“The circulation of confidence is better than the circulation of money.”
And
“The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.”
And
“Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of power.”
And
“If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.”
And
“The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.”
And
“Philosophy is common sense with big words.”
And
“America was indebted to immigration for her settlement and prosperity. That part of America which had encouraged them most had advanced most rapidly in population, agriculture and the arts.”
And
“A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained in arms, is the best most natural defense of a free country.”
And
“A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce, or a tragedy, or perhaps both.”
And
“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”
And
“The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe with blood for centuries.”
And
“If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”
And
“What is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”
And
“The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted.”
And
“In Republics, the great danger is, that the majority may not sufficiently respect the rights of the minority.”
And
“Let me recommend the best medicine in the world: a long journey, at a mild season, through a pleasant country, in easy stages.”
And
“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.”
And
“The happy Union of these States is a wonder; their Constitution a miracle; their example the hope of Liberty throughout the world.”
And
“No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.”
And
“Wherever there is interest and power to do wrong, wrong will generally be done.”
And
“War should only be declared by the authority of the people, whose toils and treasures are to support its burdens, instead of the government which is to reap its fruits.”
And
“To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea.”
And
“What spectacle can be more edifying or more seasonable, than that of Liberty and Learning, each leaning on the other for their mutual and surest support?”
And
“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.”
And
“Perhaps it is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to provisions against danger, real or pretended, from abroad.”
And
“The personal right to acquire property, which is a natural right, gives to property, when acquired, a right to protection, as a social right.”
And
“The man who is possessed of wealth, who lolls on his sofa or rolls in his carriage, cannot judge the wants or feelings of the day-laborer. The government we mean to erect is intended to last for ages. The landed interest, at present, is prevalent; but in process of time, when we approximate to the states and kingdoms of Europe, — when the number of landholders shall be comparatively small, through the various means of trade and manufactures, will not the landed interest be overbalanced in future elections, and unless wisely provided against, what will become of your government? In England, at this day, if elections were open to all classes of people, the property of landed proprietors would be insecure. An agrarian law would soon take place. If these observations be just, our government ought to secure the permanent interests of the country against innovation. Landholders ought to have a share in the government, to support these invaluable interests, and to balance and check the other. They ought to be so constituted as to protect the minority of the opulent against the majority. The senate, therefore, ought to be this body; and to answer these purposes, they ought to have permanency and stability.”
And
“In time of actual war, great discretionary powers are constantly given to the Executive Magistrate. Constant apprehension of War, has the same tendency to render the head too large for the body. A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty. The means of defence against foreign danger have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended. Throughout all Europe, the armies kept up under the pretext of defending, have enslaved the people.”
And
“Wherever the real power in a Government lies, there is the danger of oppression. In our Governments, the real power lies in the majority of the Community, and the invasion of private rights is chiefly to be apprehended, not from the 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.”
Wikipedia Page: James Madison
