An Elective Despotism

  • “An elective despotism was not the government we fought for, but one which should not only be founded on true free principles, but in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among general bodies of magistracy, as that no one could transcend their legal limits without being effectually checked and restrained by the others” ~Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia Q. XIII, 1782. The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, (Memorial Edition) Lipscomb and Bergh, editors ME 2:163
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Published in: on October 3, 2011 at 6:08 am  Comments (2)  

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2 CommentsLeave a comment

  1. On April 8, 2012 at 10:21 pm twitchypoo said:

    That same quote appears on the Federalist Papers #48, with minor differences. Did Madison plagiarize Jefferson?

    Reply
  2. On April 8, 2012 at 10:28 pm twitchypoo said:

    That same quote appears on the Federalist Papers #48, with minor differences. Did Madison plagiarize Jefferson, or the other way around?

    Reply

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