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Unless your government is respectable, foreigners will invade your rights; and to maintain tranquillity, it must be respectable – even to observe neutrality, you must have a strong government.

Alexander Hamilton

Of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics the greatest number have begun their career, by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing Demagogues, and ending Tyrants.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Beginning Career End Greatness Liberty Man People
You should not have taken advantage of my sensibility to steal into my affections without my consent.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Affection Care Yourself
An avaricious man might be tempted to betray the interests of the state for the acquisition of wealth.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Loyalty Man Rich
If we must have an enemy at the head of government, let it be one whom we can oppose, and for whom we are not responsible.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Enemy Government Responsible
Happy will it be if our choice should be directed by a judicious estimate of our true interests, unperplexed and unbiased by considerations not connected with the public good.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Choice Connection Goodness Happiness Public
The very aim and intention of the democratical part, or the house of commons, is to secure the rights of the people. It’s very being depends upon those rights. Its whole power is derived from them, and must be terminated by them.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Democracy People Power Right Secure
In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Control Difficult Government Man
Happy will it be if our choice should be directed by a judicious estimate of our true interests, unperplexed and unbiased by considerations not connected with the public good. But this is a thing more ardently to be wished than seriously to be expected.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Choice Connection Direction Goodness Happiness Serious True
Give all the power to the many, they will oppress the few. Give all the power to the few, they will oppress the many.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Oppression Power
To all general purposes we have uniformly been one people each individual citizen everywhere enjoying the same national rights, privileges, and protection.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Enjoyment People Protection Purpose
Men often oppose a thing merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because it may have been planned by those whom they dislike.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Hate Man Planning
Constitutions should consist only of general provisions; the reason is that they must necessarily be permanent, and that they cannot calculate for the possible change of things.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Change Necessary Possible Reason
When the sword is once drawn, the passions of men observe no bounds of moderation.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Limitation Man Passion Weapon
Hard words are very rarely useful. Real firmness is good for every thing. Strut is good for nothing.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Goodness Word
A tolerable expertness in military movements is a business that requires time and practice. It is not a day, or even a week, that will suffice for the attainment of it.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Business Practice Time Tolerance
I have thought it my duty to exhibit things as they are, not as they ought to be.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Myself Responsibility
If men were angels, no government would be necessary.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Angel Government Man Necessary
I never expect a perfect work from an imperfect man.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Expectation Imperfection Man Myself Perfection
Happy it is when the interest which the government has in the preservation of its own power, coincides with a proper distribution of the public burthens, and tends to guard the least wealthy part of the community from oppression!
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Community Government Happiness Oppression Power
I have thought it my duty to exhibit things as they are, not as they ought to be.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Myself Responsibility
All communities divide themselves into the few and the many. The first are the rich and well-born, the other the mass of the people.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Born Community People Rich
Hard words are very rarely useful. Real firmness is good for every thing. Strut is good for nothing.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Goodness Reality Word
A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Blessing Money Nation
Men are reasoning rather than reasonable animals.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Animal Man Reason
The voice of the people has been said to be the voice of God; and, however generally this maxim has been quoted and believed, it is not true to fact. The people are turbulent and changing, they seldom judge or determine right.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Believe Change Determination God Judgement People Right True Voice
A dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people, than under the forbidding appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of Government.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Ambition Appearance Danger Government People Right
Here, sir, the people govern; here they act by their immediate representatives.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Act Government People

Unless your government is respectable, foreigners will invade your rights; and to maintain tranquillity, it must be respectable – even to observe neutrality, you must have a strong government.

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Unless your government is respectable, foreigners will invade your rights; and to maintain tranquillity, it must be respectable – even to observe neutrality, you must have a strong government.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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