The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.


Speech on the Virginia Constitutional Convention, 2 December 1829, The Writings of James Madison: 1819-1836 (1910), ed. Galliard Hunt, p. 361. - Letter to Robert J. Evans (1819)

James Madison Quotes

The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.

The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.

The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.

The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.