Background Image

...

After An Unequivocal Experience Of The Inefficacy Of The Subsisting Federal Government, You Are Called Upon To Deliberate On A New Constitution For The United States Of America.

-Alexander Hamilton

...

Please Wait....
Translating....

After An Unequivocal Experience

Alexander Hamilton

...

After An Unequivocal Experience Of The Inefficacy Of The Subsisting Federal Government, You Are Called Upon To Deliberate On A New Constitution For The United States Of America.

Views: 6

Topic

More From Alexander Hamilton

The Principal Purposes To Be Answered By Union Are These The Common Defense Of The Members; The Preservation Of The Public Peace As Well Against Internal Convulsions As External Attacks; The Regulation Of Commerce With Other Nations And Between The States; The Superintendence Of Our Intercourse, Political And Commercial, With Foreign Countries.

[i]n Framing A Government For A Nation We Ought, In Those Provisions Which Are Designed To Be Permanent, To Calculate Not On Temporary, But On Permanent Causes Of Expence.

Every Power Vested In A Government Is In Its Nature Sovereign, And Includes By Force Of The Term A Right To Employ All The Means Requisite . . . To The Attainment Of The Ends Of Such Power.

I Will Venture To Assert That No Combination Of Designing Men Under Heaven Will Be Capable Of Making A Government Unpopular Which Is In Its Principles A Wise And Good One, And Vigorous In Its Operations.

A Fondness For Power Is Implanted In Most Men, And It Is Natural To Abuse It When Acquired.

The Origin Of All Civil Government, Justly Established, Must Be A Voluntary Compact, Between The Rulers And The Ruled; And Must Be Liable To Such Limitations, As Are Necessary For The Security Of The Absolute Rights Of The Latter; For What Original Title Can Any Man Or Set Of Men Have, To Govern Others, Except Their Own Consent?

The People Alone Have An Incontestable, Unalienable, And Indefeasible Right To Institute Government And To Reform, Alter, Or Totally Change The Same When Their Protection, Safety, Prosperity, And Happiness Require It.

Let Us Recollect That Peace Or War Will Not Always Be Left To Our Option; That However Moderate Or Unambitious We May Be, We Cannot Count Upon The Moderation, Or Hope To Extinguish The Ambition Of Others.

The Loss Of Liberty To A Generous Mind Is Worse Than Death.

[t]he Constitution Ought To Be The Standard Of Construction For The Laws, And That Wherever There Is An Evident Opposition, The Laws Ought To Give Place To The Constitution. But This Doctrine Is Not Deducible From Any Circumstance Peculiar To The Plan Of Convention, But From The General Theory Of A Limited Constitution.

Common Interest May Always Be Reckoned Upon As The Surest Bond Of Sympathy.

Those Who Have A Tolerable Knowledge Of Human Nature Will Not Stand In Need Of Such Lights.

That There May Happen Cases In Which The National Government May Be Necessitated To Resort To Force, Cannot Be Denied.

The President, And Government, Will Only Control The Militia When A Part Of Them Is In The Actual Service Of The Federal Government, Else, They Are Independent And Not Under The Command Of The President Or The Government. The States Would Control The Militia, Only When Called Out Into The Service Of The State, And Then The Governor Would Be Commander In Chief Where Enumerated In The Respective State Constitution.

The Attributes Of Sovereignty Are Now Enjoyed By Every State In The Union.

It Is A Singular Advantage Of Taxes On Articles Of Consumption That They Contain In Their Own Nature A Security Against Excess. They Prescribe Their Own Limit, Which Cannot Be Exceeded Without Defeating The End Purposed - That Is, An Extension Of The Revenue.

The Only Constitutional Exception To The Power Of Making Treaties Is, That It Shall Not Change The Constitution.… On Natural Principles, A Treaty, Which Should Manifestly Betray Or Sacrifice Primary Interests Of The State, Would Be Null.

The Militia Is A Voluntary Force Not Associated Or Under The Control Of The States Except When Called Out; [ When Called Into Actual Service] A Permanent Or Long Standing Force Would Be Entirely Different In Make-up And Call.

It Is Impossible To Read The History Of The Petty Republics Of Greece And Italy Without Feeling Sensations Of Horror And Disgust At The Distractions With Which They Were Continually Agitated, And At The Rapid Succession Of Revolutions By Which They Were Kept In A State Of Perpetual Vibration Between The Extremes Of Tyranny And Anarchy . . . Great Improvement . . . Were Either Not Known At All, Or Imperfectly Known To The Ancients.

Hitherto My Observations Have Only Aimed At A Vindication Of The Provision In Question, On The Ground Of Theoretic Propriety . . . . But There Remains To Be Mentioned A Positive Advantage . . . I Allude To The Circumstance Of Uniformity In The Time Of Elections For The House Of Representatives. It Is More Than Possible, That This Uniformity May Be Found By Experience To Be Of Great Importance To The Public Welfare; Both As A Security Against The Perpetuation Of The Same Spirit In The Body; And As A Cure For The Diseases Of Faction.

If We Incline Too Much To Democracy, We Shall Soon Shoot Into A Monarchy.

Law Is Defined To Be A Rule Of Action; But How Can That Be A Rule, Which Is Little Known And Less Fixed?

[t]hough Individual Oppression May Now And Then Proceed Fro The Courts Of Justice, The General Liberty Of The People Can Never Be Endangered From That Quarter . . .

The True Principle Of Government Is This - Make The System Compleat In Its Structure; Give A Perfect Proportion And Balance To Its Parts; And The Powers You Give It Will Never Affect Your Security.

The Multitude . . . Have Not A Sufficient Stock Of Reason And Knowledge To Guide Them. . . . It Is Not Safe To Trust To The Virtue Of Any People.

But As The Plan Of The Convention Aims Only At A Partial Union Or Consolidation, The State Governments Would Clearly Retain All The Rights Of Sovereignty Which They Before Had, And Which Were Not, By That Act, Exclusively Delegated To The United States.

The Representatives Of The People, In A Popular Assembly, Seem Sometimes To Fancy That They Are The People Themselves, And Betray Strong Symptoms Of Impatience And Disgust At The Least Sign Of Opposition From Any Other Quarter; As If The Exercise Of Its Rights, By Either The Executive Or Judiciary, Were A Breach Of Their Privilege And An Outrage To Their Dignity.

What Plan For The Regulation Of The Militia May Be Pursued By The National Government Is Impossible To Be Foreseen...the Project Of Disciplining All The Militia Of The United States Is As Futile As It Would Be Injurious If It Were Capable Of Being Carried Into Execution... Little More Can Reasonably Be Aimed At With The Respect To The People At Large Than To Have Them Properly Armed And Equipped ; And In Order To See That This Be Not Neglected, It Will Be Necessary To Assemble Them Once Or Twice In The Course Of A Year.

If It Be Asked What Is To Restrain The House Of Representatives From Making Legal Discriminations In Favor Of Themselves And A Particular Class Of The Society? I Answer, The Genius Of The Whole System, The Nature Of Just And Constitutional Laws, And Above All The Vigilant And Manly Spirit Which Actuates The People Of America, A Spirit Which Nourishes Freedom, And In Return Is Nourished By It. If This Spirit Shall Ever Be So Far Debased As To Tolerate A Law Not Obligatory On The Legislature As Well As On The People, The People Will Be Prepared To Tolerate Anything But Liberty.

It Is Just Observation That The People Commonly Intend The Public Good.

To Judge From The History Of Mankind, We Shall Be Compelled To Conclude, That The Fiery And Destructive Passions Of War, Reign In The Human Breast, With Much More Powerful Sway, Than The Mild And Beneficent Sentiments Of Peace.

The Natural Cure For An Ill-administration, In A Popular Or Representative Constitution, Is A Change Of Men.

It Is Astonishing That So Simple A Truth Should Ever Have Had An Adversary; And It Is One Among A Multitude Of Proofs, How Apt A Spirit Of Ill-informed Jealousy, Or Of Too Great Abstraction And Refinement Is To Lead Men Astray From The Plainest Paths Of Reason And Conviction.

This Position Will Not Be Disputed So Long As It Is Admitted That The Desire Of Reward Is One Of The Strongest Incentives Of Human Conduct, Or That The Best Security For The Fidelity Of Mankind Is To Make Their Interest Coincide With Their Duty. Even The Love Of Fame, The Ruling Passion Of The Noblest Minds... Would On The Contrary Deter Him From The Undertaking, When He Foresaw That He Must Quit The Scene Before He Could Accomplish The Work.

A Nation Which Can Prefer Disgrace To Danger Is Prepared For A Master, And Deserves One.

American Revolution

In The Main It Will Be Found That A Power Over A Man's Support [salary] Is A Power Over His Will.

The Rights Of Neutrality Will Only Be Respected When They Are Defended By An Adequate Power. A Nation, Despicable By Its Weakness, Forfeits Even The Privilege Of Being Neutral.

After An Unequivocal Experience Of The Inefficacy Of The Subsisting Federal Government, You Are Called Upon To Deliberate On A New Constitution For The United States Of America.

There Are Some Who Maintain That Trade Will Regulate Itself, And It Is Not To Be Benefited By The Encouragements Or Restraints Of Government. Such Persons Will Imagine That There Is No Need Of A Common Directing Power. This Is One Of Those Wild Speculative Paradoxes, Which Have Grown Into Credit Among Us, Contrary To The Uniform Practice And Sense Of The Most Enlightened Nations.

That Instability Is Inherent In The Nature Of Popular Governments, I Think Very Disputable … A Representative Democracy, Where The Right Of Election Is Well Secured And Regulated & The Exercise Of The Legislature, Executive, And Judiciary Authorities, Is Vested In Select Persons, Chosen Really And Not Nominally By The People, Will In My Opinion Be Most Likely To Be Happy, Regular And Durable.

The Sacred Rights Of Mankind Are Not To Be Rummaged For Among Old Parchments Or Musty Records. They Are Written, As With A Sunbeam, In The Whole Volume Of Human Nature, By The Hand Of The Divinity Itself; And Can Never Be Erased.

No Character, However Upright, Is A Match For Constantly Reiterated Attacks, However False.

Human Condition

There Is Something So Far-fetched And So Extravagant In The Idea Of Danger To Liberty From The Militia That One Is At A Loss Whether To Treat It With Gravity Or With Raillery; Whether To Consider It As A Mere Trial Of Skill, Like The Paradoxes Of Rhetoricians; As A Disingenuous Artifice To Instil Prejudices At Any Price; Or As The Serious.

Manufacturing Establishments Not Only Occasion A Positive Augmentation Of The Produce And Revenue Of The Society . . . They Contribute Essentially To Rendering Them Greater Than They Could Possibly Be, Without Such Establishments. These Circumstances Are . . . Greater Scope For The Diversity Of Talents And Dispositions Which Discriminate Men From Each Other.

Safety From External Danger Is The Most Powerful Director Of National Conduct. To Be More Safe, [nations] At Length Become Willing To Run The Risk Of Being Less Free.

The Truth Is That The General Genius Of A Government Is All That Can Be Substantially Relied Upon For Permanent Effects. Particular Provisions, Though Not Altogether Useless, Have Far Less Virtue And Efficacy Than Are Commonly Ascribed To Them; And The Want Of Them Will Never Be With Men Of Sound Discernment A Decisive Objection To Any Plan Which Exhibits The Leading Characters Of A Good Government.

The Treaties Of The United States, To Have Any Force At All, Must Be Considered As Part Of The Law Of The Land.

The Power Of Creating New Funds Upon New Objects Of Taxation, By Its Own Authority, Would Enable The National Government To Borrow As Far As Its Necessities Might Require.

Constitutions Of Civil Government Are Not To Be Framed Upon A Calculation Of Existing Exigencies, But Upon A Combination Of These With The Probable Exigencies Of Ages, According To The Natural And Tried Course Of Human Affairs. Nothing, Therefore, Can Be More Fallacious Than To Infer The Extent Of Any Power, Proper To Be Lodged In The National Government, From An Estimate Of Its Immediate Necessities.

It Is A Singular Capriciousness Of The Human Mind, That After All The Admonitions We Have Had From Experience On This Head, There Should Still Be Found Men, Who Object To The New Constitution For Deviating From A Principle Which Has Been Found The Bane Of The Old.

We Must Make The Best Of Those Ills Which Cannot Be Avoided.

As To Taxes, They Are Evidently Inseparable From Government. It Is Impossible Without Them To Pay The Debts Of The Nation, To Protect It From Foreign Danger, Or To Secure Individuals From Lawless Violence And Rapine.

It Is Impossible Not To Bestow The Imputation Of Deliberate Imposture And Deception Upon The Gross Pretense Of A Similitude Between A King Of Great Britain And A Magistrate Of The Character Marked Out For That Of The President Of The United States. It Is Still More Impossible To Withhold That Imputation From The Rash And Barefaced Expedients Which Have Been Employed To Give Success To The Attempted Imposition.

A Sacred Respect For The Constitutional Law Is The Vital Principle, The Sustaining Energy Of A Free Government.

This [a State Militia System] Appears To Me The Only Substitute That Can Be Devised For A Standing Army, And The Best Possible Security Against It, If It Should Exist.

Second Amendment

Right To Bear Arms

It Is One Thing To Be Subordinate To The Laws, And Another [for The Executive] To Be Dependent On The Legislative Body. The First Comports With, The Last Violates, The Fundamental Principles Of Good Government; And, Whatever May Be The Forms Of The Constitution, Unites All Power In The Same Hands.

There Are Seasons In Every Country When Noise And Impudence Pass Current For Worth; And In Popular Commotions Especially, The Clamors Of Interested And Factious Men Are Often Mistaken For Patriotism.

Great Ambition, Unchecked By Principle, Or The Love Of Glory, Is An Unruly Tyrant.

The Laws Of Congress Are Restricted To A Certain Sphere, And When They Depart From This Sphere, They Are No Longer Supreme Or Binding.

I Propose . . . . The Conformity Of The Proposed Constitution To The True Principles Of Republican Government.

Republican Government

The Experience Of Treaties Being Broken With Impunity Provide An Afflicting Lesson To Mankind How Little Dependence Is To Be Placed On Treaties Which Have No Other Sanction Than The Obligations Of Good Faith; And Which Oppose General Considerations Of Peace And Justice To The Impulse Of Any Immediate Interest And Passion.

How Can You Trust People Who Are Poor And Own No Property? ... Inequality Of Property Will Exist As Long As Liberty Exists.

Establish That A Government May Decline A Provision For Its Debts, Though Able To Make It, And You Overthrow All Public Morality, You Unhinge All The Principles That Must Preserve The Limits Of Free Constitutions.

To Presume A Want Of Motives For Such Contests . . . Would Be To Forget That Men Are Ambitious, Vindictive, And Rapacious.

[in The Event Of War, Americans Would] Resort For Repose And Security To Institutions Which Have A Tendency To Destroy Their Civil And Political Rights. To Be More Safe They, At Length, Become Willing To Run The Risk Of Being Less Free.

As To Religion A Moderate Stock Will Satisfy Me. She Must Believe In God And Hate A Saint.

Upon This Law, Depend The Natural Rights Of Mankind, The Supreme Being Gave Existence To Man, Together With The Means Of Preserving And Beatifying That Existence. He Endowed Him With Rational Faculties, By The Help Of Which, To Discern And Pursue Such Things, As Were Consistent With His Duty And Interest, And Invested Him With An Inviolable Right To Personal Liberty, And Personal Safety.

It Is An Unquestionable Truth, That The Body Of The People In Every Country Desire Sincerely Its Prosperity. But It Is Equally Unquestionable That They Do Not Possess The Discernment And Stability Necessary For Systematic Government. To Deny That They Are Frequently Led Into The Grossest Of Errors, By Misinformation And Passion, Would Be A Flattery Which Their Own Good Sense Must Despise.

The Tendency Of A National Bank Is To Increase Public And Private Credit. The Former Gives Power To The State, For The Protection Of Its Rights And Interests: And The Latter Facilitates And Extends The Operations Of Commerce Among Individuals. Industry Is Increased, Commodities Are Multiplied, Agriculture And Manufacturers Flourish: And Herein Consists The True Wealth And Prosperity Of A State.

If We Set Out With... A Scrupulous Regard To The Constitution, The Government Will Acquire A Spirit And A Tone Productive Of Permanent Blessings To The Community. If On The Contrary,... The Constitution Is Slighted, Or Explained Away, Upon Every Frivolous Pretext, The Future Of Government Will Be Feeble, Distracted And Arbitrary. The Rights Of The Subjects Will Be The Sport Of Every Party Vicissitude. There Will Be No Settled Rule Of Conduct, But Everything Will Fluctuate With The Alternate Prevalency Of Contending Factions.

The Increasing Remoteness Of Consanguinity Is Everyday Diminishing The Force Of The Family Compact Between France And Spain. And Politicians Have Ever With Great Reason Considered The Ties Of Blood As Feeble And Precarious Links Of Political Connection.

If The Representatives Of The People Betray Their Constituents, There Is Then No Recourse Left But In The Exertion Of That Original Right Of Self-defense Which Is Paramount To All Positive Forms Of Government.

To All General Purposes We Have Uniformly Been One People Each Individual Citizen Everywhere Enjoying The Same National Rights, Privileges, And Protection.

[e]very Act Of A Delegated Authority, Contrary To The Tenor Of The Commission Under Which It Is Exercised, Is Void. No Legislative Act, Therefore, Contrary To The Constitution, Can Be Valid. To Deny This, Would Be To Affirm, That The Deputy Is Greater Than His Principal; That The Servant Is Above His Master; That The Representatives Of The People Are Superior To The People Themselves; That Men Acting By Virtue Of Powers, May Do Not Only What Their Powers Do Not Authorize, But What They Forbid.

There Can Be No Limitation Of That Authority Which Is To Provide For The Defense And Protection Of The Community In Any Matter Essential To The Formation, Direction, Or Support Of The National Forces.

All Communities Divide Themselves Into The Few And The Many. The First Are The Rich And Well Born, The Other The Mass Of The People. The Voice Of The People Has Been Said To Be The Voice Of God; And However Generally This Maxim Has Been Quoted And Believed, It Is Not True In Fact. The People Are Turbulent And Changing; They Seldom Judge Or Determine Right. Give Therefore To The First Class A Distinct, Permanent Share In The Government.

It Is Presumable That No Country Will Be Able To Borrow Of Foreigners Upon Better Terms Than The United States, Because None Can, Perhaps, Afford So Good Security.

Though A Wide Ocean Separates The United States From Europe, Yet There Are Various Considerations That Warn Us Against An Excess Of Confidence Or Security.

It Is Evident From The State Of The Country, From The Habits Of The People, From The Experience We Have Had On The Point Itself, That It Is Impracticable To Raise Any Very Considerable Sums By Direct Taxation.

The President Of The United States Would Be Liable To Be Impeached, Tried, And Upon Conviction Of Treason, Bribery, Or Other High Crimes And Misdemeanors, Removed From Office; And Would Afterwards Be Liable To Prosecution And Punishment In The Ordinary Course Of Law. The Person Of The King Of Great Britain Is Sacred And Inviolable: There Is No Constitutional Tribunal To Which He Is Amenable, No Punishment To Which He Can Be Subjected Without Involving The Crisis Of A National Revolution.

[s]ound Policy Condemns The Practice Of Accumulating Debts.

The Standard Of Good Behavior For The Continuance In Office Of The Judicial Magistracy Is Certainly One Of The Most Valuable Of The Modern Improvements In The Practice Of Government.

You Should Not Have Taken Advantage Of My Sensibility To Steal Into My Affections Without My Consent.

A Habit Of Labor In The People Is As Essential To The Health And Rigor Of Their Minds And Bodies As It Is Conducive To The Welfare Of The State.

Let Experience, The Least Fallible Guide Of Human Opinion, Be Appealed To For An Answer To These Inquiries.

In Disquisitions Of Every Kind There Are Certain Primary Truths, Or First Principles, Upon Which All Subsequent Reasoning Must Depend.

Man Is Either Governed By His Own Laws - Freedom - Or The Laws Of Another - Slavery. Are You Willing To Become Slaves? Will You Give Up Your Freedom, Your Life And Your Property Without A Single Struggle? No Man Has A Right To Rule Over His Fellow Creatures.

If, Then, The Courts Of Justice Are To Be Considered As The Bulwarks Of A Limited Constitution Against Legislative Encroachments, This Consideration Will Afford A Strong Argument For The Permanent Tenure Of Judicial Offices, Since Nothing Will Contribute So Much As This To That Independent Spirit In The Judges Which Must Be Essential To The Faithful Performance Of So Arduous A Duty.

Perhaps Myself The First, At Some Expense Of Popularity, To Unfold The True Character Of Jefferson, It Is Too Late For Me To Become His Apologist. Nor Can I Have Any Disposition To Do It. I Admit That His Politics Are Tinctured With Fanaticism, That He Is Too Much In Earnest In His Democracy, That He Has Been A Mischievous Enemy To The Principle Measures Of Our Past Administration, That He Is Crafty & Persevering In His Objects, That He Is Not Scrupulous About The Means Of Success, Nor Very Mindful Of Truth, And That He Is A Contemptible Hypocrite.

If The Constitution Is Adopted (and It Was) The Union Will Be In Fact And In Theory An Association Of States Or A Confederacy.

With Regard To The Learned Professions, Little Need Be Observed; They Truly Form No Distinct Interest In Society . . . [discussing The Landed, Merchant, And Learned Classes In Legislative Assembly]. Will Not The Man Of The Learned Profession, Who Will Feel A Neutrality To The Rivalships Between The Different Branches Of Industry, Be Likely To Prove An Impartial Arbiter Between Them, Ready To Promote Either, So Far As It Shall Appear To Him Conducive To The General Interests Of Society?

This Balance Between The National And State Governments Ought To Be Dwelt On With Peculiar Attention, As It Is Of The Utmost Importance. It Forms A Double Security To The People. If One Encroaches On Their Rights They Will Find A Powerful Protection In The Other. Indeed, They Will Both Be Prevented From Overpassing Their Constitutional Limits By A Certain Rivalship, Which Will Ever Subsist Between Them.

[t]here Is Not A Syllable In The Plan Under Consideration Which Directly Empowers The National Courts To Construe The Laws According To The Spirit Of The Constitution.

What Is The Most Sacred Duty And The Greatest Source Of Our Security In A Republic? An Inviolable Respect For The Constitution And Laws.

In All Very Numerous Assemblies, Of Whatever Character Composed, Passion Never Fails To Wrest The Sceptre From Reason. Had Every Athenian Citizen Been A Socrates, Every Athenian Assembly Would Still Have Been A Mob.

The Natural Effect Of Low Interest Is To Increase Trade And Industry; Because Undertakings Of Every Kind Can Be Prosecuted With Greater Advantage.

The Circumstances That Endanger The Safety Of Nations Are Infinite, And For This Reason No Constitutional Shackles Can Wisely Be Imposed On The Power To Which The Care Of It Is Committed.

The Constitution Of Human Nature" Teaches Us Not To Expect "that The Persons, Entrusted With The Administration Of The Affairs Of The Particular Members Of A Confederacy, Will At All Times Be Ready, With Perfect Good Humor, And An Unbiased Regard To The Public Weal, To Execute The Resolutions Of Decrees Of The General Authority." "this Tendency Is Not Difficult To Be Accounted For," Publius Argues, "it Has Its Origin In The Love Of Power.

Government Implies The Power Of Making Laws. It Is Essential To The Idea Of A Law, That It Be Attended With A Sanction; Or, In Other Words, A Penalty Or Punishment For Disobedience.

I Have Carefully Examined The Evidences Of The Christian Religion, And If I Was Sitting As A Juror Upon Its Authenticity I Would Unhesitatingly Give My Verdict In Its Favor. I Can Prove Its Truth As Clearly As Any Proposition Ever Submitted To The Mind Of Man.

[a] Power Equal To Every Possible Contingency Must Exist Somewhere In The Government . . .

That This Gentleman [president John Adams] Ought Not To Be The Object Of The Federal Wish, Is, With Me, Reduced To Demonstration. His Administration Has Already Very Materially Disgraced And Sunk The Government. There Are Defects In His Character Which Must Inevitably Continue To Do This More And More. And If He Is Supported By The Federal Party, His Party Must In The Issue Fall With Him.

In A Free Government, The Security For Civil Rights Must Be The Same As That For Religious Rights. It Consists In The One Case In The Multiplicity Of Interests, And In The Other In The Multiplicity Of Sects.

Industry Is Increased, Commodities Are Multiplied, Agriculture And Manufacturers Flourish: And Herein Consists The True Wealth And Prosperity Of A State.

It Is A General Principle Of Human Nature, That A Man Will Be Interested In Whatever He Possesses, In Proportion To The Firmness Or Precariousness Of The Tenure By Which He Holds It; Will Be Less Attached To What He Holds By A Momentary Or Uncertain Title, Than To What He Enjoys By A Durable Or Certain Title; And, Of Course, Will Be Willing To Risk More For The Sake Of The One, Than For The Sake Of The Other.

These Are Not Vague Inferences . . . But They Are Solid Conclusions Drawn From The Natural And Necessary Progress Of Human Affairs.

The Spirit Of Enterprise, Which Characterizes The Commercial Part Of America, Has Left No Occasion Of Displaying Itself Unimproved. It Is Not At All Probable That This Unbridled Spirit Would Pay Much Respect To Those Regulations Of Trade By Which Particular States Might Endeavor To Secure Exclusive Benefits To Their Own Citizens.

Give Me The Steady, Uniform, Unshaken Security Of Constitutional Freedom. Give Me The Right To Be Tried By A Jury Of My Own Neighbors, And To Be Taxed By My Own Representatives Only. What Will Become Of The Law And Courts Of Justice Without This? The Shadow May Remain, But The Substance Will Be Gone. I Would Die To Preserve The Law Upon A Solid Foundation; But Take Away Liberty, And The Foundation Is Destroyed.

To Attempt To Enumerate The Complicated Variety Of Mischiefs In The Whole System Of The Social Economy, Which Proceed From A Neglect Of The Maxims That Uphold Public Credit, And Justify The Solicitude Manifested By The House On This Point, Would Be An Improper Intrusion On Their Time And Patience.

There Can Be No Profit In The Making Or Selling Of Things To Be Destroyed In War. Men May Think That They Have Such Profit, But In The End The Profit Will Turn Out To Be A Loss.

In The General Course Of Human Nature, A Power Over A Man's Subsistence Amounts To A Power Over His Will.

And It Proves, In The Last Place, That Liberty Can Have Nothing To Fear From The Judiciary Alone, But Would Have Everything To Fear From Its Union With Either Of The Other Departments.

Executive Power

... For It Is A Truth, Which The Experience Of All Ages Has Attested, That The People Are Commonly Most In Danger When The Means Of Insuring Their Rights Are In The Possession Of Those Of Whom They Entertain The Least Suspicion.

Were It Not That It Might Require Too Long A Discussion, It Would Not Be Difficult To Demonstrate That A Large And Well-organized Republic Can Scarcely Lose Its Liberty From Any Other Cause Than That Of Anarchy, To Which A Contempt Of The Laws Is The High-road.

The Civil Jury Is A Valuable Safeguard To Liberty.

The State Governments Possess Inherent Advantages, Which Will Ever Give Them An Influence And Ascendancy Over The National Government, And Will For Ever Preclude The Possibility Of Federal Encroachments. That Their Liberties, Indeed, Can Be Subverted By The Federal Head, Is Repugnant To Every Rule Of Political Calculation.

The Only Distinction Between Freedom And Slavery Consists In This: In The Former State A Man Is Governed By The Laws To Which He Has Given His Consent, Either In Person Or By His Representative; In The Latter, He Is Governed By The Will Of Another. In The One Case, His Life And Property Are His Own; In The Other, They Depend Upon The Pleasure Of His Master. It Is Easy To Discern Which Of These Two States Is Preferable.

Government Is Frequently And Aptly Classed Under Two Descriptions-a Government Of Force, And A Government Of Laws; The First Is The Definition Of Despotism-the Last, Of Liberty.

Of All The Cares Or Concerns Of Government, The Direction Of War Most Peculiarly Demands Those Qualities Which Distinguish The Exercise Of Power By A Single Hand. The Direction Of War Implies The Direction Of The Common Strength; And The Power Of Directing And Employing The Common Strength, Forms A Usual And Essential Part In The Definition Of The Executive Authority.

Effective Resistance To Usurpers Is Possible Only Provided The Citizens Understand Their Rights And Are Disposed To Defend Them.

If The Maintenance Of Public Credit, Then, Be Truly Important, The Next Enquiry Which Suggests Itself Is, By What Means It Is To Be Effected? The Ready Answer To Which Question Is, By Good Faith, By A Punctual Performance Of Contracts. States, Like Individuals, Who Observe Their Engagements, Are Respected And Trusted: While The Reverse Is The Fate Of Those Who Pursue An Opposite Conduct.

Schemes To Subvert The Liberties Of A Great Community Require Time To Mature Them For Execution.

In This Distribution Of Powers The Wisdom Of Our Constitution Is Manifested. It Is The Province And Duty Of The Executive To Preserve To The Nation The Blessings Of Peace. The Legislature Alone Can Interrupt Those Blessings, By Placing The Nation In A State Of War.

Distribution Of Power

There Is Nothing Absurd Or Impracticable In The Idea Of A League Or Alliance Between Independent Nations For Certain Defined Purposes Precisely Stated In A Treaty Regulating All The Details Of Time, Place, Circumstance, And Quantity; Leaving Nothing To Future Discretion; And Depending For Its Execution On The Good Faith Of The Parties.

For My Part, I Sincerely Esteem The Constitution, A System Which Without The Finger Of God, Never Could Have Been Suggested And Agreed Upon By Such A Diversity Of Interests.

The States Have Authority To Interpret The Constitution, Enforce It, And Protect The People From Violations Of It By The Federal Government In The First Place, There Is Not A Syllable In The Plan Under Consideration Which Directly Empowers The National Courts To Construe The Laws According To The Spirit Of The Constitution, Or Which Gives Them Any Greater Latitude In This Respect Than May Be Claimed By The Courts Of Every State.

In Politics, As In Religion, It Is Equally Absurd To Aim At Making Proselytes By Fire And Sword. Heresies In Either Can Rarely Be Cured By Persecution.

Separation Of Church And State

The Prosperity Of Commerce Is Now Perceived And Acknowledged By All Enlightened Statesmen To Be The Most Useful As Well As The Most Productive Source Of National Wealth, And Has Accordingly Become A Primary Object Of Their Political Cares.

When Human Laws Contradict Or Discountenance The Means, Which Are Necessary To Preserve The Essential Rights Of Any Society, They Defeat The Proper End Of All Laws, And So Become Null And Void.

Here Sir, The People Govern.

Representatives

Has It Not. . . Invariably Been Found That Momentary Passions, And Immediate Interests, Have A More Active And Imperious Control Over Human Conduct Than General Or Remote Considerations Of Policy, Utility And Justice?

Necessity, Especially In Politics, Often Occasions False Hopes, False Reasonings, And A System Of Measures, Correspondingly Erroneous.

There Was A Time When We Were Told . . . That A Sense Of Common Interest Would Preside Over The Conduct Of The Respective Members...this Language At The Present Day Would Appear As Wild As That Great Part Of What We Now Hear From The Same Quarter Will Be Thought, When We Shall Have Received Further Lessons From That Best Oracle Of Wisdom, Experience.

Wisdom Experience

Experience Teaches, That Men Are Often So Much Governed By What They Are Accustomed To See And Practice, That The Simplest And Most Obvious Improvements . . . Are Adopted With Hesitation, Reluctance, And Slow Gradations.

One Great Error Is That We Suppose Mankind More Honest Than They Are.

Whoever Attentively Considers The Different Departments Of Power Must Perceive, That, In A Government In Which They Are Separated From Each Other, The Judiciary, From The Nature Of Its Functions, Will Always Be The Least Dangerous To The Political Rights Of The Constitution; Because It Will Be Least In A Capacity To Annoy Or Injure Them.

The Institution Of Delegated Power Implies That There Is A Portion Of Virtue And Honor Among Mankind Which May Be A Reasonable Foundation Of Confidence.

To Cherish And Stimulate The Activity Of The Human Mind, By Multiplying The Objects Of Enterprise, Is Not Among The Least Considerable Of The Expedients, By Which The Wealth Of A Nation May Be Promoted.

It Is Of The Nature Of War To Increase The Executive At The Expense Of The Legislative Authority.

Ambition Without Principle Never Was Long Under The Guidance Of Good Sense.

The Powers Contained In A Constitution...ought To Be Construed Liberally In Advancement Of The Public Good.

Civil Liberty Is Only Natural Liberty, Modified And Secured By The Sanctions Of Civil Society. It Is Not A Thing, In Its Own Nature, Precarious And Dependent On Human Will And Caprice; But It Is Conformable To The Constitution Of Man, As Well As Necessary To The Well-being Of Society.

Men Are Rather Reasoning Than Reasonable Animals For The Most Part Governed By The Impulse Of Passion.

It May Safely Be Received As An Axiom In Our Political System, That The State Governments Will In All Possible Contingencies Afford Complete Security Against Invasions Of The Public Liberty By The National Authority.

The Fabric Of American Empire Ought To Rest On The Solid Basis Of The Consent Of The People. The Streams Of National Power Ought To Flow From That Pure, Original Fountain Of All Legitimate Authority.

The Complete Independence Of The Courts Of Justice Is Peculiarly Essential In A Limited Constitution. By A Limited Constitution, I Understand One Which Contains Certain Specified Exceptions To The Legislative Authority. Limitations Of This Kind Can Be Preserved In Practice No Other Way Than Through The Medium Of Courts Of Justice, Whose Duty It Must Be To Declare All Acts Contrary To The Manifest Tenor Of The Constitution Void. Without This, All The Reservations Of Particular Rights Or Privileges Would Amount To Nothing.

In So Strong A Light, Nevertheless, Do They Appear To The Secretary, That, On Their Due Observance, At The Present Critical Juncture, Materially Depend, In His Judgment, The Individual And Aggregate Prosperity Of The Citizens Of The United States; Their Relief From The Embarrassments They Now Experience; Their Character As A People; The Cause Of Good Government.

Responsibility, In Order To Be Reasonable, Must Be Limited To Objects Within The Power Of The Responsible Party, And In Order To Be Effectual, Must Relate To Operations Of That Power, Of Which A Ready And Proper Judgment Can Be Formed By The Constituents.

As Riches Increase And Accumulate In Few Hands . . . The Tendency Of Things Will Be To Depart From The Republican Standard.

The True Principle Of A Republic Is That The People Should Choose Whom They Please To Govern Them. Representation Is Imperfect, In Proportion As The Current Of Popular Favor Is Checked. The Great Source Of Free Government, Popular Election, Should Be Perfectly Pure, And The Most Unbounded Liberty Allowed.

If It Were To Be Asked, What Is The Most Sacred Duty And The Greatest Source Of Our Security In A Republic? The Answer Would Be, An Inviolable Respect For The Constitution And Laws - The First Growing Out Of The Last . . . . A Sacred Respect For The Constitutional Law Is The Vital Principle, The Sustaining Energy Of A Free Government.

There Are Still To Be Found Visionary Or Designing Men, Who Stand Ready To Advocate The Paradox Of Perpetual Peace Between The States, Though Dismembered And Alienated From Each Other.... The Genius Of Republics, Say They, Is Pacific; The Spirit Of Commerce Has A Tendency To Soften The Manners Of Men, And To Extinguish Those Inflammable Humours Which Have So Often Kindled Into Wars. Commercial Republics, Like Ours, Will Never Be Disposed To Waste Themselves In Ruinous Contentions With Each Other. They Will Be Governed By Mutual Interest, And Will Cultivate A Spirit Of Mutual Amity And Concord.

Mutual Interest

And As The Vicissitudes Of Nations Beget A Perpetual Tendency To The Accumulation Of Debt, There Ought To Be In Every Government A Perpetual, Anxious, And Unceasing Effort To Reduce That, Which At Any Times Exists, As Fast As Shall Be Practicable Consistently With Integrity And Good Faith.

For, When The Credit Of A Country Is In Any Degree Questionable, It Never Fails To Give On Extravagant Premium, In One Shape Or Another, Upon All The Loans It Has Occasion To Make. Nor Does The Evil End Here; The Same Disadvantage Must Be Sustained Upon Whatever Is To Be Bought On Terms Of Future Payment. From This Constant Necessity Of Borrowing And Buying Dear, It Is Easy To Conceive How Immensely The Expenses Of A Nation, In A Course Of Time, Will Be Augmented By An Unsound State Of The Public Credit.

Energy In The Executive Is A Leading Character In The Definition Of Good Government. It Is Essential To The Protection Of The Community Against Foreign Attacks; It Is Not Less Essential To The Steady Administration Of The Laws; To The Protection Of Property Against Those Irregular And High-handed Combinations Which Sometimes Interrupt The Ordinary Course Of Justice; To The Security Of Liberty Against The Enterprises And Assaults Of Ambition, Of Faction, And Of Anarchy.

[w]ar Is A Question, Under Our Constitution, Not Of Executive, But Of Legislative Cognizance. It Belongs To Congress To Say Whether The Nation Shall Of Choice Dismiss The Olive Branch And Unfurl The Banners Of War.

The Legislatures Will Have Better Means Of Information. They Can Discover The Danger At A Distance; And Possessing All The Organs Of Civil Power, And The Confidence Of The People, They Can At Once Adopt A Regular Plan Of Opposition, In Which They Can Combine All The Resources Of The Community. They Can Readily Communicate With Each Other In The Different States, And Unite Their Common Forces For The Protection Of Their Common Liberty.

Nothing Is More Natural To Men In Office, Than To Look With Peculiar Deference Towards That Authority To Which They Owe Their Official Existence.

The [president] Has No Particle Of Spiritual Jurisdiction. . . .

To Answer The Purpose Of The Adversaries Of The Constitution, They Ought To Prove, Not Merely That Particular Provisions In It Are Not The Best, Which Might Have Been Imagined; But That The Plan Upon The Whole Is Bad And Pernicious.

Man Is A Reasoning Rather Than A Reasonable Animal.

It Equally Proves, That Though Individual Oppression May Now And Then Proceed From The Courts Of Justice, The General Liberty Of The People Can Never Be Endangered From That Quarter; I Mean So Long As The Judiciary Remains Truly Distinct From Both The Legislature And The Executive. For I Agree, That "there Is No Liberty, If The Power Of Judging Be Not Separated From The Legislative And Executive Powers." And It Proves, In The Last Place, That As Liberty Can Have Nothing To Fear From The Judiciary Alone, But Would Have Every Thing To Fear From Its Union With Either Of The Other Departments.

The Superiority...enjoyed By Nations That Have...perfected A Branch Of Industry, Constitutes A...formidable Obstacle.

[h]owever Weak Our Country May Be, I Hope We Shall Never Sacrifice Our Liberties.

The Interpretation Of The Laws Is The Proper And Peculiar Province Of The Courts. A Constitution Is, In Fact, And Must Be Regarded By The Judges, As Fundamental Law. It Therefore Belongs To Them To Ascertain Its Meaning, As Well As The Meaning Of Any Particular Act Proceeding From The Legislative Body. If There Should Happen To Be An Irreconcilable Variance Between The Two, That Which Has The Superior Obligation And Validity Ought, Of Course, To Be Preferred; Or, In Other Words, The Constitution Ought To Be Preferred To The Statute, The Intention Of The People To The Intention Of Their Agents.

Our Countrymen Have All The Folly Of The Ass And All The Passiveness Of The Sheep.

Let Americans Disdain To Be The Instruments Of European Greatness! Let The Thirteen States, Bound Together In A Strict And Indissoluble Union, Concur In Erecting One Great American System, Superior To The Control Of All Transatlantic Force Or Influence, And Able To Dictate The Terms Of The Connection Between The Old And The New World!

An Over-scrupulous Jealousy Of Danger To The Rights Of The People, Which Is More Commonly The Fault Of The Head Than Of The Heart, Will Be Represented As Mere Pretense And Artifice, The Stale Bait For Popularity At The Expense Of The Public Good.

To Attach Full Confidence To An Institution Of This Nature, It Appears To Be An Essential Ingredient In Its Structure, That It Shall Be Under Private And Not A Public Direction-under The Guidance Of Individual Interest, Not Of Public Policy; Which, Would Be . . . Liable To Being Too Much Influenced By Public Necessity.

The Desire Of Reward Is One Of The Strongest Incentives Of Human Conduct; ... The Best Security For The Fidelity Of Mankind Is To Make Their Interest Coincide With Their Duty.

Americans Rouse - Be Unanimous, Be Virtuous, Be Firm, Exert Your Courage, Trust In Heaven, And Nobly Defy The Enemies Both Of God And Man!

The Prosecution [of Impeachments], Will Seldom Fail To Agitate The Passions Of The Whole Community, And To Divide It Into Parties More Or Less Friendly Or Inimical To The Accused. The Subjects Of Its Jurisdiction Are Those Offenses Which Proceed From The Misconduct Of Public Men, Or, In Other Words, From The Abuse Or Violation Of Some Public Trust, And They Relate Chiefly To Injuries Done Immediately To The Society Itself.

The Idea Of Restraining The Legislative Authority, In The Means Of Providing For The National Defense, Is One Of Those Refinements Which Owe Their Origin To A Zeal For Liberty More Ardent Than Enlightened.

Would They Not Fear That Citizens Not Less Tenacious Than Conscious Of Their Rights Would Flock From The Remotest Extremes Of Their Respective States To The Places Of Election, To Overthrow Their Tyrants, And To Substitute Men Who Would Be Disposed To Avenge The Violated Majesty Of The People?

A Share In The Sovereignty Of The State, Which Is Exercised By The Citizens At Large, In Voting At Elections Is One Of The Most Important Rights Of The Subject, And In A Republic Ought To Stand Foremost In The Estimation Of The Law...that Portion Of The Sovereignty, To Which Each Individual Is Entitled, Can Never Be Too Highly Prized. It Is That For Which We Have Fought And Bled.

The Scheme Of Separate Confederacies, Which Will Always Multiply The Chances Of Ambition, Will Be A Never Failing Bait To All Such Influential Characters In The State Administrations As Are Capable Of Preferring Their Own Emolument And Advancement To The Public Weal.

Now, Mark My Words. So Long As We Are A Young And Virtuous People, This Instument Will Bind Us Together In Mutual Interests, Mutual Welfare, And Mutual Happiness. But When We Become Old And Corrupt, It Will Bind No Longer.

Mutual Interest

Some Reasonable Term Ought To Be Allowed To Enable Aliens To Get Rid Of Foreign And Acquire American Attachments; To Learn The Principles And Imbibe The Spirit Of Our Government; And To Admit Of A Probability At Least, Of Their Feeling A Real Interest In Our Affairs.

Opinion, Whether Well Or Ill-founded, Is The Governing Principle Of Human Affairs

No Man In His Senses Can Hesitate In Choosing To Be Free, Rather Than A Slave.

American Revolution

The People Are Turbulent And Changing; They Seldom Judge Right Or Make Good Decision.

A Government, The Constitution Of Which Renders It Unfit To Be Trusted With All The Powers Which A Free People Ought To Delegate To Any Government, Would Be An Unsafe And Improper Depositary Of The National Interests.

A Law, By The Very Meaning Of The Term, Includes Supremacy. It Is A Rule Which Those To Whom It Is Prescribed Are Bound To Observe. This Results From Every Political Association.

The Proposed Constitution, So Far From Implying An Abolition Of The State Governments, Makes Them Constituent Parts Of The National Sovereignty, By Allowing Them A Direct Representation In The Senate, And Leaves In Their Possession Certain Exclusive And Very Important Portions Of Sovereign Power. This Fully Corresponds, In Every Rational Import Of The Terms, With The Idea Of A Federal Government.

As The Duties Of Superintending The National Defense And Of Securing The Public Peace Against Foreign Or Domestic Violence Involve A Provision For Casualties And Dangers To Which No Possible Limits Can Be Assigned, The Power Of Making That Provision Ought To Know No Other Bounds Than The Exigencies Of The Nation And The Resources Of The Community.

Domestic Violence

[imeachable Conduct Is] Misconduct By Public Men, Or, In Other Words, From The Abuse Or Violation Of Some Public Trust.

Safety From External Danger Is The Most Powerful Director Of National Conduct. Even The Ardent Love Of Liberty Will, After A Time, Give Way To Its Dictates. The Violent Destruction Of Life And Property Incident To War, The Continual Effort And Alarm Attendant On A State Of Continual Danger, Will Compel Nations The Most Attached To Liberty To Resort For Repose And Security To Institutions Which Have A Tendency To Destroy Their Civil And Political Rights. To Be More Safe, They At Length Become Willing To Run The Risk Of Being Less Free.

It Is The Advertiser Who Provides The Paper For The Subscriber. It Is Not To Be Disputed, That The Publisher Of A Newspaper In This Country, Without A Very Exhaustive Advertising Support, Would Receive Less Reward For His Labor Than The Humblest Mechanic.

Self-preservation Is The First Principle Of Our Nature.

The President Is To Be Commander-in-chief Of The Army And Navy Of The United States. In This Respect His Authority Would Be Nominally The Same With That Of The King Of Great Britain, But In Substance Much Inferior To It. It Would Amount To Nothing More Than The Supreme Command And Direction Of The Land And Naval Forces, As First General And Admiral ... While That Of The British King Extends To The Declaring Of War And To The Raising And Regulating Of Fleets And Armies - All Which, By The Constitution Under Consideration, Would Appertain To The Legislature.

Allow A Government To Decline Paying Its Debts And You Overthrow All Public Morality-you Unhinge All The Principles That Preserve The Limits Of Free Constitutions. Nothing Can More Affect National Prosperity Than A Constant And Systematic Attention To Extinguish The Present Debt And To Avoid As Much As Possibly The Incurring Of Any New Debt.

...that Standing Army Can Never Be Formidable (threatening) To The Liberties Of The People, While There Is A Large Body Of Citizens, Little If At All Inferior To Them In The Use Of Arms.

The Christian Constitutional Society, Its Object Is First: The Support Of The Christian Religion. Second: The Support Of The United States.

If There Are Such Things As Political Axioms, The Propriety Of The Judicial Power Of A Government Being Co-extensive With Its Legislative, May Be Ranked Among The Number.

It Will Follow That That Government Ought To Be Clothed With All Powers Requisite To Complete Execution Of Its Trust.

In All General Questions Which Become The Subjects Of Discussion, There Are Always Some Truths Mixed With Falsehoods. I Confess, There Is Danger Where Men Are Capable Of Holding Two Offices. Take Mankind In General, They Are Vicious, Their Passions May Be Operated Upon. We Have Been Taught To Reprobate The Danger Of Influence In The British Government, Without Duly Reflecting How Far It Was Necessary To Support A Good Government. We Have Taken Up Many Ideas Upon Trust, And At Last, Pleased With Our Own Opinions, Establish Them As Undoubted Truths.

War, Like Most Other Things, Is A Science To Be Acquired And Perfected By Diligence, By Perserverance, By Time, And By Practice.

There May Be In Every Government A Few Choice Spirits, Who May Act From More Worthy Motives. One Great Error Is That We Suppose Mankind More Honest Than They Are. Our Prevailing Passions Are Ambition And Interest.

The Obscurity Is Much Oftener In The Passions And Prejudices Of The Reasoner Than In The Subject.

The Art Of Reading Is To Skip Judiciously.

Trending Author

Michael Jackson

Robert Griffin III

Category