Of the liberty of conscience in matters of religious faith, of speech and of the press; of the trial by jury of the vicinage in civil and criminal cases; of the benefit of the writ of habeas corpus; of the right to keep and bear arms.... If these rights are well defined, and secured against encroachment, it is impossible that government should ever degenerate into tyranny.
James MonroeIf it was wise, manly, and patriotic for us to establish a free government, it is equally wise to attend to the necessary means of its preservation.
James MonroeHow prone all human institutions have been to decay; how subject the best-formed and most wisely organized governments have been to lose their check and totally dissolve; how difficult it has been for mankind, in all ages and countries, to preserve their dearest rights and best privileges, impelled as it were by an irresistible fate of despotism.
James MonroeThe best form of government is that which is most likely to prevent the greatest sum of evil.
James Monroe