James Madison Jr. was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, philosopher and Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. He wrote the first drafts of the U.S. Constitution, co-wrote the Federalist Papers and sponsored the Bill of Rights. Inspirational James Madison quotes on immigration, guns, political parties, education, electoral college, and first amendment will broaden your horizon.
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Most Famous James Madison Quotes
The circulation of confidence is better than the circulation of money. James Madison
The means of defence agst. foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. James Madison
A bad cause seldom fails to betray itself. James Madison
The advancement of science and the diffusion of information [is] the best aliment to true liberty. James Madison
Of all the enemies of public liberty, war is perhaps the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. James Madison
There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. James Madison
Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm. James Madison
Philosophy is common sense with big words. James Madison
It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws are so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood. James Madison
Wherever the real power in a Government lies, there is the danger of oppression. In our Governments, the real power lies in the majority of the Community, and the invasion of private rights is chiefly to be apprehended, not from the acts of Government contrary to the sense of its constituents, but from acts in which the Government is the mere instrument of the major number of the constituents. James Madison
Where an excess of power prevails, property of no sort is duly respected. No man is safe in his opinions, his person, his faculties or his possessions. James Madison
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. James Madison
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. James Madison
We have staked the whole future of our new nation, not upon the power of government; far from it. We have staked the future of all our political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments. James Madison
The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, selfappointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny. James Madison
The very definition of tyranny is when all powers are gathered under one place. James Madison
Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both. James Madison
Philosophy is common sense with big words. James Madison
It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood. James Madison
America was indebted to immigration for her settlement and prosperity. That part of America which had encouraged them most had advanced most rapidly in population, agriculture and the arts. James Madison
Americans have the right and advantage of being armed unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms. James Madison
Having outlived so many of my contemporaries, I ought not to forget that I may be thought to have outlived myself. James Madison
I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents. James Madison
Cursed be all that learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ. James Madison
Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government. James Madison
Each generation should be made to bear the burden of its own wars, instead of carrying them on, at the expense of other generations. James Madison
The means of defence against foreign danger have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended. Throughout all Europe, the armies kept up under the pretext of defending, have enslaved the people. James Madison
As a man is said to have a right to his property, he may be equally said to have a property in his rights. James Madison
History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling money and it’s issuance. James Madison
Democracy is the most vile form of government. James Madison
The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation and foreign commerce. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives and liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement and prosperity of the State. James Madison
If men were angels, no government would be necessary. James Madison
Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people. The same malignant aspect in republicanism may be traced in the inequality of fortunes, and the opportunities of fraud, growing out of a state of war, and in the degeneracy of manners and of morals engendered by both. No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare. James Madison
The future and success of America is not in this Constitution, but in the laws of God upon which this Constitution is founded. James Madison
No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare. James Madison
Learned institutions ought to be favorite objects with every free people. They throw that light over the public mind which is the best security against crafty and dangerous encroachments on the public liberty. James Madison
You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself. James Madison
Disarm the people that is the best and most effective way to enslave them. James Madison
Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. James Madison
No error is more certain than the one proceeding from a hasty and superficial view of the subject. James Madison
All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain degree. James Madison
The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable. James Madison
Besides the danger of a direct mixture of religion and civil government, there is an evil which ought to be guarded against in the indefinite accumulation of property from the capacity of holding it in perpetuity by ecclesiastical corporations. The establishment of the chaplainship in Congress is a palpable violation of equal rights as well as of Constitutional principles. The danger of silent accumulations and encroachments by ecclesiastical bodies has not sufficiently engaged attention in the U.S. James Madison
Oppressors can tyrannize only when they achieve a standing army, an enslaved press, and a disarmed populace. James Madison
Learned institutions ought to be favorite objects with every free people. They throw that light over the public mind which is the best security against crafty and dangerous encroachments on the public liberty. James Madison
Temporary deviations from fundamental principles are always more or less dangerous. When the first pretext fails, those who become interested in prolonging the evil will rarely be at a loss for other pretexts. James Madison
It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. James Madison
A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained in arms, is the best most natural defense of a free country. James Madison
The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home. James Madison
No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause, because his interest would certainly bias his judgment. James Madison
As a man is said to have a right to his property, he may be equally said to have a property in his rights. James Madison
I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents. James Madison
The operations of the federal government will be most extensive and important in times of war and danger; those of the State governments, in times of peace and security. James Madison
Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind, and unfits it for every noble enterprise, every expanded prospect. James Madison
If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. James Madison
All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain degree. James Madison
Let me recommend the best medicine in the world a long journey at a mild season through a pleasant country in easy stages. James Madison
Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives. James Madison
A good Government implies two things first, fidelity to the object of Government, which is the happiness of the People; secondly, a knowledge of the means by which that object can be best attained. James Madison
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty. James Madison
Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob. James Madison
I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. James Madison
Every new and successful example, therefore, of a perfect separation between the ecclesiastical and civil matters, is of importance; and I have no doubt that every new example will succeed, as every past one has done, in showing that religion and government will both exist in greater purity the less they are mixed together. James Madison
The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse. James Madison
Of all the enemies to public liberty, war is perhaps the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. James Madison
The circulation of confidence is better than the circulation of money. James Madison
If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. James Madison
As long as the reason of man continues fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed. James Madison
If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. James Madison
The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe with blood for centuries. James Madison
In framing a government, which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty is this You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself. James Madison
The diversity in the faculties of men, from which the rights of property originate, is not less an insuperable obstacle to an uniformity of interests. The protection of these faculties is the first object of government. James Madison
If we are to be one Nation in any respect, it clearly ought to be in respect to other Nations. James Madison
What is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? James Madison
The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any manner, or on any pretext, infringed. James Madison
A man has a property in his opinions and the free communication of them. James Madison
The internal effects of a mutable policy are still more calamitous. It poisons the blessing of liberty itself. It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man, who knows what the law is to day, can guess what it will be to morrow. Law is defined to be a rule of action; but how can that be a rule, which is little known, and less fixed? James Madison
The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home. James Madison
Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprize, every expanded prospect. James Madison
The Constitution preserves the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation where the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms. James Madison
