Thomas Paine
“Let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far as we approve of monarchy, that in America the law is King. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to be no other.” – Thomas Paine
Filed under Abuse & Misuse of Power, American Exceptionalism, Checks & Balances in Government, Constitution, Democracy, Democratic Republic, Enumerated Powers & Delegated Authority, Federalism, Founding Fathers, Freedom/Liberty, Government Accountability, Individual Responsibility, Limited Government, Representative Government, Republican Government, Rule of Law, Thomas Paine, Tyranny, Will & Consent of the People
Ronald Reagan
We the People…
“We are a nation that has a government—not the other way around… Our government has no power except that granted it by the people…
“Why is the Constitution of the United States so exceptional?
“Well, the difference is so small that it almost escapes you, but it’s so great it tells you the whole story in just three words: We the people. In those other constitutions, the Government tells the people of those countries what they’re allowed to do. In our Constitution, we the people tell the Government what it can do, and it can do only those things listed in that document and no others. Virtually every other revolution in history has just exchanged one set of rulers for another set of rulers. Our revolution is the first to say the people are the masters and government is their servant.” – Ronald Reagan
Filed under American Exceptionalism, Checks & Balances in Government, Conservative Principles, Constitution, Free Elections, Freedom/Liberty, Government Accountability, Individual Responsibility, Limited Government, Representative Government, Republican Government, Ronald Reagan, Rule of Law, Will & Consent of the People
Alexander Hamilton
“The natural cure for an ill-administration, in a popular or representative constitution, is a change of men.” — Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 21, 1787
Thomas Jefferson
“We must make our election between economy and Liberty, or profusion and servitude.” — Thomas Jefferson (1816)
Thomas Jefferson
“Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories.” — Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XIV, 1781
Filed under Abuse & Misuse of Power, Balance of Power, Checks & Balances in Government, Democratic Republic, Enumerated Powers & Delegated Authority, Federalism, Founding Fathers, Government Accountability, Human Nature/Nature of Mankind, Individual Responsibility, Limited Government, Representative Government, Thomas Jefferson, Tyranny, Will & Consent of the People
John Adams
“Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people; and not for profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men; therefore, 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.” — John Adams, Thoughts on Government, 1776
Thomas Paine
“Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle, is a species of vice.” — Thomas Paine, Letter Addressed to the Addressers on the Late Proclamation, 1792
Filed under Character, Courage, Founding Fathers, Individual Responsibility, Thomas Paine, Virtue
George Washington
“The power under the Constitution will always be in the people. It is entrusted for certain defined purposes, and for a certain limited period, to representatives of their own choosing; and whenever it is executed contrary to their interest, or not agreeable to their wishes, their servants can, and undoubtedly will, be recalled.” ― George Washington Quote, Letter to Bushrod Washington, Fitzpatrick 29:311; 1787
Filed under Abuse & Misuse of Power, Balance of Power, Checks & Balances in Government, Constitution, Democracy, Democratic Republic, Enumerated Powers & Delegated Authority, Founding Fathers, George Washington, Government Accountability, Individual Responsibility, Limited Government, People, Republican Government, Rule of Law, Will & Consent of the People
Margaret Thatcher
“We want a society where people are free to make choices, to make mistakes, to be generous and compassionate. This is what we mean by a moral society; not a society where the state is responsible for everything, and no one is responsible for the state.” — Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013)
George Washington
“We have therefore to resolve to conquer or die: Our won Country’s Honor, all call upon us for vigorous and manly exertion, and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world. Let us therefore rely upon the goodness of the Cause, and the aid of the supreme Being, in whose hands Victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble Actions.” — George Washington, General Orders, 1776
Faith & Freedom Footnotes 