Liberty’s Bedrock: The Essential Role of Virtue in Preserving Freedom
In our day and age, when “don’t judge” is often seen as the highest virtue, absolute individual autonomy as the greatest good, and “value-free” education as the purest ideal, the words of America’s founding fathers stand out like a beacon through the fog. They remind us that real freedom cannot survive without moral self-control. Liberty without virtue, they warned, doesn’t stay liberty for long—it turns into chaos, and chaos demands control.
John Adams put it bluntly: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”¹ He knew that laws could restrain crime, but only conscience can restrain corruption. Without internal discipline, the only way to maintain order is through external force—more laws, more regulation, more intrusion.
George Washington agreed, calling “virtue or morality a necessary spring of popular government.”² He believed that no free nation can long endure unless its people govern themselves with decency and responsibility. James Madison said much the same: “To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea.”³
Benjamin Franklin warned, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”⁴ In other words, the less virtuous the citizens become, the more they will need government to control them—and the less free they will be.
Samuel Adams wrote: “Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt. He therefore is the truest friend of the liberty of his country who tries most to promote its virtue.”⁵ Patrick Henry echoed this same truth: “A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, is incompatible with freedom.”⁶
The founders understood that freedom and virtue are joined at the hip. The more people learn to govern themselves through moral restraint, the less government must step in to enforce order. But when private virtue weakens, government must fill the gap with rules and enforcement, restricting liberty in the process. When people refuse to choose what is right, government must compel what is decent. The founders saw that as the beginning of despotism—the death of self-government and the soul of a republic.
When the Founding Fathers spoke of virtue as the foundation of liberty, they weren’t referring to vague moral sentiment, nor were they referring to today’s popular ethical frameworks of moral relativism, utilitarianism, cultural Marxism, or radical individualism. They had in mind specific, time-tested moral qualities drawn from both classical philosophy and Judeo‑Christian teaching—virtues they believed every self‑governing citizen should cultivate personally and publicly.
According to John Adams and other founders, the essential virtues included prudence, justice, courage, and temperance—the four classical or “cardinal” virtues emphasized by Aristotle and Cicero and adapted by Christian thinkers like Aquinas.⁷ Adams and his contemporaries also spoke explicitly of charity, honesty, reverence, patience, temperance, humility, chastity, fidelity, and industry—moral habits necessary for strong families and stable communities.⁸
They viewed private virtue (self‑control, honesty, diligence, moderation) as the groundwork for public virtue—the willingness to act justly and sacrifice personal gain for the common good. Washington embodied these traits through civility, fortitude, and integrity; Franklin through frugality and industry; Madison through prudence and justice; and Samuel Adams through moral courage and sincere faith.⁹
In short, the founders believed that the moral character of individuals and the civic character of the nation are inseparable. Liberty is safe only where both flourish together in courage, justice, moderation, and love of neighbor.
So what can we do with this insight today?
Prioritize personal virtue. Freedom starts at home—with honesty, hard work, integrity, and respect. Children are not going to pick up these principles on their own. They have to be taught. While the common “wisdom” of our day says to ignore bad behavior, affirm all conduct, and aim to inculcate self-confidence as the highest goal, the proven wisdom of the ages is that discipline and correction are necessary to producing conscientious, virtuous, flourishing adults. When individuals control themselves, society doesn’t need more laws to control them.
Teach moral responsibility. Education should build not only knowledge but also character. A free people must learn both right and wrong—not just facts and skills. In fact, there is no such thing as a “value-free” education. Not to teach virtue is to teach that virtue is not worth teaching. We must teach our young people not only what it means to live honorably, but also why it’s so important. Our free republic depends on it.
Restore and uphold the rule of law. A free society requires a justice system that enforces laws fairly, consistently, and firmly. When egregious criminality goes unpunished or receives overly light sentences, public safety and trust in government erode, threatening the fabric of liberty. We must demand accountability for serious crimes, support law enforcement that respects both justice and rights, and resist policies that allow dangerous criminals to roam free. Upholding the rule of law protects innocent citizens, preserves order, and sustains a society where freedom can flourish.
Cherish community and civic engagement. Liberty thrives when citizens actively participate in their communities, supporting one another and holding leaders accountable. Freedom is not just a private matter; it depends on a public culture that values honesty, generosity, and justice. When people take responsibility for the common good—volunteering, voting, and engaging respectfully in debate—they help maintain the moral foundation of the republic. Without this shared commitment, even strong laws and institutions cannot preserve liberty.
The founding fathers knew that liberty is not self-sustaining. It is built and preserved by the moral strength of citizens who love virtue more than convenience. When a people cherish virtue, their freedom will endure. When they abandon it, no government on earth can keep them free.
Sources
John Adams, Letter to the Officers of the First Brigade of the Third Division of the Militia of Massachusetts, October 11, 1798, in The Works of John Adams, ed. Charles Francis Adams (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1854–1856), 9:229–30.
George Washington, Farewell Address, September 19, 1796, in The Writings of George Washington, ed. John C. Fitzpatrick (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1931), 35:227.
James Madison, Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, reported by himself (Athens: Ohio University Press, 1996), 87.
Benjamin Franklin, in The Works of Benjamin Franklin, ed. Jared Sparks (Boston: Hilliard, Gray and Co., 1840), 10:297.
Samuel Adams, Letter to the Legislature of Massachusetts, January 17, 1794, in The Writings of Samuel Adams, ed. Harry Alonzo Cushing (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907), 4:191.
Patrick Henry, quoted in William Wirt, Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry (Philadelphia: James Webster, 1817), 403.
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, trans. W. D. Ross (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1925); Cicero, De Officiis, trans. Walter Miller (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1913); Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, I–II, q. 61.
John Adams, Thoughts on Government, April 1776, in The Works of John Adams, 4:193–98.
Public and Private Virtue, John Adams Academy (Rocklin, CA: John Adams Academy Press, 2020).
