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In Republics, The Great Danger Is, That The Majority May Not Sufficiently Respect The Rights Of The Minority.
-James Madison
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In Republics, The Great

James Madison
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In Republics, The Great Danger Is, That The Majority May Not Sufficiently Respect The Rights Of The Minority.

Understanding the Quote: "in republics, the great danger is, that the majority may not sufficiently..."

This quote by James Madison reflects deeply on the theme of respect. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Respect, Rights, Majority, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how James Madison interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About James Madison

James Madison is celebrated for insightful thoughts on respect and rights. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Respect
Rights
Majority
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We Have Seen The Mere Distinction Of Color Made In The Most Enlightened Period Of Time, A Ground Of The Most Oppressive Dominion Ever Exercised By Man Over Man.
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Before Any Man Can Be Considered As A Member Of Civil Society, He Must Be Considered As A Subject Of The Governour Of The Universe: And If A Member Of Civil Society, Do It With A Saving Of His Allegiance To The Universal Sovereign. We Maintain Therefore That In Matters Of Religion, No Man's Right Is Abridged By The Institution Of Civil Society And That Religion Is Wholly Exempt From Its Cognizance.
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The Invasion Of Private Rights Is Chiefly To Be Apprehended, Not From Acts Of Government Contrary To The Sense Of Its Constituents, But From Acts In Which The Government Is The Mere Instrument Of The Major Number Of The Constituents.
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Who Does Not See That The Same Authority Which Can Establish Christianity, In Exclusion Of All Other Religions, May Establish With The Same Ease Any Particular Sect Of Christians, In Exclusion Of All Other Sects?
Christian
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Experience Has Instructed Us That No Skill In The Science Of Government Has Yet Been Able To Discriminate And Define, With Sufficient Certainty, Its Three Great Provinces The Legislative, Executive, And Judiciary; Or Even The Privileges And Powers Of The Different Legislative Branches.
Government
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The Apportionment Of Taxes On The Various Descriptions Of Property Is An Act Which Seems To Require The Most Exact Impartiality; Yet There Is, Perhaps, No Legislative Act In Which Greater Opportunity And Temptation Are Given To A Predominant Party To Trample On The Rules Of Justice. Every Shilling Which They Overburden The Inferior Number Is A Shilling Saved To Their Own Pockets.
Party
Opportunity
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Americans Need Not Fear The Federal Government Because They Enjoy The Advantage Of Being Armed, Which You Possess Over The People Of Almost Every Other Nation.
Freedom
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In All The Co-temporary Discussions And Comments, Which The Constitution Underwent, It Was Constantly Justified And Recommended On The Ground, That The Powers Not Given To The Government, Were Withheld From It.
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On Any Other Hypothesis, The Delegation Of Judicial Power Would Annul The Authority Delegating It; And The Concurrence Of This Department With The Others In Usurped Powers, Might Subvert Forever, And Beyond The Possible Reach Of Any Rightful Remedy, The Very Constitution Which All Were Instituted To Preserve.
Forever
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[the Republican Party] Consists Of Those Who, Believing In The Doctrine That Mankind Are Capable Of Governing Themselves And Hating Hereditary Power As An Insult To The Reason And An Outrage To The Rights Of Men, Are Naturally Offended At Every Public Measure That Does Not Appeal To The Understanding And To The General Interest Of The Community.
Hate
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If Slavery, As A National Evil, Is To Be Abolished, And It Be Just That It Be Done At The National Expense, The Amount Of The Expense Is Not A Paramount Consideration.
Evil
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Slavery
Crisis Is The Rallying Cry Of The Tyrant.
Rallying Cry
Tyrants
Presidential
[the Proposed Establishment] Will Have A . . . Tendency To Banish Our Citizens. . . . To Superadd A Fresh Motive To Emigration By Revoking The Liberty Which They Now Enjoy, Would Be The Same Species Of Folly Which Has Dishonoured And Depopulated Flourishing Kingdoms.
Church
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The Accumulation Of All Powers, Legislative, Executive, And Judiciary, In The Same Hands, Whether Of One, A Few, Or Many, And Whether Hereditary, Selfappointed, Or Elective, May Justly Be Pronounced The Very Definition Of Tyranny.
Government
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Independent Judiciary
Had Every Athenian Citizen Been A Socrates, Every Athenian Assembly Would Still Have Been A Mob.
Mob Rule
Citizens
Assembly
It Is Certain That Every Class Is Interested In [educational] Establishments Which Give To The Human Mind Its Highest Improvements, And To Every Country Its Truest And Most Durable Celebrity.
Education
Country
Class
To Consider The Degree Of Concord Which Ultimately Prevailed As Less Than A Miracle.
Miracle
Degrees
Constitution
I Go On The Principle That A Public Debt Is A Public Curse And In A Republican Government More Than In Any Other.
Government
Principles
Debt
If We Advert To The Nature Of Republican Government, We Shall Find That The Censorial Power Is In The People Over The Government, And Not In The Government Over The People.
Freedom
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Public Opinion Sets Bounds To Every Government, And Is The Real Sovereign In Every Free One.
Real
Government
Public Opinion
In Framing A Government Which Is To Be Administered By Men Over Men You Must First Enable The Government To Control The Governed; And In The Next Place Oblige It To Control Itself.
Power
Men
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Torrents Of Blood Have Been Spilt In The Old World, By Vain Attempts Of The Secular Arm, To Extinguish Religious Discord, By Proscribing All Difference In Religious Opinion. Time Has At Length Revealed The True Remedy. Every Relaxation Of Narrow And Rigorous Policy, Wherever It Has Been Tried, Has Been Found To Assuage The Disease.
Religious
Blood
Differences
A People Armed And Free, Forms A Barrier Against The Enterprises Of Ambition And Is A Bulwark For The Nation Against Foreign Invasion And Domestic Oppression.
Strength
Peace
Ambition
A Pure Democracy, By Which I Mean A Society Consisting Of A Small Number Of Citizens, Who Assemble And Administer The Government In Person, Can Admit Of No Cure For The Mischiefs Of Faction. A Common Passion Or Interest Will, In Almost Every Case, Be Felt By A Majority Of The Whole; A Communication And Concert Result From The Form Of Government Itself; And There Is Nothing To Check The Inducements To Sacrifice The Weaker Party, Or An Obnoxious Individual. Hence It Is, That Such Democracies Have Ever Been Spectacles Of Turbulence And Contention; Have Ever Been Found Incompatible With Personal Security, Or The Rights Of Property; And Have In General Been As Short In Their Lives, As They Have Been Violent In Their Deaths.
Party
Passion
Sacrifice
It Has Been Said That All Government Is An Evil. It Would Be More Proper To Say That The Necessity Of Any Government Is A Misfortune. This Necessity However Exists; And The Problem To Be Solved Is, Not What Form Of Government Is Perfect, But Which Of The Forms Is Least Imperfect.
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With Regard To Banks, They Have Taken Too Deep And Too Wide A Root In Social Transactions, To Be Got Rid Of Altogether, If That Were Desirable. They Have A Hold On Public Opinion, Which Alone Would Make It Expedient To Aim Rather At The Improvement, Than The Suppression Of Them. As Now Generally Constituted, Their Advantages Whatever They Be, Are Outweighed By The Excesses Of Their Paper Emissions, And The Partialities And Corruption With Which They Are Administered.
Taken
Roots
Public Opinion
Every New Regulation Concerning Commerce Or Revenue; Or In Any Manner Affecting The Value Of The Different Species Of Property, Presents A New Harvest To Those Who Watch The Change And Can Trace Its Consequences; A Harvest Reared Not By Themselves But By The Toils And Cares Of The Great Body Of Their Fellow Citizens. This Is A State Of Things In Which It May Be Said With Some Truth That Laws Are Made For The Few Not For The Many.
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Toil
Different
A Certain Degree Of Preparation For War . . . Affords Also The Best Security For The Continuance Of Peace.
War
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The Religion Then Of Every Man Must Be Left To The Conviction And Conscience Of Every Man; And It Is The Right Of Every Man To Exercise It As These May Dictate.
Inspirational
Life
Religious
An Armed And Trained Militia Is The Firmest Bulwark Of Republics - That Without Standing Armies Their Liberty Can Never Be In Danger, Nor With Large Ones Safe.
Army
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[a]s It Must Be Admitted That The Remedy Under The Constitution Lies Where It Has Been Marked Out By The Constitution; And That No Appeal Can Be Consistently Made From That Remedy By Those Who Were And Still Profess To Be Parties To It, But The Appeal To The Parties Themselves Having An Authority Above The Constitution Or To The Law Of Nature & Of Nature's God.
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Party
Law
To What Expedient Then Shall We Finally Resort, For Maintaining In Practice The Necessary Partition Of Power Among The Several Departments, As Laid Down In The Constitution? The Only Answer That Can Be Given Is, That As All These Exterior Provisions Are Found To Be Inadequate, The Defect Must Be Supplied, By So Contriving The Interior Structure Of The Government, As That Its Several Constituent Parts May, By Their Mutual Relations, Be The Means Of Keeping Each Other In Their Proper Places.
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I Flatter Myself [we] Have In This Country Extinguished Forever The Ambitious Hope Of Making Laws For The Human Mind.
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Americans Have The Right And Advantage Of Being Armed - Unlike The Citizens Of Other Countries Whose Governments Are Afraid To Trust The People With Arms.
Country
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No Government, Any More Than An Individual, Will Long Be Respected Without Being Truly Respectable; Nor Be Truly Respectable, Without Possessing A Certain Portion Of Order And Stability.
Government
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Long
The Fetters Imposed On Liberty At Home Have Ever Been Forged Out Of The Weapons Provided For Defense Against Real, Pretended, Or Imaginary Dangers From Abroad.
Real
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No Man Is Allowed To Be A Judge In His Own Cause; Because His Interest Would Certainly Bias His Judgment, And, Not Improbably, Corrupt His Integrity. With Equal, Nay With Greater Reason, A Body Of Men Are Unfit To Be Both Judges And Parties At The Same Time.
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Party
Men
Of All The Enemies Of Public Liberty, War Is Perhaps The Most To Be Dreaded, Because It Comprises And Develops The Germ Of Every Other.
Fear
War
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As A Man Is Said To Have A Right To His Property, He May Be Equally Said To Have A Property In His Rights.
Men
Rights
Liberty
In Republican Government The Legislative Authority Necessarily Predominates. The Remedy For This . . . Is To Divide The Legislature Into Different Branches; And To Render Them By Different Modes Of Election, And Different Principles Of Action, As Little Connected With Each Other As The Nature Of Their Common Functions, And Their Common Dependence On The Society, Will Admit.
Government
Political
Principles
Money Cannot Be Applied To The *general Welfare*, Otherwise Than By An Application Of It To Some *particular* Measure Conducive To The General Welfare. Whenever, Therefore, Money Has Been Raised By The General Authority, And Is To Be Applied To A Particular Measure, A Question Arises Whether The Particular Measure Be Within The Enumerated Authorities Vested In Congress. If It Be, The Money Requisite For It May Be Applied To It; If It Be Not, No Such Application Can Be Made.
May
Welfare
Authority
[a] Mere Demarcation On Parchment Of The Constitutional Limits Of The Several Departments Is Not A Sufficient Guard Against Those Encroachments Which Lead To A Tyrannical Concentration Of All The Powers Of Government In The Same Hands.
Government
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Political
[t]he Delegation Of The Government, In [a Republic], To A Small Number Of Citizens Elected By The Rest . . . [is] To Refine And Enlarge The Public Views By Passing Them Through The Medium Of A Chosen Body Of Citizens, Whose Wisdom May Best Discern The True Interest Of Their Country And Whose Patriotism And Love Of Justice Will Be Least Likely To Sacrifice It To Temporary Or Partial Considerations.
Country
Sacrifice
Small Numbers
Of All The Enemies To Public Liberty War Is, Perhaps, The Most To Be Dreaded, Because It Comprises And Develops The Germ Of Every Other. War Is The Parent Of Armies; From These Proceed Debts And Taxes; And Armies, Debts, And Taxes Are The Known Instruments For Bringing The Many Under The Domination Of The Few... No Nation Could Preserve Its Freedom In The Midst Of Continual Warfare.
Inspirational
War
Army
Waiving The Rights Of Conscience, Not Included In The Surrender Implied By The Social State, & More Or Less Invaded By All Religious Establishments, The Simple Question To Be Decided, Is Whether A Support Of The Best & Purest Religion, The Christian Religion Itself Ought Not, So Far At Least As Pecuniary Means Are Involved, To Be Provided For By The Government, Rather Than Be Left To The Voluntary Provisions Of Those Who Profess It.
Christian
Religious
Mean
By Rendering The Labor Of One, The Property Of The Other, They Cherish Pride, Luxury, And Vanity On One Side; On The Other, Vice And Servility, Or Hatred And Revolt.
Pride
Vanity
Two Sides
What Is To Be The Consequence, In Case The Congress Shall Misconstrue This Part [the Necessary And Proper Clause] Of The Constitution And Exercise Powers Not Warranted By Its True Meaning, I Answer The Same As If They Should Misconstrue Or Enlarge Any Other Power Vested In Them . . . The Success Of The Usurpation Will Depend On The Executive And Judiciary Departments, Which Are To Expound And Give Effect To The Legislative Acts; And In A Last Resort A Remedy Must Be Obtained From The People, Who Can By The Elections Of More Faithful Representatives, Annul The Acts Of The Usurpers.
Exercise
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Is The Appointment Of Chaplains To The Two Houses Of Congress Consistent With The Constitution, And With The Pure Principle Of Religious Freedom? In Strictness The Answer On Both Points Must Be In The Negative. The Constitution Of The U. S. Forbids Everything Like An Establishment Of A National Religion. The Law Appointing Chaplains Establishes A Religious Worship For The National Representatives, To Be Performed By Ministers Of Religion, Elected By A Majority Of Them, And These Are To Be Paid Out Of The National Taxes. Does This Not Involve The Principle Of A National Establishment ... ?
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Law
Two
The Danger Of Silent Accumulations & Encroachments By Ecclesiastical Bodies Have Not Sufficiently Engaged Attention In The U.s. [...] Besides The Danger Of A Direct Mixture Of Religion & Civil Government, There Is An Evil Which Ought To Be Guarded Against In The Indefinite Accumulation Of Property From The Capacity Of Holding It In Perpetuity By Ecclesiastical Corporations. [...] The Establishment Of The Chaplainship To Congs. Is A Palpable Violation Of Equal Rights, As Well As Of Constitutional Principles.
Rights
Government
Evil
The Powers Of The Federal Government Are Enumerated; It Can Only Operate In Certain Cases; It Has Legislative Powers On Defined And Limited Objects, Beyond Which It Cannot Extend Its Jurisdiction.
Wisdom
Government
Cases
Landholders Ought To Have A Share In The Government To Support These Invaluable Interests And Check The Other Many. They Ought To Be So Constituted As To Protect The Minority Of The Opulent Against The Majority.
Government
Support
President
When Men Exercise Their Reason Coolly And Freely, On A Variety Of Distinct Questions, They Inevitably Fall Into Different Opinions, On Some Of Them. When They Are Governed By A Common Passion, Their Opinions If They Are So To Be Called, Will Be The Same.
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It May Not Be Improper, However, To Remark Two Consequences, Evidently Flowing From An Extension Of The Federal Power To Every Subject Falling Within The Idea Of The "general Welfare." One Consequence Must Be, To Enlarge The Sphere Of Discretion Allotted To The Executive Magistrate... The Other Consequence Would Be, That Of An Excessive Augmentation Of The Offices, Honors, And Emoluments, Depending On The Executive Will.
Fall
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Two
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.
Law
Class
America
Religious Bondage Shackles And Debilitates The Mind And Unfits It For Every Noble Enterprise, Every Expanded Prospect.
Religious
Atheist
Secular Society
The Best Service That Can Be Rendered To A Country, Next To That Of Giving It Liberty, Is In Diffusing The Mental Improvement Equally Essential To The Preservation, And The Enjoyment Of The Blessing.
Education
Country
Blessing
I Regret, As Much As Any Member, The Unavoidable Weight And Duration Of The Burdens To Be Imposed; Having Never Been A Proselyte To The Doctrine, That Public Debts Are Public Benefits. I Consider Them, On The Contrary, As Evils Which Ought To Be Removed As Fast As Honor And Justice Will Permit.
Regret
Government
Evil
A Well Regulated Militia, Composed Of The Body Of The People, Trained In Arms, Is The Best Most Natural Defense Of A Free Country.
Country
People
Liberty
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 Any Thing But Liberty.
Freedom
Law
People
Each State, In Ratifying The Constitution, Is Considered As A Sovereign Body, Independent Of All Others, And Only To Be Bound By Its Own Voluntary Act. In This Relation, Then, The New Constitution Will, If Established, Be A Federal, And Not A National Constitution.
Wisdom
Independent
America
The Latent Causes Of Faction Are Thus Sown In The Nature Of Man.
Men
Differences
Causes
It Is In Vain To Oppose Constitutional Barriers To The Impulse Of Self-preservation. It Is Worse Than In Vain; Because It Plants In The Constitution Itself Necessary Usurpations Of Power, Every Precedent Of Which Is A Germ Of Unnecessary And Multiplied Repetitions.
Self
Germs
Constitution
It Is Superfluous To Try By The Standards Of Theory, A Part Of The Constitution Which Is Allowed On All Hands To Be The Result Not Of Theory, But "of A Spirit Of Amity, And That Mutual Deference And Concession Which The Peculiarity Of Our Political Situation Rendered Indispensable" . . . The Equal Vote Allowed To Each State, Is At Once A Constitutional Recognition Of The Portion Of Sovereignty Remaining In The Individual States, And An Instrument For Preserving That Residuary Sovereignty.
Hands
Political
Trying
For The Same Reason That The Members Of The State Legislatures Will Be Unlikely To Attach Themselves Sufficiently To National Objects, The Members Of The Federal Legislature Will Be Likely To Attach Themselves Too Much To Local Objects.
Too Much
Reason
Members
Man, Who Preys Both On The Vegetable And Animal Species, Is Himself A Prey To Neither. He Too Possesses The Reproductive Principle Far Beyond The Degree Requisite For The Bare Continuance Of His Species. What Becomes Of The Surplus Of Human Life To Which This Principle Is Competent?
Men
Animal
Vegetables
A Bad Cause Seldom Fails To Betray Itself.
Causes
Failing
Betray
There Is A Degree Of Depravity In Mankind Which Requires A Certain Degree Of Circumspection And Distrust.
Voting
Degrees
Depravity
Besides The Advantage Of Being Armed, Which The Americans Possess Over The People Of Almost Every Other Nation, The Existence Of Subordinate Governments, To Which The People Are Attached, And By Which The Militia Officers Are Appointed, Forms A Barrier Against The Enterprises Of Ambition, More Insurmountable Than Any Which A Simple Government Of Any Form Can Admit Of.
Ambition
Simple
Government
[t]he Most Common And Durable Source Of Factions Has Been The Various And Unequal Distribution Of Property. Those Who Hold And Those Who Are Without Property Have Ever Formed Distinct Interests In Society. Those Who Are Creditors, And Those Who Are Debtors, Fall Under A Like Discrimination. A Landed Interest, A Manufacturing Interest, A Mercantile Interest, A Moneyed Interest, With Many Lesser Interests, Grow Up Of Necessity In Civilized Nations, And Divide Them Into Different Classes, Actuated By Different Sentiments And Views.
Growing Up
Fall
Views
To Provide Employment For The Poor, And Support For The Indigent, Is Among The Primary, And, At The Same Time, Not Least Difficult Cares Of The Public Authority.
Support
Employment
Care
Every Answer He [president John Adams] Gives To His Addressers Unmasks More And More His Principles And Views. His Language To The Young Men At Philadelphia Is The Most Abominable And Degrading That Could Fall From The Lips Of The First Magistrate Of An Independent People, And Particularly From A Revolutionary Patriot.
Fall
Independent
Men
The Preservation Of A Free Government Requires Not Merely That The Metes And Bounds Which Separate Each Department Of Power Be Invariably Maintained; But More Especially That Neither Of Them Be Suffered To Overleap The Great Barrier Which Defends The Rights Of The People. The Rulers Who Are Guilty Of Such An Encroachment, Exceed The Commission From Which They Derive Their Authority And Are Tyrants. The People Who Submit To It Are Governed By Laws Made Neither By Themselves Nor By An Authority Derived From Them, And Are Slaves.
Rights
Government
Law
The Most Common And Durable Source Of Faction Has Been The Various And Unequal Distribution Of Property.
Wisdom
Politics
Paper
[in A Democracy] A Common Passion Or Interest Will, In Almost Every Case , Be Felt By A Majority Of The Whole; A Communication And Concert Results From The Form Of Government Itself; And There Is Nothing To Check The Inducements To Sacrifice The Weaker Party Or An Obnoxious Individual.
Party
Communication
Passion
A Local Spirit Will Infallibly Prevail Much More In The Members Of Congress Than A National Spirit Will Prevail In The Legislatures Of The Particular States.
Spirit
Legislature
States
Place Three Individuals In A Situation Wherein The Interest Of Each Depends On The Voice Of The Others, And Give To Two Of Them An Interest Opposed To The Rights Of The Third. Will The Latter Be Secure? The Prudence Of Every Man Would Shun The Danger. The Rules & Forms Of Justice Suppose & Guard Against It. Will Two Thousand In A Like Situation Be Less Likely To Encroach On The Rights Of One Thousand?
Men
Rights
Two
The Interest Of The Man Must Be Connected With The Constitutional Rights Of The Place. It May Be A Reflection On Human Nature, That Such Devices Should Be Necessary To Control The Abuses Of Government. But What Is Government Itself, But The Greatest Of All Reflections On Human Nature?
Reflection
Men
Rights
The Necessity Of A Senate Is Not Less Indicated By The Propensity Of All Single And Numerous Assemblies, To Yield To The Impulse Of Sudden And Violent Passions, And To Be Seduced By Factious Leaders, Into Intemperate And Pernicious Resolutions.
Passion
Yield
Leader
I, Sir, Have Always Conceived - I Believe Those Who Proposed The Constitution Conceived,and It Is Still More Fully Known, And More Material To Observe, Those Who Ratified The Constitution Conceived, That This Is Not An Indefinite Government Deriving Its Powers From The General Terms Prefixed To The Specified Powers - But, A Limited Government Tied Down To The Specified Powers, Which Explain And Define The General Terms.
Believe
Government
Constitution
The Smaller The Society, The Fewer Probably Will Be The Distinct Parties And Interests Composing It; The Fewer The Distinct Parties And Interests, The More Frequently Will A Majority Be Found Of The Same Party; . . . The More Easily Will They Concert And Execute Their Plans Of Oppression.
Party
Majority
Oppression
Despotism Can Only Exist In Darkness, And There Are Too Many Lights Now In The Political Firmament To Permit It To Remain Anywhere, As It Has Heretofore Done, Almost Everywhere.
Light
Tyrants
Political
The Two Great Points Of Difference Between A Democracy And A Republic Are: First, The Delegation Of The Government, In The Latter,to A Small Number Of Citizens Elected By The Rest; Secondly, The Greater Number Of Citizens And Greater Sphere Of Country Over Which The Latter May Be Extended.
Country
Differences
Numbers
I Have No Doubt But That The Misery Of The Lower Classes Will Be Found To Abate Wherever The Government Assumes A Freer Aspect,& The Laws Favor A Subdivision Of Property.
Government
Law
Class
Outlets For The Freed Blacks Are Alone Wanted For The Erasure Of The Blot From Our Republican Character.
Character
Slavery
Republican
The Experience Of The United States Is A Happy Disproof Of The Error So Long Rooted In The Unenlightened Minds Of Well Meaning Christians, As Well As In The Corrupt Hearts Of Persecuting Usurpers, That Without A Legal Incorporation Of Religious And Civil Polity, Neither Could Be Supported. A Mutual Independence Is Found Most Friendly To Practical Religion, To Social Harmony, And To Political Prosperity.
Christian
Religious
Heart
[a]ll Power Is Originally Vested In, And Consequently Derived From, The People. That Government Is Instituted And Ought To Be Exercised For The Benefit Of The People; Which Consists In The Enjoyment Of Life And Liberty And The Right Of Acquiring Property, And Generally Of Pursuing And Obtaining Happiness And Safety. That The People Have An Indubitable, Unalienable, And Indefeasible Right To Reform Or Change Their Government Whenever It Be Found Adverse Or Inadequate To The Purpose Of Its Institution.
Government
People
Safety
That This Liberty [of The Press] Is Often Carried To Excess; That It Has Sometimes Degenerated Into Licentiousness, Is Seen And Lamented, But The Remedy Has Not Yet Been Discovered. Perhaps It Is An Evil Inseparable From The Good With Which It Is Allied; Perhaps It Is A Shoot Which Cannot Be Stripped From The Stalk Without Wounding Vitally The Plant From Which It Is Torn. However Desirable Those Measures Might Be Which Might Correct Without Enslaving The Press, They Have Never Yet Been Devised In America.
America
Evil
Liberty
The Governments Of Europe Are Afraid To Trust The People With Arms. If They Did, The People Would Certainly Shake Off The Yoke Of Tyranny, As America Did.
Gun
Government
Europe
Congress Shall Make No Law Respecting An Establishment Of Religion, Or Prohibiting The Free Exercise Thereof.
Exercise
Secular Society
Law
The Powers Delegated By The Proposed Constitution To The Federal Government Are Few And Defined. Those Which Are To Remain In The State Governments Are Numerous And Indefinite.
Government
Nullification
Federalism
[christianity] Existed And Flourishes, Not Only Without The Support Of Human Laws, But In Spite Of Every Opposition From Them.
Law
Support
Religion
Who Does Not See That . . . The Same Authority Which Can Force A Citizen To Contribute Three Pence Only Of His Property For The Support Of Any One Establishment, May Force Him To Conform To Any Other Establishment In All Cases Whatsoever?
Support
Church
May
The Essence Of Government Is Power; And Power, Lodged As It Must Be In Human Hands, Will Ever Be Liable To Abuse.
Power
Hands
Essence
In No Instance Have... The Churches Been Guardians Of The Liberties Of The People.
Atheist
People
Church
The Danger Of Disturbing The Public Tranquillity By Interesting Too Strongly The Public Passions, Is A Still More Serious Objection Against A Frequent Reference Of Constitutional Questions To The Decision Of The Whole Society.
Passion
Interesting
Decision
Democracies Have Been Found Incompatible With Personal Security Or The Rights Of Property; And In General Been As Short In Their Lives As They Have Been Violent In Their Death.
Freedom
Democracies Have
Rights
If Men Were Angels, There Would Be No Need Of Government.
Angel
Men
Would Be
Philosophy Is Common Sense With Big Words.
Philosophy
Medicine
Common Sense
We Have The Self-evident Right To Regulate Our Trade According To Our Own Will And Our Own Interest . . . . This Right Can Be Denied To No Independent Nation.
Independent
Self
Interest
It Is To The Press Mankind Are Indebted For Having Dispelled The Clouds Which So Long Encompassed Religion, For Disclosing Her Genuine Lustre, And Disseminating Her Salutary Doctrines.
Clouds
Long
Religion
In Europe, Charters Of Liberty Have Been Granted By Power. America Has Set The Example . . . Of Charters Of Power Granted By Liberty. This Revolution In The Practice Of The World, May, With An Honest Praise, Be Pronounced The Most Triumphant Epoch Of Its History, And The Most Consoling Presage Of Its Happiness.
Freedom
Europe
Practice
It Is A Universal Truth That The Loss Of Liberty At Home Is To Be Charged To The Provisions Against Danger, Real Or Pretended, From Abroad.
Freedom
Real
War
The People Shall Not Be Deprived Or Abridged Of Their Right To Speak, Or To Publish Their Sentiments; And The Freedom Of The Press, As One Of The Great Bulwarks Of Liberty, Shall Be Inviolable.
People
President
Liberty
In Suits At Common Law, Trial By Jury In Civil Cases Is As Essential To Secure The Liberty Of The People As Any One Of The Pre-existent Rights Of Nature.
Rights
Law
People
American Citizens Are Instrumental In Carrying On A Traffic In Enslaved Africans, Equally In Violation Of The Laws Of Humanity And In Defiance Of Those Of Their Own Country. The Same Just And Benevolent Motives Which Produced Interdiction In Force Against This Criminal Conduct Will Doubtless Be Felt By Congress In Devising Further Means Of Suppressing The Evil.
Country
Mean
Law
That Is Not A Just Government, Nor Is Property Secure Under It, Where The Property Which A Man Has In His Personal Safety And Personal Liberty, Is Violated By Arbitrary Seizures Of One Class Of Citizens For The Service Of The Rest.
Men
Class
Safety
Disarm The People- That Is The Best And Most Effective Way To Enslave Them.
Gun
People
Way
Although All Men Are Born Free, Slavery Has Been The General Lot Of The Human Race. Ignorant--they Have Been Cheated; Asleep--they Have Been Surprised; Divided--the Yoke Has Been Forced Upon Them. But What Is The Lesson...? The People Ought To Be Enlightened, To Be Awakened, To Be United, That After Establishing A Government They Should Watch Over It.... It Is Universally Admitted That A Well-instructed People Alone Can Be Permanently Free.
Men
Race
People
...several Of The First Presidents, Including Jefferson And Madison, Generally Refused To Issue Public Prayers, Despite Importunings To Do So. Under Pressure, Madison Relented In The War Of 1812, But Held To His Belief That Chaplains Shouldn't Be Appointed To The Military Or Be Allowed To Open Congress.
Prayer
Military
War
Of All The Objections Which Have Been Framed Against The Federal Constitution, This Is Perhaps The Most Extraordinary. Whilst The Objection Itself Is Levelled Against A Pretended Oligarchy, The Principle Of It Strikes At The Very Root Of Republican Government.
Government
Roots
Principles
In Contemplating The Pecuniary Resources Needed For The Removal Of Such A Number To So Great A Distance [freed Slaves To Africa], My Thoughts And Hopes Have Long Been Turned To The Rich Fund Presented In The Western Lands Of The Nation . . .
Distance
Land
Numbers
If We Are To Take For The Criterion Of Truth The Majority Of Suffrages, They Ought To Be Gotten From Those Philosophic And Patriotic Citizens Who Cultivate Their Reason.
Patriotic
Liberty
Majority
It Degrades From The Equal Rank Of Citizens All Those Whose Opinions In Religion Do Not Bend To Those Of The Legislative Authority. Distant As It May Be In Its Present Form From The Inquisition, It Differs From It Only In Degree.
Religion
Atheism
May
Nothing Has Yet Been Offered To Invalidate The Doctrine That The Meaning Of The Constitution May As Well Be Ascertained By The Legislative As By The Judicial Authority.
Doctrine
May
Constitution
Is There A Legislative Power In Fact, Not Expressly Prohibited By The Constitution, Which Might Not, According To The Doctrine Of The Court, Be Exercised As A Means Of Carrying Into Effect Some Specified Power?
Mean
Doctrine
Might
A Watchful Eye Must Be Kept On Ourselves Lest While We Are Building Ideal Monuments Of Renown And Bliss Here We Neglect To Have Our Names Enrolled In The Annals Of Heaven.
Eye
Names
Heaven
Where A Majority Are United By A Common Sentiment, And Have An Opportunity, The Rights Of The Minor Party Become Insecure.
Party
Insecure
Opportunity
The Establishment Of The Chaplainship To Congress Is A Palpable Violation Of ... Constitutional Principles.
Religion
Atheism
Principles
The Settled Opinion Here Is That Religion Is Essentially Distinct From Civil Govt. And Exempt From Its Cognizance; That A Connection Between Them Is Injurious To Both.
Religion
Atheism
Connections
It Would Have Marked A Want Of Foresight In The Convention, Which Our Own Experience Would Have Rendered Inexcusable.
Want
Conventions
Constitutional Convention
Liberty Is To Faction What Air Is To Fire.
Fire
Air
Liberty
No Free Country Has Ever Been Without Parties, Which Are A Natural Offspring Of Freedom.
Country
Freedom
Party
There Is Not A More Important And Fundamental Principle In Legislation, Than That The Ways And Means Ought Always To Face The Public Engagements; That Our Appropriations Should Ever Go Hand In Hand With Our Promises.
Mean
Hands
Promise
Religion Flourishes In Greater Purity, Without Than With The Aid Of Government.
Government
Atheism
Liberty
All That Seems Indispensible In Stating The Account Between The Dead And The Living, Is To See That The Debts Against The Latter Do Not Exceed The Advances Made By The Former.
Debt
Made
Latter
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. The Degree Of Security In Both Cases, Will Depend On The Number Of Interests And Sects; And This May Be Presumed To Depend On The Extent Of Country And Number Of People Comprehended Under The Same Government.
Country
Religious
Rights
Those Who Proposed The Constitution Knew, And Those Who Ratified The Constitution Also Knew That This Is...a Limited Government Tied Down To Specified Powers....it Was Never Supposed Or Suspected That The Old Congress Could Give Away The Money Of The States To Encourage Agriculture Or For Any Other Purpose They Pleased.
Government
Agriculture
Giving
Because The Bill Vests In The Said Incorporated Church An Authority To Provide For The Support Of The Poor And The Education Of Poor Children Of The Same, An Authority Which, Being Altogether Superfluous If The Provision Is To Be The Result Of Pious Charity, Would Be A Precedent For Giving To Religious Societies As Such A Legal Agency In Carrying Into Effect A Public And Civil Duty.
Religious
Children
Agency
[regarding Legislative Assemblies,] The Number Ought At Most To Be Kept Within A Certain Limit, In Order To Avoid The Confusion And Intemperance Of A Multitude. In All Very Numerous Assemblies, Of Whatever Characters Composed, Passion Never Fails To Wrest The Scepter From Reason. Had Every Athenian Citizen Been A Socrates, Every Athenian Assembly Would Still Have Been A Mob.
Character
Passion
Order
Conscience Is The Most Sacred Of All Property; Other Property Depending In Part On Positive Law, The Exercise Of That, Being A Natural And Unalienable Right.
Exercise
Law
Sacred
A Standing Military Force, With An Overgrown Executive Will Not Long Be Safe Companions To Liberty.
Military
Long
Liberty
A Zeal For Different Opinions Concerning Religion, Concerning Government, And Many Other Points, As Well Of Speculation As Of Practice; An Attachment To Different Leaders Ambitiously Contending For Pre-eminence And Power; Or To Persons Of Other Descriptions Whose Fortunes Have Been Interesting To The Human Passions, Have, In Turn, Divided Mankind Into Parties, Inflamed Them With Mutual Animosity, And Rendered Them Much More Disposed To Vex And Oppress Each Other Than To Co-operate For Their Common Good.
Party
Passion
Practice
In The Latter Sense, A Man Has A Property In His Opinions And The Free Communication Of Them. He Has A Property Of Peculiar Value In His Religious Opinions, And In The Profession And Practice Dictated By Them. He Has An Equal Property In The Free Use Of His Faculties And Free Choice Of The Objects On Which To Employ Them. In A Word, As A Man Is Said To Have A Right To His Property, He May Be Equally Said To Have A Property In His Rights.
Religious
Communication
Men
The Smaller The Number And The More Permanent And Conspicuous The Station Of Men In Power, The Stronger Must Be The Interest Which They Will Individually Feel In Whatever Concerns The Government.
Men
Numbers
Stronger
The Strongest Passions And Most Dangerous Weaknesses Of The Human Breast; Ambition, Avarice, Vanity, The Honorable Or Venal Love Of Fame, Are All In Conspiracy Against The Desire And Duty Of Peace.
Peace
War
Passion
In This Relation, Then, The Proposed Government Cannot Be Deemed A National One; Since Its Jurisdiction Extends To Certain Enumerated Objects Only, And Leaves To The Several States, A Residuary And Inviolable Sovereignty Over All Other Objects.
Government
Nullification
Federalism
The Power To Declare War, Including The Power Of Judging The Causes Of War, Is Fully And Exclusively Vested In The Legislature.
Peace
War
Judging
There Is No Maxim, In My Opinion, Which Is More Liable To Be Misapplied, And Which, Therefore, More Needs Elucidation, Than The Current One, That The Interest Of The Majority Is The Political Standard Of Right And Wrong.
Political
Liberty
Majority
Where An Excess Of Power Prevails, Property Of No Sort Is Duly Respected. No Man Is Safe In His Opinions, His Person, His Faculties, Or His Possessions.
Men
Political
Liberty
The Internal Effects Of A Mutable Policy Are Still More Calamitous. It Poisons The Blessings Of Liberty Itself.
Blessing
Liberty
Poison
Charity Is No Part Of The Legislative Duty Of The Government.
Government
Constitution Of The United States
Charity
What Prudent Merchant Will Hazard His Fortunes In Any New Branch Of Commerce When He Knows Not That His Plans May Be Rendered Unlawful Before They Can Be Executed?
Hazards
Branches
May
Liberty And Order Will Never Be Perfectly Safe Until A Trespass On The Constitution Provisions For Either, Shall Be Felt With The Same Keenness That Resents And Invasion Of The Dearest Rights.
Rights
Order
Second Amendment
The Primary Function Of Government Is To Protect The Minority Of The Opulent From The Majority Of The Poor.
Government
Majority
Minorities
The Civil Rights Of None, Shall Be Abridged On Account Of Religious Belief Or Worship, Nor Shall Any National Religion Be Established, Nor Shall The Full And Equal Rights Of Conscience Be In Any Manner, Or On Any Pretext Infringed.
Religious
Rights
Liberty
Conscience Is The Most Sacred Of All Property.
Religious
Liberty
Sacred
The Purpose Of The Constitution Is To Restrict The Majority's Ability To Harm A Minority.
Majority
Minorities
Purpose
As Long As The Reason Of Man Continues Fallible, And He Is At Liberty To Exercise It, Different Opinions Will Be Formed. As Long As The Connection Subsists Between His Reason And His Self-love, His Opinions And Passions Will Have A Reciprocal Influence On Each Other, And The Former Will Be Objects To Which The Latter Attach Themselves.
Passion
Exercise
Men
In Framing A System, Which We Wish To Last For Ages, We Should Not Lose Sight Of The Changes Which Ages Will Produce.
Sight
Wish
Age
As The Legislative, Executive, And Judicial Departments Of The United States Are Co-ordinate, And Each Equally Bound To Support The Constitution, It Follows That Each Must In The Exercise Of Its Functions Be Guided By The Text Of The Constitution According To Its Own Interpretation Of It.
Exercise
Support
United States
Congress Shall Have Power . . . To Promote The Progress Of Science And Useful Arts, By Securing For Limited Time To Authors And Inventors The Exclusive Right To Their Respective Writings And Discoveries.
Education
Art
Writing
For What Purpose Could The Enumeration Of Particular Powers Be Inserted, If These And All Others Were Meant To Be Included In The Preceding General Power?
Purpose
Were Meant To Be
Particular
The Rights Of Man As The Foundation Of Just Government Had Been Long Understood But The Superstructures Projected Had Been Sadly Defective
Men
Rights
Long
I Have Sometimes Thought There Could Be No Stronger Testimony In Favor Of Religion Or Against Temporal Enjoyments Even The Most Rational And Manly Than For Men Who Occupy The Most Honorable And Gainful Departments And Are Rising In Reputation And Wealth, Publicly To Declare Their Unsatisfactoriness By Becoming Fervent Advocates In The Cause Of Christ, & I Wish You May Give In Your Evidence In This Way. Such Instances Have Seldom Occurred, Therefore They Would Be More Striking And Would Be Instead Of A "cloud Of Witnesses.
Men
Clouds
Giving
To The Baptist Churches On Neal's Greek On Black Creek, North Carolina I Have Received, Fellow-citizens, Your Address, Approving My Objection To The Bill Containing A Grant Of Public Land To The Baptist Church At Salem Meeting House, Mississippi Territory. Having Always Regarded The Practical Distinction Between Religion And Civil Government As Essential To The Purity Of Both, And As Guaranteed By The Constitution Of The United States, I Could Not Have Otherwise Discharged My Duty On The Occasion Which Presented Itself
Government
Land
House
At Cheaper And Nearer Seats Of Learning Parents With Slender Incomes May Place Their Sons In A Course Of Education Putting Them On A Level With The Sons Of The Richest.
Education
Son
Parent
What Becomes Of The Surplus Of Human Life? It Is Either, 1st. Destroyed By Infanticide, As Among The Chinese And Lacedemonians; Or 2d. It Is Stifled Or Starved, As Among Other Nations Whose Population Is Commensurate To Its Food; Or 3d. It Is Consumed By Wars And Endemic Diseases; Or 4th. It Overflows, By Emigration, To Places Where A Surplus Of Food Is Attainable.
War
Chinese
Balance
These Examples, Though As Unfit For The Imitation, As They Are Repugnant To The Genius Of America, Are Notwithstanding . . . Very Instructive Proofs Of The Necessity Of Some Institution That Will Blend Stability With Liberty.
America
Liberty
Example
We Are Right To Take Alarm At The First Experiment Upon Our Liberties.
Liberty
Alarms
Tyranny Founding Fathers
A Well-instructed People Alone Can Be Permanently A Free People.
People
Liberty
Wells
There Is Not A More Important And Fundamental Principle In Legislation, Than That The Ways And Means Ought Always To Face The Public Engagements; That Our Appropriations Should Ever Go Hand In Hand With Our Promises. To Say That The United States Should Be Answerable For Twenty-five Millions Of Dollars Without Knowing Whether The Ways And Means Can Be Provided, And Without Knowing Whether Those Who Are To Succeed Us Will Think With Us On The Subject, Would Be Rash And Unjustifiable. Sir, In My Opinion, It Would Be Hazarding The Public Faith In A Manner Contrary To Every Idea Of Prudence.
Mean
Thinking
Knowing
People Will Continue To Seek Justice Until It Is Found, Or Until Liberty Is Lost In The Pursuit.
People
Justice
Liberty
[religious Liberty Was] In Its Nature An Inalienable Right ... Because The Opinions Of Men, Depending Only Upon The Evidence Contemplated By Their Minds, Cannot Follow The Dictates Of Other Men.
Religious
Men
Mind
As Compacts, Charters Of Government Are Superior In Obligation To All Others, Because They Give Effect To All Others. As Truths, None Can Be More Sacred, Because They Are Bound, On The Conscience By The Religious Sanctions Of An Oath. As Metes And Bounds Of Government, They Transcend All Other Land-marks, Because Every Public Usurpation Is An Encroachment On The Private Right, Not Of One, But Of All.
Religious
Land
Government
Union Of Religious Sentiments Begets A Surprising Confidence.
Confidence
Religious
Unions
The Defect Of Power In The Existing Confederacy, To Regulate The Commerce Between Its Several Members Is In The Number Of Those Which Have Been Clearly Pointed Out By Experience . . . . A Very Material Object Of This Power Was The Relief Of The States Which Import And Export Through Other States From The Improper Contributions Levied On Them By The Latter.
Numbers
Relief
States
The Proposed Constitution, Therefore, Even When Tested By The Rules Laid Down By Its Antagonists, Is, In Strictness, Neither A National Nor A Federal Constitution; But A Composition Of Both. In Its Foundation It Is Federal, Not National; In The Sources From Which The Ordinary Powers Of The Government Are Drawn, It Is Partly Federal, And Partly National; In The Operation Of These Powers, It Is National, Not Federal; In The Extent Of Them Again, It Is Federal, Not National; And Finally, In The Authoritative Mode Of Introducing Amendments, It Is Neither Wholly Federal, Nor Wholly National.
Government
Foundation
Ordinary
It May Be Considered As An Objection Inherent In The Principle, That As Every Appeal To The People Would Carry An Implication Of Some Defect In The Government, Frequent Appeals Would In Great Measure Deprive The Government Of That Veneration Which Time Bestows On Every Thing, And Without Which Perhaps The Wisest And Freest Governments Would Not Possess The Requisite Stability . . . A Constitutional Road To The Decision Of The People Ought To Be Marked Out And Kept Open, For Certain Great And Extraordinary Occasions
Government
People
Decision
Man Is Known To Be A Selfish, As Well As A Social Being.
Selfish
Men
Human Nature
The First Question That Offers Itself Is, Whether The General Form And Aspect Of The Government Be Strictly Republican? It Is Evident That No Other Form Would Be Reconcileable With The Genius Of The People Of America; With The Fundamental Principles Of The Revolution; Or With That Honourable Determination Which Animates Every Votary Of Freedom, To Rest All Our Political Experiments On The Capacity Of Mankind For Self-government.
Determination
Government
Self
The Ultimate Authority Resides In The People, And That If The Federal Government Got Too Powerful And Overstepped Its Authority, Then The People Would Develop Plans Of Resistance And Resort To Arms.
Powerful
Government
People
The Members Of The Legislative Department . . . Are Numerous. They Are Distributed And Dwell Among The People At Large. Their Connections Of Blood, Of Friendship, And Of Acquaintance Embrace A Great Proportion Of The Most Influential Part Of The Society . . . They Are More Immediately The Confidential Guardians Of Their Rights And Liberties.
Blood
Rights
People
It Is Vain To Say That Enlightened Statesmen Will Always Be Able To Adjust Their Interests. Enlightened Men Will Not Always Be At The Helm.
Men
Able
Enlightened
The Alien Bill Proposed In The Senate Is A Monster That Must Forever Disgrace Its Parents.
Parent
Forever
Monsters
The Powers Delegated By The Proposed Constitution To The Federal Government Are Few And Defined. Those Which Are To Remain In The State Governments Are Numerous And Indefinite. The Former Will Be Exercised Principally On External Objects, As War, Peace, Negotiation And Foreign Commerce. ... The Powers Reserved To The Several States Will Extend To All The Objects Which In The Ordinary Course Of Affairs, Concern The Lives And Liberties, And Properties Of The People, And The Internal Order, Improvement And Prosperity Of The State.
War
Government
Order
The Effect Of A Representative Democracy Is To Refine And Enlarge The Public Views, By Passing Them Through The Medium Of A Chosen Body Of Citizens, Whose Wisdom May Best Discern The True Interest Of The Nation.
Views
Democracy
Citizens
There Is An Evil Which Ought To Be Guarded Against In The Indefinite Accumulation Of Property From The Capacity Of Holding It In Perpetuity By...corporations. The Power Of All Corporations Ought To Be Limited In This Respect. The Growing Wealth Acquired By Them Never Fails To Be A Source Of Abuses.
Evil
Abuse
Growing
The American People Are Too Well Schooled In The Duty And Practice Of Submitting To The Will Of The Majority To Permit Any Serious Uneasiness On That Account
Practice
People
Serious
If We Resort For A Criterion To The Different Principles On Which Different Forms Of Government Are Established, We May Define A Republic To Be, Or At Least May Bestow That Name On, A Government Which Derives All Its Powers Directly Or Indirectly From The Great Body Of The People, And Is Administered By Persons Holding Their Offices During Pleasure For A Limited Period, Or During Good Behavior.
Government
Names
People
[i]n The Next Place, To Show That Unless These Departments Be So Far Connected And Blended As To Give To Each A Constitutional Control Over The Others, The Degree Of Separation Which The Maxim Requires, As Essential To A Free Government, Can Never In Practice Be Duly Maintained.
Government
Practice
Giving
The Truth Was That All Men Having Power Ought To Be Distrusted To A Certain Degree.
Truth
Men
Presidential
Happily For America, Happily, We Trust, For The Whole Human Race, They Pursued A New And More Noble Course. They Accomplished A Revolution Which Has No Parallel In The Annals Of Human Society.
Freedom
4th Of July
America
These Considerations And Many Others That Might Be Mentioned Prove, And Experience Confirms It, That Artisans And Manufacturers Will Commonly Be Disposed To Bestow Their Votes On Merchants.
People
Might
Vote
Among The Features Peculiar To The Political System Of The United States, Is The Perfect Equality Of Rights Which It Secures To Every Religious Sect.
Religious
Rights
Perfect
The Nation Which Reposes On The Pillow Of Political Confidence, Will Sooner Or Later End Its Political Existence In A Deadly Lethargy.
Political
Politics
Ends
Whilst The Last Members Were Signing It Doctr. Franklin Looking Towards The Presidents Chair, At The Back Of Which A Rising Sun Happened To Be Painted, Observed To A Few Members Near Him, That Painters Had Found It Difficult To Distinguish In Their Art A Rising From A Setting Sun.
Art
President
Constitution Of The United States
It Is Due To Justice; Due To Humanity; Due To Truth; Due To The Sympathies Of Our Nature; In Fine, To Our Character As A People, Both Abroad And At Home, That They Should Be Considered, As Much As Possible, In The Light Of Human Beings, And Not As Mere Property. As Such, They Are Acted On By Our Laws, And Have An Interest In Our Laws. They May Be Considered As Making A Part, Though A Degraded Part, Of The Families To Which They Belong.
Character
Home
Light
Nor Is Any Evidence To Be Found, Either In History Or Human Nature, That Nations Are To Be Bribed Out Of A Spirit Of Encroachment And Aggression, By Humiliations Which Nourish Their Pride, Or By Concessions That Extend Their Resources And Power.
Pride
Spirit
Human Nature
Whilst We Assert For Ourselves A Freedom To Embrace, To Profess And Observe The Religion Which We Believe To Be Of Divine Origin, We Cannot Deny Equal Freedom To Those Whose Minds Have Not Yet Yielded To The Evidence Which Has Convinced Us. If This Freedom Be Abused, It Is An Offense Against God, Not Against Man:to God, Therefore, Not To Man, Must An Account Of It Be Rendered.
Believe
Men
Mind
A Good Government Implies Two Things: First, Fidelity To The Object Of Government, Which Is The Happiness Of The People; Secondly, A Knowledge Of The Means By Which That Object Can Be Best Attained.
Mean
Government
Two
It Is The Mutual Duty Of All To Practice Christian Forbearance, Love, And Charity Toward Each Other.
Christian
Practice
Charity
Complaints Are Everywhere Heard From Our Most Considerate And Virtuous Citizens, Equally The Friends Of Public And Private Faith, And Of Public And Personal Liberty, That Our Governments Are Too Unstable, That The Public Good Is Disregarded In The Conflicts Of Rival Parties, And That Measures Are Too Often Decided, Not According To The Rules Of Justice And The Rights Of The Minor Party, But By The Superior Force Of An Interested And Overbearing Majority.
Party
Rights
Government
Attempts To Enforce By Legal Sanctions, Acts Obnoxious To So Great A Proportion Of Citizens, Tend To Enervate The Laws In General, And To Slacken The Bands Of Society. If It Be Difficult To Execute Any Law Which Is Not Generally Deemed Necessary Or Salutary, What Must Be The Case, Where It Is Deemed Invalid And Dangerous? And What May Be The Effect Of So Striking An Example Of Impotency In The Government, On Its General Authority?
Government
Law
May
The Constitution Expressly And Exclusively Vests In The Legislature The Power Of Declaring A State Of War [and] The Power Of Raising Armies.... A Delegation Of Such Powers [to The President] Would Have Struck, Not Only At The Fabric Of Our Constitution, But At The Foundation Of All Well Organized And Well Checked Governments. The Separation Of The Power Of Declaring War From That Of Conducting It, Is Wisely Contrived To Exclude The Danger Of Its Being Declared For The Sake Of Its Being Conducted.
War
Army
Government
In The Extent And Proper Structure Of The Union, Therefore, We Behold A Republican Remedy For The Disease Incident To Republican Government.
Government
Unions
Disease
Some Degree Of Abuse Is Inseparable From The Proper Use Of Everything.
Abuse
Degrees
Use
No Man Can Be A Competent Legislator Who Does Not Add To An Upright Intention And A Sound Judgment A Certain Degree Of Knowledge Of The Subject On Which He Is To Legislate.
Men
Sound
Degrees
The People Are The Only Legitimate Fountain Of Power, And It Is From Them That The Constitutional Charter, Under Which The Several Branches Of Government Hold Their Power, Is Derived.
Government
People
Liberty
And May I Not Be Allowed To ... Read In The Character Of The American People, In Their Devotion To True Liberty And To The Constitution Which Is Its Palladium [protection], ... A Government Which Watches Over ... The Equal Interdict [prohibition] Against Encroachments And Compacts Between Religion And The State.
Character
Government
People
The Belief In A God All Powerful Wise And Good, Is So Essential To The Moral Order Of The World And To The Happiness Of Man, That Arguments Which Enforce It Cannot Be Drawn From Too Many Sources Nor Adapted With Too Much Solicitude To The Different Characters And Capacities Impressed With It.
God
Wise
Powerful
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