… I entirely concur in the propriety of resorting to the sense in which the Constitution was accepted and ratified by the nation. In that sense alone it is the legitimate Constitution. And if that be not the guide in expounding it, there can be no security for a consistent and stable, more than for a faithful exercise of its powers. If the meaning of the text be sought in the changeable meaning of the words composing it, it is evident that the shape and attributes of the Government must partake of the changes to which the words and phrases of all living languages are constantly subject. What a metamorphosis would be produced in the code of law if all its ancient phraseology were to be taken in its modern sense!


Letter to Henry Lee (25 June 1824) - Letter to Robert J. Evans (1819)

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James Madison Quotes

… I entirely concur in the propriety of resorting to the sense in which the Constitution was accepted and ratified by the nation. In that sense...

… I entirely concur in the propriety of resorting to the sense in which the Constitution was accepted and ratified by the nation. In that sense...