father, 2nd US President
Source: Mr. Adams, describing a conversation with Jonathan Sewall in 1774, Ref: Webster's Works, vol. iv. p. 8.
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/John.Adams.Quote.A6CD


"There, I guess King George will be able to read that."
-- John Hancock
(1737-1793) American merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution, Scholar President of the Continental Congress (1775-1777), governor of Massachussets, first signer of the Declaration of Independence, remembered for his large and stylish signature on the Declaration of Independence
Source: Remark on signing American Declaration of Independence
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/John.Hancock.Quote.8CD5