Tag Archives: First Principles

First Principles: It is Our Duty To Resist Wrongful Force Exerted For Bad Purposes

Posted on August 31, 2018 by alohapromisesforever

“Has force, exerted for the purposes of malevolance, a right to command? Can it impose an obligation to obey? No. Resistance to such force is a right, and, if resistance can prove effectual, it is a duty also.” – James … Continue reading →

Posted in First Principles | Tagged Comman, Duty, Exertion, First Principles, Force, Impose, James Wilson, Lectures On Law, Malevolence, Obedience, Obligation, Resistance, Right | Leave a comment

First Principles: No Constitution Can Stand Alone Against Boundless Ambition and Corrupted Morals

Posted on August 30, 2018 by alohapromisesforever

“No compact among men … can be pronounced everlasting and inviolable, and … no mound of parchment can be so formed as to stand against the sweeping torrent of boundless ambition on the one side, aided by the sapping current … Continue reading →

Posted in First Principles | Tagged Ambition, Compact, Corruption, Everlasting, First Principles, George Washington, Parchment, Vigilance | Leave a comment

First Principles: Facts Are Stubborn Things

Posted on August 29, 2018 by alohapromisesforever

“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclination, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” – John Adams (1770)

Posted in First Principles | Tagged Evidence, Facts, First Principles, Inclination, John Adams, Passions, Stubborn Things, Wishes | Leave a comment

First Principles: To Be Respected and Trusted, We Must Keep Our Agreements

Posted on August 28, 2018 by alohapromisesforever

“States, like individuals, who observe their engagements, are respected and trusted: while the reverse is the fate of those who pursue an opposite conduct.” – Alexander Hamilton (1790)

Posted in First Principles | Tagged Agreements, Alexander Hamilton, Conduct, Engagements, Fate, First Principles, Keep, Observe, Persons, Respect, States, Trust | Leave a comment

First Principles: We Should Observe Christian Precepts Not Just Christmas

Posted on August 27, 2018 by alohapromisesforever

“How many observe Christ’s birth-day! How few, his precepts!” – Benjamin Franklin (1743)

Posted in First Principles | Tagged Benjamin Franklin, Christmas, First Principles, Observe, Practice, Precepts | Leave a comment

First Principles: There Is No Graver Error Than To Rest Our Nation On Favors From Other Nations

Posted on August 26, 2018 by alohapromisesforever

“There can be no greater error than to expect, or calculate upon real favors from Nation to Nation. ‘Tis an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard.” – George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796 … Continue reading →

Posted in First Principles | Tagged Calculation, Cure, Discard, Error, Expectation, Experience, Favor, First Principles, Foreign Nations, George Washington, Illusion, Pride | Leave a comment

First Principles: Virtue and Morality Are Necessary For Popular Free Government

Posted on August 25, 2018 by alohapromisesforever

“Virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule indeed extends with more or less force to every species of free Government.” – George Washington (1796)

Posted in First Principles | Tagged First Principles, Force, Free Government, George Washington, Mechanism, Morality, Popular Government, Rule, Virtue | Leave a comment

First Principles: Good Government Knows the Goals of Good Governance and Remains True To Those Aims

Posted on August 25, 2018 by alohapromisesforever

“A good government implies two things; first, fidelity to the objects of the government; secondly, a knowledge of the means, by which those objects can be best attained.” – Joseph Story (1833)

Posted in First Principles | Tagged Fidelity, First Principles, Government, Joseph Story, Knowledge, Objects | Leave a comment

First Principles: If Mankind Were Angels, There Would Be No Need For Government

Posted on August 23, 2018 by alohapromisesforever

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” – James Madison

Posted in First Principles | Tagged Angels, Control, Federalist Papers, First Principles, Governance, Government, James Madison, Mankind, Necessity | Leave a comment

First Principles: The Sum of Good Government Is To Restrain Harm To One Another and Otherwise Leave Citizens Free

Posted on August 21, 2018 by alohapromisesforever

“A wise and frugal government … shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has … Continue reading →

Posted in First Principles | Tagged First Principles, Free Market, Frugal, Government, Restraint of Harm, Sum, Thomas Jefferson, Wise | Leave a comment