James Madison

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.

If men were angels, no government would be necessary.

The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.

The circulation of confidence is better than the circulation of money.

The Constitution preserves the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation where the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.

What is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?

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

The happy Union of these States is a wonder; their Constitution a miracle; their example the hope of Liberty throughout the world.

In Republics, the great danger is, that the majority may not sufficiently respect the rights of the minority.

A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce, or a tragedy, or perhaps both.

America was indebted to immigration for her settlement and prosperity. That part of America which had encouraged them most had advanced most rapidly in population, agriculture and the arts.