An Efficient Militia Is Authorized And Contemplated

Our Country, If It Does Justice To Itself, Will Be The Workshop Of Liberty To The Civilized World.

I Believe There Are More Instances Of The Abridgment Of The Freedom Of The People By Gradual And Silent Encroachments Of Those In Power, Than By Violent And Sudden Usurpations; But, On A Candid Examination Of History, We Shall Find That Turbulence, Violence, And Abuse Of Power, By The Majority Trampling On The Rights Of The Minority, Have Produced Factions And Commotions, Which, In Republics, Have, More Frequently Than Any Other Cause, Produced Despotism.

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.

There Is No Maxim, In My Opinion, Which Is More Liable To Be Misapplied, And Which, Therefore, More Needs Elucidation, Than The Current One, That The Interest Of The Majority Is The Political Standard Of Right And Wrong.

Wherever There Is Interest And Power To Do Wrong, Wrong Will Generally Be Done.