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Quote by John Adams

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The Political Writings of John Adams

This compilation includes a variety of Adams' writings, such as his correspondence with fellow Founding Fathers and his reflections on the formation of the United States government, providing a comprehensive look at his political thought and the historical context of his time. more

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John Adams
John Adams

John Adams, the second President of the United States, was a statesman, diplomat, and writer. Born on October 30, 1735, and died on July 4, 1826, Adams played a significant role in the American Revolutionary War. He was one of the drafters of the Declaration of Independence and served as the President from 1789 to 1797. more

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“Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist. But if unlimited or unbalanced power of disposing property, be put into the hands of those who have no property, France will find, as we have found, the lamb committed to the custody of the world. In such a case, all the pathetic exhortations and addresses of the national assembly to the people, to respect property, will be regarded no more than the warbles of the songsters of the forest.”

PeopleIfsWorldHandsFoundPoliticsLibertyCasesEconomyPropertyCommittedForestsFranceLiberalismAddressesUnlimitedPatheticAssemblyLambsSecuredCustodyUnbalanced
Author:John Adams
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“We may... affirm that the balance of power in a society accompanies the balance of property in land. The only possible way, then, of preserving the balance of power on the side of liberty and public virtue is to make the acquisition of land easy to every member of society; to make a division of the land into small quantities, so that the multitude may be possessed of landed estates.”

WayMayPoliticsEasySidesLibertyEconomyVirtueLandBalanceMembersPropertyLiberalismDivisionQuantityPossessedMultitudesEstatesAcquisitionAccompanyBalance Of Power
Book:John Adams Speaking: Pound's Sources for the Adams Cantos
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“If the multitude is possessed of the balance of real estate, the multitude will have the balance of power, and in that case the multitude will take care of the liberty, virtue, and interest of the multitude in all acts of government.”

IfsRealGovernmentCarePoliticsInterestLibertyCasesEconomyVirtueBalanceTake CareLiberalismPossessedMultitudesEstatesBalance Of Power
Book:The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States: With a Life of the Author, Notes and Illustrations
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“Whensoever, therefore, the legislative shall transgress this fundamental rule of society, and either by ambition, fear, folly, or corruption, endeavour to grasp themselves, or put into the hands of any other, an absolute power over the lives, liberties, and estates of the people, by this breach of trust they forfeit the power the people had put into the hands... and it devolves to the people, who have a right to resume their original liberty, and... provide for their own safety and security.”

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Book:Two Treatises of Government: With a Supplement, Patriarcha, by Robert Filmer
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