لقد قبلتُ مقعداً في مجلس النواب، وبذلك رضيتُ بهلاكي، وهلاككم، وهلاك أبنائنا. أحذركم بهذا لتهيّئوا أنفسكم لمصيركم.

“I have accepted a seat in the House of Representatives, and thereby have consented to my own ruin, to your ruin, and to the ruin of our children. I give you this warning that you may prepare your mind for your fate.”John Adams — The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States: With a Life of the Author, Notes and Illustrations (1854)