Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by James Madison

Quote by James Madison

“We may be assured by past experience, that such a practice [as some states charging high taxes on goods from other states] would be introduced by future contrivances; and both by that and a common knowledge of human affairs, that it would nourish unceasing animosities, and not improbably terminate in serious interruptions of the public tranquility.”

Quote by James Madison

Create image

Author

James Madison
James Madison

James Madison, the 4th President of the United States, was born on March 16, 1751, and died on June 28, 1836. He was a key figure in drafting the U.S. Constitution and had a profound impact on the political system of the United States. more

You May Also Like

“At first view it might seem not to square with the republican theory, to suppose either that a majority have not the right, or that a minority will have the force to subvert a government . . . . But theoretic reasoning in this, as in most other cases, must be qualified by the lessons of practice.”

FirstsSeemsGovernmentMightForceViewsPracticeCasesTheoryRepublicanLessonsMajorityReasoningMinoritiesSquaresQualified
Book:The Federalist Papers: A Collection of Essays Written in Favour of the New Constitution
Create image

“Frequent elections are unquestionably the only policy by which this dependence and sympathy can be effectually secured. But what particular degree of frequency may be absolutely necessary for the purpose, does not appear to be susceptible of any precise calculation; and must depend on a variety of circumstances with which it may be connected. Let us consult experience, the guide that ought always to be followed, whenever it can be found.”

MayDoeGovernmentPurposeFoundPolicyParticularDependsOughtCircumstancesDegreesElectionConnectedGuidesVarietyDependencePreciseFrequencyCalculationsSusceptibleSecured
Book:The Federalist Papers: A Collection of Essays Written in Favour of the New Constitution
Create image

“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.”

DifferentGovernmentAbleThreeSkillsPrivilegeCertaintySufficientBranchesExecutivesProvincesJudiciaryLegislative Branch
Book:The Federalist, on the New Constitution, Written in the Year 1788
Create image

“It will be forgotten, on the one hand, that jealousy is the usual concomitant of violent love, and that the noble enthusiasm of liberty is too apt to be infected with a spirit of narrow and illiberal distrust. On the other hand, it will be equally forgotten, that the vigour of government is essential to the security of liberty.”

HandsGovernmentSpiritLibertySecurityEssentialsForgottenNobleViolentEnthusiasmUsualDistrust
Book:The Federalist: A Commentary on the Constitution of the United States. A Collection of Essays
Create image

“If we are in earnest about giving the Union energy and duration we must abandon the vain project of legislating upon the States in their collective capacities.”

IfsGivingStatesGovernmentEnergyProjectsCapacityUnionsVainCollectivesAbandonEarnestDuration
Book:The Federalist, on the new constitution, written in 1788, with an appendix, containing the letters of Pacificus and Helvidius on the proclamation of neutrality of 1793, also the original articles of confederation and the constitution of the United States
Create image