Alexander Hamilton
American statesman (1755 or 1757 to 1804); first US Secretary of the Treasury and principal author of The Federalist.
Alexander Hamilton did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
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Their wordsWhoever attentively considers the different departments of power must perceive, that, in a government in which they are separated from each other, the judiciary, from the nature of its functions, will always be the least dangerous to the political rights of the Constitution; because it will be least in a capacity to annoy or injure them.
↗The Federalist Papers (1787-1788)gutenberg.org All 27 from this book
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Our reading
Interpreting the laws, including the Constitution as fundamental law, belongs to the courts
Their wordsThe interpretation of the laws is the proper and peculiar province of the courts. A constitution is, in fact, and must be regarded by the judges, as a fundamental law.
↗The Federalist Papers (1787-1788)gutenberg.org All 27 from this book
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Their wordsI go further, and affirm that bills of rights, in the sense and to the extent in which they are contended for, are not only unnecessary in the proposed Constitution, but would even be dangerous.
↗The Federalist Papers (1787-1788)gutenberg.org All 27 from this book
- 2 months earlier
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Their wordsEnergy in the Executive is a leading character in the definition of good government.
↗The Federalist Papers (1787-1788)gutenberg.org All 27 from this book
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Their wordsDecision, activity, secrecy, and despatch will generally characterize the proceedings of one man in a much more eminent degree than the proceedings of any greater number; and in proportion as the number is increased, these qualities will be diminished.
↗The Federalist Papers (1787-1788)gutenberg.org All 27 from this book
- 3 months earlier
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Their wordsThe circumstances that endanger the safety of nations are infinite, and for this reason no constitutional shackles can wisely be imposed on the power to which the care of it is committed.
↗The Federalist Papers (1787-1788)gutenberg.org All 27 from this book
- 2 weeks earlier
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Their wordsIf there be no penalty annexed to disobedience, the resolutions or commands which pretend to be laws will, in fact, amount to nothing more than advice or recommendation.
↗The Federalist Papers (1787-1788)gutenberg.org All 27 from this book
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Our reading
Government exists because people's passions will not follow reason and justice without constraint
Their wordsWhy has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint.
↗The Federalist Papers (1787-1788)gutenberg.org All 27 from this book
- 10 days earlier
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Their wordsThe science of politics, however, like most other sciences, has received great improvement. The efficacy of various principles is now well understood, which were either not known at all, or imperfectly known to the ancients.
↗The Federalist Papers (1787-1788)gutenberg.org All 27 from this book
- 4 weeks earlier
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Their wordsOn the other hand, it will be equally forgotten that the vigor of government is essential to the security of liberty; that, in the contemplation of a sound and well-informed judgment, their interest can never be separated; and that a dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the forbidden appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of government.
↗The Federalist Papers (1787-1788)gutenberg.org All 27 from this book