law making - WWFD Search

Your search for "law making" returned 38 results from 23 Founders.

James Madison:"The greatest calamity to which the United States can be subject, is a vicissitude of laws, and continual shifting and changing from one object to another, which must expose the people to various inconveniences. This has a certain effect, of which sagacious men always have, and always will make an advantage. From whom is advantage made? From the industrious farmers and tradesman, who are ignorant of the means of making such advantages."source: Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 11, 1788.law making, self-interest

George Mason:"How easy it is to persuade men to sign anything by which they can't be affected!"source: To Zachariah Johnston, 1791.hypocricy, legislative branch of government, law making, persusaion

Benjamin Franklin:"Laws too gentle are seldom obeyed; too severe, seldom executed."source: Poor Richard's Almanack, 1756.law making, law abiding, obedience, freedom, justice

Rufus King:"The . . . law established by the Creator . . . extends over the whole globe, is everywhere and at all times binding upon mankind. . . . [This] is the law of God by which he makes his way known to man and is paramount to all human control."source: The Life and Correspondence of Rufus King, Charles R. King, editor (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1900), Vol. VI, p. 276, to C. Gore on February 17, 1820. Natural Law, Divine Law, Human Law, Law of God

Alexander Hamilton:"The law . . . dictated by God Himself is, of course, superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all countries, and at all times. No human laws are of any validity if contrary to this."source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, Harold C. Syrett, editor (New York: Columbia University Press, 1961), Vol. I, p. 87, February 23, 1775, quoting William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (Philadelphia: Robert Bell, 1771), Vol. I, p. 41. Natural Law, Divine Law, Human Law, Law of God

James Wilson:"All [laws], however, may be arranged in two different classes. 1) Divine. 2) Human. . . . But it should always be remembered that this law, natural or revealed, made for men or for nations, flows from the same Divine source: it is the law of God. . . . Human law must rest its authority ultimately upon the authority of that law which is Divine."source: The Works of the Honorable James Wilson, Bird Wilson, editor (Philadelphia: Lorenzo Press, 1804), Vol. I, pp. 103-105, "Of the General Principles of Law and Obligation."Natural Law, Divine Law, Human Law

William Blackstone:"To instance in the case of murder: this is expressly forbidden by the Divine. . . . If any human law should allow or enjoin us to commit it we are bound to transgress that human law. . . . But, with regard to matters that are . . . not commanded or forbidden by those superior laws such, for instance, as exporting of wool into foreign countries; here the . . . legislature has scope and opportunity to interpose."source: William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (Philadelphia: Robert Bell, 1771), Vol. I, pp. 42-43.Natural Law, Divine Law, Human Law

Noah Webster:"Where there is no law, there is no liberty; and nothing deserves the name of law but that which is certain and universal in its operation upon all the members of the community."source: Rush, Letters, Vol. I, p. 454, to David Ramsay, March or April 1788.Rule of Law, Liberty

James Madison:"No axiom is more clearly established in law, or in reason, than that wherever the end is required, the means are authorized; whenever a general power to do a thing is given, every particular power necessary for doing it, is included."source: The Federalist Papers, 1788.power, authority, law, means to an end, the end justifies the means

James Madison:"The transcendent law of nature and of nature's God ... declares that the safety and happiness of society are the objects at which all political institutions aim, and to which all institutions must be sacrificed."source: The Federalist Papers, 1788.natural law, happiness

John Locke:"For in all the states of created beings, capable of laws, where there is no law there is no freedom."source: Two Treatises on Civil Government, 1690.law, freedom, choice, mankind

Thomas Paine:"But where says some is the King of America? I'll tell you Friend, he reigns above, and doth not make havoc of mankind like the Royal Brute of Britain. ... let it be brought forth placed on the divine law, the word of God; let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far as we approve of monarchy, that in America THE LAW IS KING."source: Common Sense, 1776.kings, kingdoms, religion, god, law, justice

Samuel Adams:"Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: first, a right to life; secondly, to liberty; thirdly to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can. Those are evident branches of, rather than deductions from, the duty of self-preservation, commonly called the first law of nature."source: The Rights of the Colonists, 1772.natural law, rights, freedoms, liberty, self-defence

Thomas Hobbes:"The first and fundamental law of Nature ... is "to seek peace and follow it." The second, the sum of the right of Nature ... is, "by all means we can to defend ourselves."source: Leviathan, 1651.natural law, peace, self-defense

Thomas Jefferson:"The first principle of republicanism is that the lex majoris partis is the fundamental law of every society of individuals of equal right; to consider the will of the society announced by the majority of a single vote as sacred as if unanimous is the first of all lessons of importance, yet the last which is thoroughly learned. This law once disregarded, no other remains but that of force, which ends necessarily in military despotism."source: Ford, 10:89majority rules, voice of the majority, enactment of law

John Adams:"[J]udges, therefore, should be always men of learning and experience in the laws, of exemplary morals, great patience, calmness, coolness, and attention. Their minds should not be distracted with jarring interests; they should not be dependent upon any many, or body of men."source: Thoughts on Government, 1776.supreme court, judicial branch, judges, law, justice

James Iredell:"The authority over money will do everything. A government cannot be supported without money. Our representatives may at any time compel the Senate to agree to a reasonable measure, by withholding supplies till the measure is consented to."source: Ibid., p.129power of House of Representatives, compromise, creation of law

James Iredell:"The House of Representatives[...] will represent the immediate interests of the people. They will originate all money bills, which is one of the greatest securities in any republican government."source: Elliot 4:39function of House, safe guard, legislation, creation of law

Alexander Hamilton:"Laws are a dead letter without courts to expound and define their true meaning and operation."source: The Federalist Papers, 1788necessity of courts, judicial system, interpreting law, justice

Francis Bacon:"There are in nature certain foundations of justice, whence all civil laws are derived but as streams."source: The Advancement of Learning, 1605.natural law, justice

John Adams:"Human nature itself is evermore an advocate for liberty. There is also in human nature a resentment of injury, and indignation against wrong. A love of truth and a veneration of virtue. These amiable passions, are the "latent spark." ... If the people are capable of understanding, seeing and feeling the differences between true and false, right and wrong, virtue and vice, to what better principle can the friends of mankind apply than to the sense of this difference."source: The Novanglus, 1775.natural law, human nature, liberty, right vs wrong, understanding

John Dickinson:"The all wise Creator of man imprest certain laws on his nature. A desire of happiness, and of society, are two of those laws. They were not intended to destroy, but to support each other. Man has therefore a right to promote the best union of both, in order to enjoy both in the highest degree. Thus, while this right is properly exercised, desires, that seem selfish, by a happy combination, produce the welfare of others."source: Political Writings, 1774.happiness, natural law, balance in the government, welfare

George Mason:"Now all acts of legislature apparently contrary to natural right and justice, are, in our laws, and must be in the nature of things considered as void. The laws of nature are the laws of God; whose authority can be superseded by no power on earth. A legislature must not obstruct our obedience to him from whose punishments they cannot protect us."source: Robin v. Hardaway, 1772.natural law, balance of powers, legislature

Thomas Paine:"Every thing we behold is, in one sense, a mystery to us. Our own existence is a mystery: the whole vegetable world is a mystery. We cannot account how it is that an acorn, when put into the ground, is made to develop itself, and become an oak. We know not how it is that the seek we sow unfolds and multiplies itself, and returns to us such an abundant interest for so small a capital."source: Age of Reason, I, 1794.nature, natural law, science, earth, farming, cultivation

Thomas Jefferson:"No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrict him; every man is under the natural duty of contributing to the necessities of society, and this is all the laws should enforce on him and no man having a natural right to be the judge between himself and another, it is his natural duty to submit to the umpirage of an impartial third."source: Letter to F. W. Gilmor, 1816.natural law, rights, freedoms, society

Thomas Paine:"Man cannot make principles; he can only discover them."source: The Age of Reason, 1794.reason, logic, natural law

James Madison:"In all political societies, different interests and parties arise out of the nature of things, and the great art of politicians lies in making them checks and balances to each other."source: Article in the National Gazette, January 23, 1792.political parties, interests, balance of power

John Jay:"What reason is there to expect that Heaven will help those who refuse to help themselves; or that Providence will grant liberty to those who want courage to defend it. ... Let not the history of the present glorious contest declare to future generations that the people of your country, after making the highest professions of zeal for the American cause, fled at the first apprearance of danger, and behaved like women. ... Instead of supplicating the protection of your enemies, meet them with arms in your hands--make good your professions, and let not your attachment to freedom be manifesteed only in your words."source: To the General Commitee of Tryon County, July 22, 1777.Providence, patriotism, defense, honor

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; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man who knows what the law is today can guess what it will be tomorrow."source: The Federalist Papers, 1788.lengthly bills, wordy legislation, congress, house of representatives

Thomas Jefferson:"Ignorance of the law is not excuse in any country. If it were, the laws would lose their effect, because it can always be pretended."source: Letter to M. Limozin, December 22, 1787.laws, ignorance

Alexander Hamilton:"Give me the steady, uniform, unshaken securityof constitutional freedom. Give me the right of trial by jury of my own neighbors, and to be taxed by my own representatives only. What will become of the law and courts of justice without this? I would die to preserve the law upon a solid foundation; but take away liberty, and the foundation is destroyed."source: "A Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress" December 15, 1774.liberty, freedom, constitutional freedoms, justice

John Adams:"The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist."source: Charles Francis Adams, ed., The words of John Adams, 10 vols. 6:9, p. 280.property, socialism, ownership of property, principle of freedom

Benjamin Church:"Breach of trust in a governor, or attempting to enlarge a limited power, effectually absolves subjects from every bond of covenant and peace; the crimes acted by a king against the people are the highest treason against the highest law among men."source: Boston Massacre Oration, March 5, 1773.trust, kings, aristocrats, power, classes

William Penn:"Our law says well, to delay justice is injustice."source: Some Fruits of Solitude, 1693.justice

John Marshall:"It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is. ... If two laws conflict with each other, the courts must decide on the operation of each. ... this is of the very essence of judicial duty."source: Marbury v. Madison, 1803.judicial branch, fair and balanced, balance of powers, conflict resolution

Charles Pinckney:"Our true situation appears to me to be this--a new extensive Country containing within itself the materials for forming a Government capable of extending to its citizens all the blessings of civil & religious liberty--capable of making them happy at home. This is the great end of Republican Establishments."source: Speech in Framing Convention, 1787.democracy, republicanism, liberty, religious freedom, happiness

Thomas Jefferson:"Knowing that religion does not furnish grosser bigots than law, I expect little from old judges."source: Letter to Thomas Cooper, 1810judicial system, judges, courts, justice, fairness, corruption

George Washington:"It having pleased the Almighty Ruler of the universe propitiously to defend the cause of the United American States...by raising up a powerful Friend among the Princes of the Earth to establish our liberty and Independence upon lasting foundations, it becomes us to set apart a day for gratefully acknowledging the divine Goodness, and celebrating the important Event which we owe to his benign interposition. (William H Wibur, The Making of George Washington, Patriot Education Inc. 1973, p.198.)"source: After the treaty of alliance had been signed with Paris, on February 5, 1778, Wahington wrote to his troops a reminder of the part heaven was playing in this war: Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day, George Washington, Revolutionary War, Victory in War, Washington's Letters, Patiot graditude

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