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"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
"[A legislature]…should be an exact portrait, in miniature, of the
people at large, as it should feel, reason and act like them"
"The theory of our political system is that the ultimate
sovereignty is in the people, from whom springs all legitimate authority."
"…In the councils of
government, we must guard against the
acquisition of unwarranted influence,
whether sought or unsought, by the
military-industrial complex. The
potential for the disastrous rise of
misplaced power exists and will persist
…We must never let the
weight of this combination endanger our
liberties or democratic processes. We
should take nothing for granted …"
"Reward your friends and punish your enemies"
"I know of no safe repository of the ultimate
power of society but the people…"
"Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the
people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories."
“Unless the mass retains sufficient control over those entrusted
with the powers of their government, these will be perverted to their own
oppression, and to the perpetuation of wealth and power in the individuals and
their families selected for the trust.”
Discussion of "the
additional security which its [the
Constitution's] adoption will afford to republican government, to liberty, and
to property."
“…the persons delegated to the administration of the national
government will always be disinclined to yield up any portion of the authority
of which they were once possessed.…By the
fifth article of the plan, the Congres
will be obliged "on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the
States [which at present amount to nine], to call a convention for proposing
amendments, which shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as part of the
Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the States,
or by conventions in three fourths thereof."
The words of this article are
peremptory. The Congress "shall call a convention." Nothing in this particular
is left to the discretion of that body. And of consequence, all the declamation
about the disinclination to a change vanishes in air.…We may
safely rely on the
disposition of the State legislatures to erect barriers against the
encroachments of the national authority.‟
Federalist #85 was the final Federalist paper. The constitution was adopted 32 days later.
“The People were, in fact, the fountain of all power, and by
resorting to them, all difficulties were got over. They could alter
constitutions as they pleased.”
"The proposed Constitution is, in strictness,
neither a national
nor a federal constitution; but a composition of both."
"I believe there are more instances of the
abridgement of freedom
of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by
violent and sudden usurpations."
" … a pure democracy, by which I mean a society consisting
of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in
person…The two great points of
difference between a democracy and a republic
are: first, the delegation of the government, in the latter, to a small number
of citizens elected by the rest; secondly, the greater number of citizens, and
greater sphere of country, over which the latter may be extended."
"As the people are the only legitimate
fountain of power, and it is from them that the constitutional charter, under
which the several branches of government hold their power, is derived, it seems
strictly consonant to the republican theory to recur to the same original
authority … whenever it may be necessary to enlarge, diminish, or new-model the
powers of government."
“…the initiative has had significant impact on state and
local governments. States with the initiative spent less and taxed less than
states without the initiative, they decentralized spending from state to local
government, and they raised more money from user fees and less from taxes…a
majority of people supported each of these policy changes …” “…about 70 percent
of [Americans] live in a city or state where …the initiative process is
available.”
When
Hitler came for the Jews... I was not a Jew, therefore, I was not concerned. And
when Hitler attacked the Catholics, I was not a Catholic, and therefore, I was
not concerned. And when Hitler attacked the unions and the industrialists, I was
not a member of the unions and I was not concerned. Then, Hitler attacked me and
the Protestant church — and there was nobody left to be concerned. — Pastor
Martin Niemöller, Congressional Record, October 14, 1968, vol. 114, p. 31636.
"In a
time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
"I believe in the Initiative and Referendum,
which should be used not to destroy representative government, but to correct it
whenever it becomes misrepresentative."
"There are those
occasions under our form of government when the interests of the represented
and the interests of the representatives are at odds. The initiative is the
means by which the represented assure that their interests ultimately
prevail.”
"People can decide with as much propriety on the alterations and
amendment [to the Constitution] which shall be found necessary, as ourselves, or
I do not conceive that we are more inspired, have more wisdom or possess more
virtue than those who will come after us.”
"The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to
make and to alter their constitutions of government.”
"The Legislature ought to be the most exact
transcript of
the whole Society. Representation is made necessary only because it is
impossible for the people to act collectively."
“All power is originally in the People and should be exercised by
them in person, if that could be done with convenience, or even with little
difficulty.”
"But in large states, the people cannot assemble together. As
they cannot, therefore, act by themselves, they must act by their
representatives."
References:
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“Charter of Democracy” speech to the 1912
Ohio constitutional convention.
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In a letter to James Madison, December 20,
1787. Reprinted in Richard Hofstadter, ed., Great Issues in American History
(New York: Vintage Books, 1958), p.115.
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From ‘Letter to John Penn’, Works of John Adams Vol. 4, Little, Brown, 1951,
p. 205
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Matsusaka, John G., For the Many or the
Few. University of Chicago Press, 2004, p. 3, p. ix
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In a letter to Bishop Creighton referring to Papal
power.
-
Letters of Thomas Jefferson Concerning Philology and the Classics By
Thomas Jefferson, Thomas FitzHugh, p. 59 (available from
under the
Google Book Search program).
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