What John Adams thinks about government
Second US President (1735 to 1826); author of Thoughts on Government.
John Adams 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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6 dated positions, c. 1776, in their own words. Our reading of what John Adams has said — not written or endorsed by them.
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Their wordsNothing is more certain, from the history of nations and nature of man, than that some forms of government are better fitted for being well administered than others.
↗Thoughts on Government (1776)en.wikisource.org All 15 from this book
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Their wordsUpon this point all speculative politicians will agree, that the happiness of society is the end of government, as all divines and moral philosophers will agree that the happiness of the individual is the end of man.
↗Thoughts on Government (1776)en.wikisource.org All 15 from this book
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Their wordsFrom this principle it will follow, that the form of government which communicates ease, comfort, security, or, in one word, happiness, to the greatest number of persons, and in the greatest degree, is the best.
↗Thoughts on Government (1776)en.wikisource.org All 15 from this book
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Their wordsThey will convince any candid mind, that there is no good government but what is republican. That the only valuable part of the British constitution is so; because the very definition of a republic is "an empire of laws, and not of men."
↗Thoughts on Government (1776)en.wikisource.org All 15 from this book
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Our readingA people whose government sits in one assembly probably cannot long stay free or be happy
Their wordsI think a people cannot be long free, nor ever happy, whose government is in one assembly.
↗Thoughts on Government (1776)en.wikisource.org All 15 from this book
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Our readingThe judiciary should be separate from and independent of both the legislature and the executive
Their wordsThe dignity and stability of government in all its branches, the morals of the people, and every blessing of society depend so much upon an upright and skillful administration of justice, that the judicial power ought to be distinct from both the legislative and executive, and independent upon both, that so it may be a check upon both, as both should be checks upon that.
↗Thoughts on Government (1776)en.wikisource.org All 15 from this book