Federal Government Quotes

• The federal government did not create the states; the states created the federal government.

  Ronald Reagan

  Government, States

  First Inaugural Address, delivered 20 January 1981

  14 Copy quote

  Show source

• It's not tyranny we desire; it's a just, limited, federal government.

  Alexander Hamilton

  Patriotic, Government, Desire

  277 Copy quote

• The powers of the federal government are enumerated; it can only operate in certain cases; it has legislative powers on defined and limited objects, beyond which it cannot extend its jurisdiction.

  James Madison

  Wisdom, Government, Cases

  James Madison (1836). “The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution: As Recommended by the General Convention at Philadelphia in 1787. Together with the Journal of the Federal Convention, Luther Martin's Letter, Yates's Minutes, Congressional Opinions, Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of '98-'99, and Other Illustrations of the Constitution”, p.95

  12 Copy quote

  Show source

• 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

  War, Government, Important

  Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay (1831). “The Federalist on the New Constitution”, p.233

  140 Copy quote

  Show source

• 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

  92 Copy quote

  Show source
• 

  If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand.

  Milton Friedman

  Government, Years, Political

  149 Copy quote

• The first thing the federal government can do to help is get out of the way.

  Bob Schaffer

  Government, Way, Firsts

  7 Copy quote
• 

  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

  Education, Wisdom, Freedom

  1822; cited in U.S. Senate, Alleged Assassination Plots (1975).

  108 Copy quote

  Show source

• I will continue to advocate for a strong federal government role to establish the production, storage and distribution networks needed to support a hydrogen economy.

  Albert Wynn

  Strength, Strong, Government

  7 Copy quote

• The Federal Government should be the last resort, not the first. Ask if a potential program is truly a federal responsibility or whether it can better be handled privately, by voluntary organizations, or by local or state governments.

  Donald Rumsfeld

  Responsibility, Organization, Government

  Donald Rumsfeld (2001). “Public Statements of Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, 2001”

  7 Copy quote

  Show source

• As our federal government has grown too large and too powerful, the real loss has been the freedom of people to govern their own lives and participate fully in the American dream.

  Steve Forbes

  Dream, Powerful, Real

  Steve Forbes (1999). “A New Birth of Freedom: Vision for America”, Regnery Publishing

  10 Copy quote

  Show source

• If men were angels, no government would be necessary.

  James Madison

  Adversity, Angel, Men

  The Federalist no. 51 (1788)

  48 Copy quote

  Show source

• In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.

  James Madison

  Power, Men, Liberty

  The Federalist no. 51 (1788)

  42 Copy quote

  Show source

• The taxpayer - that's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.

  Ronald Reagan

  Military, Work, Government

  "Personal Quotes/ Biography". www.imdb.com.

  22 Copy quote

  Show source

• I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion about the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Mean, Thinking, Government

  Benjamin Franklin (1839). “Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin”, p.85

  150 Copy quote

  Show source

• When the state or federal government controls the education of all of our children, they have the dangerous and illegitimate monopoly to control and influence the thought process of our citizens.

  Michael Badnarik

  Children, School, Government

  18 Copy quote

• But I do know this: that the two and a half years that I've been at HUD, I am absolutely convinced that some of the best workers in the world are in Federal Government.

  Alphonso Jackson

  Government, Years, Two

  "The Business of Government Hour" with Paul Lawrence, www.businessofgovernment.org. August 30, 2003.

  6 Copy quote

  Show source

• The House is rooted in the principle of direct elections and is unique among all branches and bodies of the federal government as without exception, the people's voice.

  Charles W. Pickering

  Unique, Voice, Government

  7 Copy quote

• In my youth, I traveled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Country, Government, Different

  Benjamin Franklin (2008). “The Autobiography and Other Writings”, p.298, Bantam Classics

  35 Copy quote

  Show source

• 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. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.

  James Madison

  Lying, Angel, Men

  Thomas Paine, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay (2017). “The Origin of the Nation: Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights and Other Amendments, Federalist Papers & Common Sense: Creating America - Landmark Documents that Shaped a New Nation”, p.308, Madison & Adams Press

  34 Copy quote

  Show source

• 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.

  James Madison

  Nature, Patriotic, Angel

  1788 The Federalist, Jan.

  21 Copy quote

  Show source

• 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.

  James Madison

  Government, Nullification, Federalism

  Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay (1842). “The Federalist, on the New Constitution, Written in the Year 1788”, p.215

  80 Copy quote

  Show source
• 

  I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Money, Believe, Army

  80 Copy quote

• When the federal government spends more each year than it collects in tax revenues, it has three choices: It can raise taxes, print money, or borrow money. While these actions may benefit politicians, all three options are bad for average Americans.

  Ron Paul

  Government, Average, Years

  "Deficits Make You Poorer". www.lewrockwell.com. March 15, 2005.

  42 Copy quote

  Show source

• 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

  Government, Liberty, Politics

  "Time Magazine: We Don't Need No Stinking Constitution" by Larry Elder, www.realclearpolitics.com. July 7, 2011.

  52 Copy quote

  Show source