James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr.was a political theorist, American statesman, and the fourth President of the United States. He is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionUS President
Date of Birth16 March 1751
CityPort Conway, VA
CountryUnited States of America
James Madison quotes about
enemies liberty public war
Of all the enemies of public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded.
endangered liberty
Liberty may be endangered by the abuses of liberty as well as by the abuses of power.
acquiring government information means perhaps prologue
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.
advantage almost armed constitution people possess trust
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.
certain men ought power
All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain degree.
against charged home provisions
The loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger, real or imagined, from abroad.
war upheaval violence
Freedom has more often been lost in small steps by progressive incrementalism, than it has been by catastrophic upheavals such as violence or war.
government atheism liberty
Religion flourishes in greater purity, without than with the aid of Government.
government charity constitution-of-the-united-states
Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government.
inspirational fear freedom
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.
government liberty politics
I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.
strength peace army
Oppressors can tyrannize only when they achieve a standing army, an enslaved press, and a disarmed populace.
patriotic men law
It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.
patriotic government historical
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.