The executive has no right, in any case, to decide the question, whether there is or is not cause for declaring war.

Procrastination in the beginning and precipitation towards the conclusion is the characteristic of such bodies.

It is a melancholy reflection that liberty should be equally exposed to danger whether the government have too much power or too little power and that the line which divides these extremes should be so inaccurately defined by experience.

Nothing could be more irrational than to give the people power, and to withhold from them information without which power is abused.

These examples, though as unfit for the imitation, as they are repugnant to the genius of America, are notwithstanding . . . very instructive proofs of the necessity of some institution that will blend stability with liberty.

The most productive system of finance will always be the least burdensome.

It is the duty of every man to render to the Creator such homage...Before any man can be considered as a member of Civil Society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe.