When a government betrays the people by amassing too much power and becoming tyrannical, the people have no choice but to exercise their original right of self-defense β to fight the government.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of people defending themselves against a tyrannical government.
In this quote, Alexander Hamilton articulates the belief that when a government abuses its power and transforms into a tyrannical entity, it is the rightful duty of the people to defend their freedoms and fight back. This attitude reflects a foundational principle in democratic societies, where the authority of the government is derived from the consent of the governed, and any deviation from that can lead to justified resistance.
In practice
This quote can be used during a political rally to inspire citizens to stand up for their rights.
When men, engaged in unjustifiable pursuits, are aware that obstructions may come from a quarter which bare apprehension of opposition from doing what they would with eagerness rush into if no such external impediments were to be feared.
The tendency of a national bank is to increase public and private credit. The former gives power to the state, for the protection of its rights and interests: and the latter facilitates and extends the operations of commerce among individuals. Industry is increased, commodities are multiplied, agriculture and manufacturers flourish: and herein consists the true wealth and prosperity of a state.
It's not tyranny we desire; it's a just, limited, federal government.
The Achaeans soon experienced, as often happens, that a victorious and powerful ally is but another name for a master.
The people are turbulent and changing; they seldom judge right or make good decision.
The true principle of a republic is that the people should choose whom they please to govern them. Representation is imperfect, in proportion as the current of popular favor is checked. The great source of free government, popular election, should be perfectly pure, and the most unbounded liberty allowed.
The biographer's problem is that he never knows enough. The autobiographer's problem is that he knows too much.
Be a terror to the butchers, that they may be fair in their weight; and keep hucksters and fraudulent dealers in awe, for the same reason.
So you think that money is the root of all evil. Have you ever asked what is the root of all money?
The history of man is a graveyard of great cultures that came to catastrophic ends because of their incapacity for planned, rational, voluntary reaction to challenge.
Sadness usually results from one of the following causes either when a man does not succeed, or is ashamed of his success.
Let us not forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man. When tillage begins, other arts will follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization.
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