James Madison, John C. Calhoun, Henry David Thoreau

[♦ nivek ♦]

"Democracies have ever been

spectacles of turbulence and contention;

have ever been found incompatible

with personal security or the rights of property;

and have in general been as short in their lives

as they have been violent in their death."

-- James Madison

(1751-1836), Father of the Constitution for the USA, 4th US President

http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/J...ison.Quote.F335

 

 

"The government of the absolute majority is but the government of the strongest interests; and when not effectively checked, is the most tyrannical and oppressive that can be devised... [To read the Constitution is to realize that] no free system was ever farther removed from the principle that the absolute majority, without check or limitation, ought to govern."

-- John C. Calhoun

(1782-1850) American statesman, US Senator from South Carolina

Source: Speech given in the US Senate against the Force Bill, February 16, 1833

http://www.apstudent.com/ushistory/docs1801/calhoun2.htm

http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/J...houn.Quote.7226

 

 

"There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly."

-- Henry David Thoreau

(1817-1862)

Source: On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, 1849 (original title: Resistance to Civil Goverment)

http://www.jj-johnson.com/resistan.htm

http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/H...reau.Quote.20F8

[Kyle]

I wish I could find the article I once read about democracies. Long story short, if you go back through history, the average lifespan of democracies is around 200 years. Once the masses realize they can elect the person who will give them the most free stuff, the system starts to deteriorate.

 

I wish I could find that article