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Quote by James Madison

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Selected Writings of James Madison

Comprising a range of Madison's works, the book delves into his thoughts on constitutional law, federalism, and the rights of citizens. It includes key documents such as the Federalist Papers, which he co-authored, and offers insights into his role in shaping the American political landscape. more

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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

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“But as the plan of the convention aims only at a partial union or consolidation, the State governments would clearly retain all the rights of sovereignty which they before had, and which were not, by that act, EXCLUSIVELY delegated to the United States.”

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Book:The Federalist, on the New Constitution, Written in the Year 1788
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“It is one thing to be subordinate to the laws, and another [for the Executive] to be dependent on the legislative body. The first comports with, the last violates, the fundamental principles of good government; and, whatever may be the forms of the Constitution, unites all power in the same hands.”

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Book:The Federalist on the New Constitution
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“The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by dividing and distributing it into different depositories, and constituting each the guardian of the public weal against invasions by the others, has been evinced by experiments ancient and modern, some of them in our country and under our own eyes.”

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Book:The Writings of George Washington: Being His Correspondence, Addresses, Messages, and Other Papers, Official and Private
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“The same rule that teaches the propriety of a partition between the various branches of power, teaches us likewise that this partition ought to be so contrived as to render the one independent of the other.”

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Book:The Fœderalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favor of the New Constitution, as Agreed Upon by the Fœderal Convention, September 17, 1787. Reprinted from the Original Text. With an Historical Introduction and Notes
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“No country can be called free which is governed by an absolute power; and it matters not whether it be an absolute royal power or an absolute legislative power, as the consequences will be the same to the people.”

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Book:Citizen Paine: Thomas Paine's Thoughts on Man, Government, Society, and Religion
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“A constitution defines and limits the powers of the government it creates. It therefore follows, as a natural and also a logical result, that the governmental exercise of any power not authorized by the constitution is an assumed power, and therefore illegal.”

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“I have never made it a consideration whether the subject was popular or unpopular, but whether it was right or wrong; for that which is right will become popular, and that which is wrong, though by mistake it may obtain the cry or fashion of the day, will soon lose the power of delusion, and sink into disesteem.”

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Book:Common Sense, The Crisis, & Other Writings from the American Revolution: (Library of America Paperback Classic)
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“To what expedient then shall we finally resort, for maintaining in practice the necessary partition of power among the several departments, as laid down in the constitution? The only answer that can be given is, that as all these exterior provisions are found to be inadequate, the defect must be supplied, by so contriving the interior structure of the government, as that its several constituent parts may, by their mutual relations, be the means of keeping each other in their proper places.”

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Book:The Federalist, on the New Constitution, Written in the Year 1788
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