Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by James Madison

Quote by James Madison

Work

The Essential Federalist: A New Reading of the Federalist Papers

This book delves into The Federalist Papers, providing a contemporary analysis of the original texts that shaped the United States Constitution. It examines the arguments and debates surrounding the creation of the federal government, offering readers a deeper understanding of the principles and values upon which the nation was built. more

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

“I will venture to assert that no combination of designing men under heaven will be capable of making a government unpopular which is in its principles a wise and good one, and vigorous in its operations.”

MenGovernmentHeavenPrinciplesWiseDesignCapableCombinationOperationsVentureVigorous
Book:The Works of Alexander Hamilton: Miscellanies, 1774-1789: A full vindication; The farmer refuted; Quebec bill; Resolutions in Congress; Letters from Phocion; New-York Legislature, etc
Create image

“Men, to act with vigour and effect, must have time to mature measures, and judgment and experience, as to the best method of applying them. They must not be hurried on to their conclusions by the passions, or the fears of the multitude. They must deliberate, as well as resolve.”

MenWellsGovernmentPassionEffectsJudgmentMethodConclusionResolveMatureMultitudesDeliberate
Book:Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States: With a Preliminary Review of the Constitutional History of the Colonies and States, Before the Adoption of the Constitution
Create image

“The true principle of government is this - make the system compleat in its structure; give a perfect proportion and balance to its parts; and the powers you give it will never affect your security.”

GivingGovernmentPerfectPrinciplesSecurityBalanceStructureProportion
Book:The Works of Alexander Hamilton: Miscellanies, 1774-1789: A full vindication; The farmer refuted; Quebec bill; Resolutions in Congress; Letters from Phocion; New-York Legislature, etc
Create image

“There is one view of the subject which ought to have its influence on those who espouse doctrines which strike at the authoritative origin and efficacious operation of the Government of the United States. The Government of the U.S. like all Governments free in their principles, rests on compact; a compact, not between the Government & the parties who formed & live under it; but among the parties themselves, and the strongest of Governments are those in which the compacts were most fairly formed and most faithfully executed.”

StatesGovernmentUnitedViewsPartyPrinciplesUnited StatesInfluenceSubjectsOughtStrikesDoctrineOperationsStrongestCompact
Author:James Madison
Create image

“The history of ancient and modern republics had taught them that many of the evils which those republics suffered arose from the want of a certain balance, and that mutual control indispensable to a wise administration. They were convinced that popular assemblies are frequently misguided by ignorance, by sudden impulses, and the intrigues of ambitious men; and that some firm barrier against these operations was necessary. They, therefore, instituted your Senate.”

MenWantGovernmentCertainEvilWiseModernIgnoranceTaughtBalanceAncientConvincedAdministrationImpulseFirmOperationsBarriersMutualRepublicSenateAmbitiousIndispensableIntrigueAssemblyMisguidedAmbitious Man
Author:Alexander Hamilton
Create image

“It may be considered as an objection inherent in the principle, that as every appeal to the people would carry an implication of some defect in the government, frequent appeals would in great measure deprive the government of that veneration which time bestows on every thing, and without which perhaps the wisest and freest governments would not possess the requisite stability . . . a constitutional road to the decision of the people ought to be marked out and kept open, for certain great and extraordinary occasions”

PeopleMayGovernmentCertainDecisionPrinciplesOughtExtraordinaryOccasionsAppealsStabilityInherentDefectsImplicationsWisestObjectionsVeneration
Author:James Madison
Create image

“How much more do they deserve our reverence and praise, whose lives are devoted to the formation of institutions, which, when they and their children are mingled in the common dust, may continue to cherish the principles and the practice of liberty in perpetual freshness and vigour.”

MayChildrenGovernmentCommonLibertyPrinciplesPracticeDeservePraiseInstitutionsDustCherishReverencePerpetualDevotedFormationFreshness
Book:Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States: With a Preliminary Review of the Constitutional History of the Colonies and States, Before the Adoption of the Constitution
Create image