Category Archives: First Principles

First Principles: Foreign Influence Is Truly the Grecian Horse To A Republic. We Cannot Be Too Careful To Exclude Its Influence

“Foreign influence is truly the Grecian horse to a republic. We cannot be too careful to exclude its influence.” – Alexander Hamilton (1793)

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First Principles: It Is Error Alone Which Needs the Support of Government. Truth Can Stand By Itself

“It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself. Subject opinion to coercion: whom will you make your inquisitors?” – Thomas Jefferson (1781)

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First Principles: Can the Liberties of A Nation Be Thought Secure When We Have Removed Their Only Firm Basis, A Conviction…That These Liberties Are the Gift of God?

“And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be … Continue reading

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First Principles: No Government, Any More Than An Individual, Will Long Be Respected Without Being Truly Respectable

“No government, any more than an individual, will long be respected without being truly respectable; nor be truly respectable, without possessing a certain portion of order and stability.” – James Madison, Federalist No. 62, 1788

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First Principles: Fathers, Do Not Exasperate Your Children, Instead, Bring Them Up In the Training and Instruction of the Lord

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” – Ephesians 6:4 (NIV)

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First Principles: It Should Be the Highest Ambition of Every American To Extend His Views Beyond Himself

“It should be the highest ambition of every American to extend his views beyond himself, and to bear in mind that his conduct will not only affect himself, his country, and his immediate posterity; but that its influence may be … Continue reading

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First Principles: The Aim of Every Political Constitution Is, Or Ought To Be, First To Obtain For Rulers Men Who Possess Most Wisdom to Discern, and Most Virtue To Pursue, the Common Good of the Society

“The aim of every political constitution is, or ought to be, first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of the society; and in the next place, to … Continue reading

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First Principles: It Will Not Be Denied That Power Is of An Encroaching Nature, and That It Ought To Be Effectually Restrained From Passing the Limits Assigned

“It will not be denied that power is of an encroaching nature and that it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it.”  – James Madison

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First Principles: If We Move In Mass, Be It Ever So Circuitously, We Shall Attain Our Object

“If we move in mass, be it ever so circuitously, we shall attain our object; but if we break into squads, everyone pursuing the path he thinks most direct, we become an easy conquest to those who can now barely … Continue reading

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First Principles: There Is But One Straight Course, and That Is To Seek Truth and Pursue It Steadily

“There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily.” – George Washington (1795)

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