"It is our duty still to endeavor to avoid war; but
if it shall actually take place, no matter by whom brought on, we must defend
ourselves. If our house be on fire, without inquiring whether it was fired
from within or without, we must try to extinguish it."
-Thomas Jefferson to James Lewis, Jr., 1798.
![[Flag Campaign icon]](http://a1032.g.akamai.net/f/1032/81/30m/www.gamesville.lycos.com/art_gv/ribbon_small.gif){kind=small}