Chance does nothing that has not been prepared beforehand.

Religion, which never intervenes directly in the government of American society, should therefore be considered as the first of their political institutions

In the United States, if a political character attacks a sect, this may not prevent even the partisans of that very sect, from supporting him; but if he attacks all the sects together, every one abandons him and he remains alone.

In no other country in the world is the love of property keener or more alert than in the United States, and nowhere else does the majority display less inclination toward doctrines which in any way threaten the way property is owned.

Consider any individual at any period of his life, and you will always find him preoccupied with fresh plans to increase his comfort.

The regime which is destroyed by a revolution is almost always an improvement on its immediate predecessor, and experience teaches that the most critical moment for bad governments is the one which witnesses their first steps toward reform.

The health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens.