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.

Quote by James Madison

Topics: James Madison Quotes

If we are to take for the criterion of truth the majority of suffrages, they...

If we are to take for the criterion of truth the majority of suffrages, they...

If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of...

If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of...

Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of...

Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of...

As a man is said to have a right to his property, he may be...

As a man is said to have a right to his property, he may be...

Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise, every...

Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise, every...

The capacity of the female mind for studies of the highest order cannot be doubted,...

The capacity of the female mind for studies of the highest order cannot be doubted,...

The number, the industry, and the morality of the priesthood, and the devotion of the...

The number, the industry, and the morality of the priesthood, and the devotion of the...

A pure democracy is a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble...

A pure democracy is a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble...

In all great changes of established governments, forms ought to give way to substance

In all great changes of established governments, forms ought to give way to substance

Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly...

Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly...

The loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger,...

The loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger,...

To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue...

To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue...

The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human...

The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human...

What spectacle can be more edifying or more seasonable, than that of Liberty and Learning,...

What spectacle can be more edifying or more seasonable, than that of Liberty and Learning,...

The rights of man as the foundation of just Government had been long understood; but...

The rights of man as the foundation of just Government had been long understood; but...

War contains so much folly, as well as wickedness, that much is to be hoped...

War contains so much folly, as well as wickedness, that much is to be hoped...

I go on the principle that a public debt is a public curse, and in...

I go on the principle that a public debt is a public curse, and in...

There is no maxim, in my opinion, which is more liable to be misapplied, and...

There is no maxim, in my opinion, which is more liable to be misapplied, and...

Politics as battle has given way to politics as spectacle.

Politics as battle has given way to politics as spectacle.

Never underestimate the power of the State to act out its own massive fantasies.

Never underestimate the power of the State to act out its own massive fantasies.