James Madison Quotes

The Constitution was framed fundamentally as a bulwark against governmental power.

Bind down our politicians with the chains of our Constitution.

We can’t trust government to limit its powers to the Constitution.

The Constitution is not about restricting the people; it is about restricting the government.

History does not furnish a single instance of a government once established, voluntarily yielding up its powers to secure the rights and liberties of the people.

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.

The Constitution of the United States is not a suicide pact.

I start with a concern about the growth of federal government. I start with a perspective concerned about the growth of that power, and containing it within the bounds of the Constitution.

The most cogent reason for restricting the interference of government is the great evil of adding unnecessarily to its power.

You can't give the government the power to do good without also giving it the power to do bad - in fact, to do anything it wants.

The Constitution was about a limitation on power.

The Framers (of the Constitution) were not concerned primarily with favoring one type of government over another, but with limiting the power of government, regardless of its source.

We are not at liberty to add one jot of power to the national government beyond what the people have granted by the constitution

The Constitution is simply a sign that says “keep off the grass.”

My fundamental axiom of government is never to trust the lamb to the wolf.

To strengthen a weak government, we must reduce its power.

The Constitution is a list of things the government may not do.

No branch of government should ever be able to combine the power of the sword with the power of the purse.

It must never be forgotten ... that the liberties of the people are not so safe under the gracious manner of government as by the limitation of power.

Aware of the tendency of power to degenerate into abuse, the worthies of our country have secured its independence by the establishment of a Constitution and form of government for our nation, calculated to prevent as well as to correct abuse

Our peculiar security is in the possession of a written constitution

A government that understands the limits of power as well as its potential.

The Constitution is not neutral. It was designed to take the government off the backs of people.

And I think we as a people need to stop being disingenuous about what the Constitution provides for. It does not provide for this all-encompassing power that we've seen exercised over the last several decades. It's what's gotten us into this bankrupt position.

Man is not free unless government is limited.