How did the Founding Fathers define liberty and freedom?

Definition of Liberty and Freedom

Thomas Jefferson Defined it in the "Declaration of The Rights of Man and The Citizen" as: "Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law."

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I believe that Patrick Henry said, "Liberty is not the right to do what one wants, but the right to do what one must." - I've been looking for the source of this, but haven't found it.

Comparison of this with the Jefferson quote delineates an ongoing dichotomy in the American conversation regarding liberty, which may be described as "natural liberty" and "civil liberty". The former may be seen as license, restricted only by what causes immediate harm to others. The latter defines liberty as the right to do what may not be best for me but is the right thing to do, within the realm of a presumed absolute morality.

Robert Dabney, a 19th century theologian, compared these two as follows

"What then is man's natural liberty? I answer: it is freedom to do whatever he has a moral right to do. Freedom to do whatever a man is physically able to do, is not a liberty of nature or law, but a natural license, a natural iniquity. What is civil liberty then? I reply still, it is (under a just government) freedom to do whatever a man has a moral right to do."

One more quotation is worthy of citation: "They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety... deserve neither safety nor liberty." Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759

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Nature is not limited by morality, the latter being the subjective judgment of man, the former implies infinite possibilities of mans actions (those that can be taken) which are necessarily unrestricted by the subjective observation of others. Therefore, ("Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law.") placing the interpretation of "which action(s)" assure the other members of "society the enjoyment of the same [right to act]" has been assigned to law; law therefore, takes comfort in its ability to change over the course of age (as laws can be amended to accommodate change in the needs of the people). Whereas, "absolute morality" necessitates an inflexible foundation of interpreting another's actions and as such allows the subjective judgment of all, to bear upon it, the weight of "justice". (Slave to all masters of none). What is a "moral action" is left to be defined by the "free" individual so long as it does not infringe upon the "rights" of others; as each individual in a society may interpret a "moral action" differently.

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!" Benjamin Franklin

First answer by ID1126810894. Last edit by Ricky23. Contributor trust: 524 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 118 [recommend question]