As riches increase and accumulate in few hands . . . the tendency of things will be to depart from the republican standard.

Necessity, especially in politics, often occasions false hopes, false reasonings, and a system of measures, correspondingly erroneous.

I propose . . . . The conformity of the proposed Constitution to the true principles of republican government.

Give all the power to the many, they will oppress the few. Give all the power to the few, they will oppress the many.

A feeble executive implies a feeble execution of the government. A feeble execution is but another phrase for a bad execution; and a government ill executed, whatever may be its theory, must be, in practice, a bad government.

The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed.

If it were to be asked, What is the most sacred duty and the greatest source of our security in a Republic? The answer would be, An inviolable respect for the Constitution and Laws - the first growing out of the last . . . . A sacred respect for the constitutional law is the vital principle, the sustaining energy of a free government.