Federalism is the best curb on democracy. [It] assigns limited powers to the central government. Thereby all power is limited. It excludes absolute power of the majority.

Liberty and good government do not exclude each other; and there are excellent reasons why they should go together. Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end.

Far from being the product of a democratic revolution and of an opposition to English institutions, the constitution of the United States was the result of a powerful reaction against democracy, and in favor of the traditions of the mother country.

A history that should pursue all the subtle threads from end to end might be eminently valuable, but not as a tribute to peace and conciliation.

If the past has been an obstacle and a burden, knowledge of the past is the safest and the surest emancipation.

The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern: every class is unfit to govern.

At all times sincere friends of freedom have been rare, and its triumphs have been due to minorities.