“Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon their own appetites...”
Burke could not fathom that the colonies would create and materially support the government we have today. He would most certainly judge each and every one of us as not qualified for civil liberty - and he’d be right. We don’t deserve it (and we presently don’t have it as they did then).
The historic quotes from important minds of the American Revolution period are good and relevant - but they had a clean slate, having vanquished tyranny that was much less intrusive than the government we have today.
They couldn’t build America under the King of England. They did it without him.
Any government - large, small, representative, direct democracy, ruled by nobility, etc will be miserable and ultimately devolve into tyranny when not founded upon basic moral absolutes that are eternal.
It’s quite simple. Even a simple mind can understand this.
(Why will it devolved into tyranny? Because without morality power becomes the only authority.)