Tag Archives: First Principles

First Principles: The Propriety of A Law, In A Constitutional Light, Must Always Be Determined By the Nature of the Power Upon Which It Is Founded

“The propriety of a law, in a constitutional light, must always be determined by the nature of the powers upon which it is founded.” – Alexander Hamilton (1788)

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First Principles: We Must Make Our Election Between Economy and Liberty, or Profusion and Servitude

“We must make our election between economy and Liberty, or profusion and servitude.” – Thomas Jefferson (1816)

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First Principles: Laws That Forbid the Carrying of Arms…Disarm Only Those Who Are Neither Inclined Nor Determined To Commit Crimes

“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms … disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.” – Cesare Beccaria

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First Principles: Tyranny, Like Hell, Is Not Easily Conquered, Yet We Have This Consolation With Us, That the Harder the Conflict, the More Glorious the Triumph

“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” – Thomas Paine in “American Crisis” (1776)

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First Principles: If Congress Can Do Whatever In Their Discretion Can Be Done By Money, and Will Promote the General Welfare, the Government Is No Longer A Limited One, Possessing Enumerated Powers, But an Indefinite One, Subject To Particular Exceptions

“If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one, subject to particular exceptions.” – James … Continue reading

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First Principles: National Defense Is One of the Cardinal Duties of A Statesman

“National defense is one of the cardinal duties of a statesman.” – John Adams (1815)

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First Principles: The Principle of Spending Money To Be Paid By Posterity, Under the Name of Funding, Is But Swindling Futurity On A Large Scale

“The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.” —Thomas Jefferson (1816)

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First Principles: The Press Is Impotent When It Abandons Itself To Falsehood

“But the fact being once established, that the press is impotent when it abandons itself to falsehood, I leave to others to restore it to its strength, by recalling it within the pale of truth.” – Thomas Jefferson (1805)

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First Principles: Wish Not So Much To Live Long As To Live Well

“Wish not so much to live long as to live well.” – Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1746

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First Principles: ‘Tis the Business of Little Minds To Shrink; But He Whose Heart Is Firm, and Whose Conscience Approves His Conduct, Will Pursue His Principles Unto Death

“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, … Continue reading

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