it's a free country

"No, indeed! and I shan't do sitch a thing, Benjamin. This treatment is a newity to me, and what I won't put up with. I have a hundred and fifty dollars at use, besides a bed and twenty sheep, to good; and I don't crave to live in a house where a body musn't call a young woman by her given name to her face. I will call her Betsy as much as I please ; it's a free country, and no one can stop me. I did intend to stop while summer, but I shall quit to-morrow morning and I will talk just as I please."

1832, James Fenimore Cooper, The Pioneers, or The Sources of the Susquehanna; a Descriptive Tale, pages 169–170

RN: You think you should not have gone? TN: Yeah, I think it was a bad one to do. It was a good idea, but we shouldn't have gone to the University of Maryland … It was the motliest crew you've ever seen. RN: Well, that's my view about going to the universities. Well, I hope it didn't bother you too much. TN: No, it didn't. It was just—I know, I was just embarrassed because the Chinese issued a complaint. RN: A complaint about what? TN: Oh, you know, that they were being rude to the chairman—they were insulting Chairman Mao. There was nothing we could do! It's a free country!

1972, James Warren, “More Nixon Tapes A selection from recordings in the National Archives”, in The Atlantic

:I might say the young people in the back that had the banner which I couldn't read—it was already torn down when I saw it—you know, this is a free country. And I'm President, and I think it's very good—even when people express themselves that way—I'm not embarrassed by it. I think the reaction of all of you, because you were disturbed, did its job. There's no need for me to embarrass them. So, I think it's a proper place in our country for people to raise a banner or to ask the President a difficult question or to shout out a criticism. I don't have any problem with that. It's a free country. I want to keep it that way.

1979, Jimmy Carter, “Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), page 1573