John Adams Quotes About Politics

Quotes about: Politics

• A government of laws, and not of men.

  John Adams

  Men, Law, Presidential

  "Novanglus Papers" no. 7 (1774). Almost certainly derived from James Harrington, but Adams's use of the phrase gave it wide circulation in the United States. He also used "government of laws, and not of men" in the Declaration of Rights drafted for the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780. See Cox 1; Gerald Ford 3; James Harrington 1

• Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

  John Adams

  Bible, God, Religious

  John Adams, Charles Francis Adams (1854). “Works: with a life of the author”, p.229

• There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.

  John Adams

  Inspirational, Trust, Freedom

  'Notes for an Oration at Braintree' (Spring 1772)

• Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence: nor is the law less stable than the fact.

  John Adams

  Passion, Patriotic, Law

  John Adams (1971). “The Works [of] John Adams, Second President of the United States: Life of John Adams”

• Always stand on principle even if you stand alone.

  John Adams

  Principles, Politics, Stand Alone

  "Who is Bernie Sanders?" by Tom Pappalardo, www.huffingtonpost.com. October 28, 2015.

• In politics the middle way is none at all.

  John Adams

  Success, Law, Nerd

  Letter to Horatio Gates, 23 March 1776

• We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other.

  John Adams

  Religious, Revenge, Passion

  John Adams (1854). “The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States: With a Life of the Author, Notes and Illustrations”, p.229

• The jaws of power are always open to devour, and her arm is always stretched out, if possible, to destroy the freedom of thinking, speaking, and writing.

  John Adams

  Freedom, Writing, Power

  A Dissertation on the Canon and the Feudal Law (1765)

• We may... affirm that the balance of power in a society accompanies the balance of property in land. The only possible way, then, of preserving the balance of power on the side of liberty and public virtue is to make the acquisition of land easy to every member of society; to make a division of the land into small quantities, so that the multitude may be possessed of landed estates.

  John Adams

  Land, Balance, Liberty

  John Adams, Frederick K. Sanders (1975). “John Adams Speaking: Pound's Sources for the Adams Cantos”

• The fundamental law of the militia is, that it be created, directed and commanded by the laws, and ever for the support of the laws.

  John Adams

  Law, Support, Second Amendment

  John Adams (1794). “A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America: Against the Attack of M. Turgot in His Letter to Dr. Price, Dated the Twenty-second Day of March, 1778”, p.475

• I must study Politicks and War that my sons may have liberty to study Mathematicks and Philosophy. My sons ought to study Mathematicks and Philosophy, Geography, natural History, Naval Architecture, navigation, Commerce and Agriculture, in order to give their Children a right to study Painting, Poetry, Musick, Architecture, Statuary, Tapestry and Porcelaine. (12 May 1780)

  John Adams

  Children, Philosophy, War

  Letter to Abigail Adams, 12 May 1780

• If "Thou shalt not covet," and "Thou shalt not steal," were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society, before it can be civilized or made free.

  John Adams

  Heaven, Politics, Stealing

  John Adams (2001). “The Political Writings of John Adams”, p.230, Regnery Publishing

• I have accepted a seat in the House of Representatives, and thereby have consented to my own ruin, to your ruin, and to the ruin of our children. I give you this warning that you may prepare your mind for your fate.

  John Adams

  Children, Fate, Giving

  John Adams (1854). “The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States: With a Life of the Author, Notes and Illustrations”, p.616

• I must study war and politics so that my children shall be free to study commerce, agriculture and other practicalities, so that their children can study painting, poetry and other fine things.

  John Adams

  Children, War, Agriculture

• Government is nothing more than the combined force of society, or the united power of the multitude, for the peace, order, safety, good and happiness of the people.

  John Adams

  Government, Order, People

  John Adams (1964). “Diary and Autobiography”

• It is more important that innocence be protected than it is that guilt be punished, for guilt and crimes are so frequent in this world that they cannot all be punished. But if innocence itself is brought to the bar and condemned, perhaps to die, then the citizen will say, "whether I do good or whether I do evil is immaterial, for innocence itself is no protection," and if such an idea as that were to take hold in the mind of the citizen that would be the end of security whatsoever.

  John Adams

  Law, Ideas, Evil

  "John Adams: Quotes & Facts". Book by Blago Kirov, 2016.

• People and nations are forged in the fires of adversity.

  John Adams

  Adversity, Fire, People

• The law no passion can disturb. 'Tis void of desire and fear, lust and anger. 'Tis mens sine affectu, written reason, retaining some measure of the divine perfection. It does not enjoin that which pleases a weak, frail man, but, without any regard to persons, commands that which is good and punishes evil in all, whether rich or poor, high or low.

  John Adams

  Passion, Men, Law

  John Adams (1856). “The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States: With a Life of the Author, Notes and Illustrations”, p.114

• Politics are a labyrinth without a clue.

  John Adams

  Political, Labyrinth, Politics

• Oh! the wisdom, the foresight and the hindsight and the rightsight and the leftsight, the northsight and the southsight, and the eastsight and the westsight that appeared in that august assembly.

  John Adams

  August, Political, Politics

• All great changes are irksome to the human mind, especially those which are attended with great dangers and uncertain effects.

  John Adams

  Political, Mind, Politics

  Massachusetts Historical Society, John Adams, Samuel Adams, James Warren (1917). “Warren-Adams Letters: Being Chiefly a Correspondence Among John Adams, Samuel Adams, and James Warren ... 1743-1814”

• I must not write a word to you about politics, because you are a woman.

  John Adams

  Writing, Political, Politics

  John Adams (2003). “The Letters of John and Abigail Adams”, p.244, Penguin

• They worry one another like mastiffs, scrambling for rank and pay like apes for nuts.

  John Adams

  Nuts, Worry, Political

  John Adams (2012). “The Letters of John and Abigail Adams”, p.212, Simon and Schuster

• It is weakness rather than wickedness which renders men unfit to be trusted with unlimited power.

  John Adams

  Men, Presidential, Weakness

  John Adams (2004). “The Portable John Adams”, p.36, Penguin

• Ambition is one of the ungovernable passions of the human heart. The love of power is insatiable and uncontrollable.

  John Adams

  Passion, Heart, Ambition

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