Democracy in America: In Relation to Political Institutions

Front Cover
E. Walker, 1850 - Democracy - 460 pages
 

Contents

I
v
II
1
III
15
IV
23
V
43
VI
52
VII
55
VIII
94
XI
172
XIII
173
XIV
180
XV
189
XVII
197
XVIII
255
XX
273
XXII
292

IX
102
X
107
XXIII
335

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Page 32 - King, defender of the faith, &c., having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith and honor of our King and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do, by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid...
Page 236 - The nation which indulges towards another an habitual 'hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest.
Page 236 - It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world ; so far I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it ; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy.
Page 152 - When occasions present themselves, in which the interests of the people are at variance with their inclinations, it is the duty of the persons whom they have appointed, to be the guardians of those interests ; to withstand the temporary delusion, in order to give them time and opportunity for more cool and sedate reflection.
Page 459 - It hath sovereign and uncontrollable authority in the making, confirming, enlarging, restraining, abrogating, repealing, reviving, and expounding of laws, concerning matters of all possible denominations, ecclesiastical or temporal, civil, military, maritime, or criminal: this being the place where that absolute despotic power, which must in all governments reside somewhere, is entrusted by the constitution of these kingdoms.
Page 152 - The republican principle demands that the deliberate sense of the community should govern the conduct of those to whom they intrust the management of their affairs ; but it does not require an unqualified complaisance to every sudden breeze of passion, or to every transient impulse which the people may receive from the arts of men, who flatter their prejudices to betray their interests.
Page 274 - It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard the society against the oppression of its rulers, but to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part.
Page 361 - ... succeed in wholly depriving it of its rights ; but the Americans of the United States have accomplished this twofold purpose with singular felicity ; tranquilly, legally, philanthropically, without shedding blood, and without violating a single great principle of morality in the eyes of the world. f It is impossible to destroy men with more respect for the laws of humanity.
Page 1 - Amongst the novel objects that attracted my attention during my stay in the United States, nothing struck me more forcibly than the general equality of condition among the people.
Page 65 - ... the balance of powers, and collects clear practical notions on the nature of his duties and the extent of his rights.

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