“For "as great a blessing as government is," the Rev. Peter Whitney explained, "like other blessings, it may become a scourge, a curse, and severe punishment to a people." What made it so, what turned power into a malignent force, was not its own nature so much as the nature of man—his susceptibility to corruption and his lust for self-aggrandizement.” GovernmentPowerHuman Nature Book:The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution Source: The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution
“In effect the people were present through their representatives, and were themselves, step by step and point by point, acting in the conduct of public affairs. No longer merely an ultimate check on government, they were in some sense the government.” PeopleGovernmentActingStepsEffectsUltimateAffairChecksRepresentativesPublic Affairs Book:The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution Source: The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution
“Up and down the the still sparsely settled coast of British North America, groups of men-intellectuals and farmers, scholars and merchants, the learned and the ignorant-gathered for the purpose of constructing enlightened governments.” MenStillsGovernmentAmericaPurposeGroupsBritishIgnorantEnlightenedFarmersScholarCoastUp And DownMerchantsNorth America Book:The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution Source: The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution
