Samuel Langdon Quotes
Former good legislators have erred, and those of the best polity may err again, and enact laws which ought to be disobeyed and resisted.
Samuel Langdon, 1723-1797, President, Harvard University, Election sermon, Massachusetts Bay Colony Congress, Watertown, MA, May 31, 1775
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
The two law enforcement officers had testified that they arrested demonstrators who had “come to break the law” and had not at that point broken any laws.
The Egyptian Army, responding to huge demonstrations, ordered the Muslim Brotherhood President to step down in what appeared to be a coup d’etat. There was an American law that required a cut off of foreign aid to any government that had come to power. The American Administration and most of Congress did not want to terminate foreign aid to Egypt, and announced that it could not come to a conclusion as to whether or not there was a coup. They did not say that there was no coups—they just decided not to decide. Since there was no finding of a coups, there was no cutoff. Senator Paul and a few other Senators, observing that there had been a coup, wanted the administration to cut off the foreign aid even though it would be detrimental to our foreign policy. The government must obey the law they argued, regardless of the consequences.
Samuel Langdon was an American Congregational clergyman and educator. After serving as pastor in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, he was appointed president of Harvard University in 1774. He held that post until 1780.
