All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels and modified by mutual interests. George Washington
About This Quote

James Madison wrote in Federalist Paper No. 10 that the most dreaded enemy of republican government is the character of the people. When he said “character”, he didn’t mean personality, but habits and manners. In particular, he is worried about how people will behave when they have the power to make decisions for themselves.

People change their behavior when they have power. If people have a lot of power, they might be tempted to use it to get ahead by bending the law. He is worried about a government that is controlled by a small group of people who can work together to use their power to control the country for their own benefit.

Some Similar Quotes
  1. But what was there to say? Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there was a snuffling in the hollows at the base of a lovely throat. Only that a hard honey-colored shoulder had a... - Arundhati Roy
  2. Atheism leaves a man to sense, to philosophy, to natural piety, to laws, to reputation; all which may be guides to an outward moral virtue, though religion were not; but superstition dismounts all these, and erecteth an absolute monarchy in the minds of men. Therefore... - Francis Bacon
  3. Errors do not cease to be errors simply because they’re ratified into law. - E.a. Bucchianeri
  4. Today I wore a pair of faded old jeans and a plain grey baggy shirt. I hadn't even taken a shower, and I did not put on an ounce of makeup. I grabbed a worn out black oversized jacket to cover myself with even though... - Sierra D. Waters
  5. Laws of nature have no physical properties of mass /energy. They are platonic truths in transcendent realm that create & govern the Universe. - Deepak Chopra
More Quotes By George Washington
  1. It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.
  2. Experience teaches us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession.
  3. Human happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.
  4. To enlarge the sphere of social happiness is worthy of the benevolent design of a Masonic institution; and it is most fervently to be wished, that the conduct of every member of the fraternity, as well as those publications, that discover the principles which actuate...
  5. [death]...the abyss from where no traveler is permitted to return
Related Topics