The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.
The problem to be solved is, not what form of government is perfect, but which of the forms is least imperfect.
A universal peace, it is to be feared, is in the catalogue of events, which will never exist but in the imaginations of visionary philosophers, or in the breasts of benevolent enthusiasts.
How could a readiness for war in time of peace be safely prohibited, unless we could prohibit, in like manner, the preparations and establishments of every hostile nation?
The means of defence against foreign danger have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended. Throughout all Europe, the armies kept up under the pretext of defending, have enslaved the people.
Liberty is to faction what air is to fire...
The advice nearest to my heart and deepest in my convictions is that the Union of the States be cherished and perpetuated.
Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been and ever will be pursued until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit.
I regret, as much as any member, the unavoidable weight and duration of the burdens to be imposed; having never been a proselyte to the doctrine, that public debts are public benefits. I consider them, on the contrary, as evils which ought to be removed as fast as honor and justice will permit.
Wherever the real power in a Government lies, there is the danger of oppression.
To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea.
Let me recommend the best medicine in the world: a long journey, at a mild season, through a pleasant country, in easy stages.
It is a misfortune incident to republican government, though in a less degree than to other governments, that those who administer it, may forget their obligations to their constituents, and prove unfaithful to their important trust.
Public opinion sets bounds to every government, and is the real sovereign in every free one.
Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of power.
Where an excess of power prevails, property of no sort is duly respected. No man is safe in his opinions, his person, his faculties, or his possessions.
The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe with blood for centuries.
Do not separate text from historical background. If you do, you will have perverted and subverted the Constitution, which can only end in a distorted, bastardized form of illegitimate government.
The happy Union of these States is a wonder; their Constitution a miracle; their example the hope of Liberty throughout the world.
The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.