The Deterioration of Government

The deterioration of every government begins with
the decay of the principles on which it was founded
~Charles-Louis de Secondat

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• “When People are universally ignorant, and debauchd in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the Aid of foreign Invaders.” ~Samuel Adams (1775)
  

• “We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.” ~Thomas Jefferson (1816)
  

• “We are either a United people, or we are not. If the former, let us, in all matters of general concern act as a nation, which have national objects to promote, and a national character to support. If we are not, let us no longer act a farce by pretending to it.” ~George Washington (1785)
  

• “If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy.” ~Thomas Jefferson (1802)
  

• “In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate — look to his character.” ~Noah Webster (1789)
  

• “The role of a judge is a limited one. It is to … interpret the Constitution, where called upon, but AT NO POINT to impose his or her will or … opinion in that process.” ~Justice Clarence Thomas, October 15, 1991
  

• “The aim of every political constitution is, or ought to be, first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of the society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold their public trust.” ~James Madison (1788)
  

• “We have seen the mere distinction of color made in the most enlightened period of time, a ground of the most oppressive dominion ever exercised by man over man.” ~James Madison (1787)
  

• “For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it might cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.” ~Patrick Henry (1775)
  

• “The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the nature of man.” ~James Madison, Federalist No. 10 (1787)