James Madison Quotes

You can have a strong government and a weak people, or strong people and weak government, but you cannot have both.

What we have to do is strike a balance between the idea that government shall do everything and the idea that government shall do nothing.

We need to give them [the Justice Department] as much power as we can without eroding fundamental liberties.

When those who are governed do too little, those who govern can - and often will - do too much.

Government is a necessary evil

As freedom is the only safeguard of governments, so are order and moderation generally necessary to preserve freedom.

The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of Government. But what is Government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?

I'll remind you all, however, that for government, existence is a privilege, not a right.

There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.

The danger of unbounded liberty [of printing], and the danger of bounding it, have produced a problem in the science of Government, which human understanding seems hitherto unable to solve.

Every amendment which I am convinced will have the tendency to lesson the danger of civil liberty by the central government will receive my sincere approbation.

Can government really be active and, at the same time, limited? History suggests otherwise.

In the policy of nations there are two extremes: one extreme, in which justice and moderation may sink in feebleness; another, in which the lofty spirit which ought to animate all nations, particularly free ones, may mount up to military violence. These extremes ought to be equally avoided; but of the two, I consider the first far more dangerous.

All government is an evil, but, of the two form's of that evil, democracy or monarchy, the sounder is monarchy; the more able to do its will, democracy.

All forms of government are pernicious, including good government.

To say that a bad government must be established for fear of anarchy is really saying that we should kill ourselves for fear of dying.

Good constitutions are formed upon a comparison of the liberty of the individual with the strength of government: If the tone of either be too high, the other will be weakened too much. It is the happiest possible mode of conciliating these objects, to institute one branch peculiarly endowed with sensibility, another with knowledge and firmness. Through the opposition and mutual control of these bodies, the government will reach, in its regular operations, the perfect balance between liberty and power.

The true policy of government is to make use of aristocracy, but under the forms and in the spirit of democracy.

Who so taketh in hand to frame any state or government ought to presuppose that all men are evil, and at occasions will show themselves so to be.

The King himself should be under no man, but under God and the Law.

Give all the power to the many, they will oppress the few. Give all the power to the few, they will oppress the many.

Libertarian presidential candidate André Marrou's idea is that "government power is opposed to individual liberty." Must we still debate such sophomoric notions?... Besides, liberty, although very important, is not the only value.

It is with government as with medicine, its only business is the choice of evils. Every law is an evil, for every law is an infraction of liberty.

Freedom is not possible without authority - otherwise it would turn into chaos and authority is not possible without freedom - otherwise it would turn into tyranny.

Nature rejects the monarch, not the man; the subject, not the citizen... The man of virtuous soul commands not, nor obeys.