But the concept of freedom is so sacred and important that it seems necessary to me to place it at the top of our list of basic rights. I therefore propose that we make Article 1 of the proposal into Article 2, and in its place insert a new article that reads: All Germans shall be free, and German soil shall not tolerate servitude. All foreigners living here in servitude shall be freed.

Jacob Grimm: Amendment to Article 1 of the Charter of Basic Rights of the German People, submitted 4 July 1848 but rejected by the Frankfurt National Assembly in St Paul’s Church by a narrow majority.