QuoteProject
Thus the right of nullification meant by Mr. Jefferson is the natural right, which all admit to be a remedy against insupportable oppression.
James Madison
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the inherent right to resist and nullify unjust laws or actions that lead to oppression.

In this quote, James Madison articulates the concept of nullification as a natural right that individuals inherently possess to defend themselves against extreme injustice or tyranny. He attributes this idea to Thomas Jefferson, suggesting that when faced with insufferable oppression, individuals or states have the right to oppose and reject oppressive measures as a matter of fundamental human rights.

Themes

NullificationOppressionRightsResistanceJustice

In practice

Example use cases

During a speech on civil rights, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of standing against unjust laws.

More from James Madison

I go on the principle that a public debt is a public curse and in a republican government more than in any other.
James MadisonRead
No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause; because his interest would certainly bias his judgment, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity. With equal, nay with greater reason, a body of men are unfit to be both judges and parties at the same time.
James MadisonRead
I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations; but, on a candid examination of history, we shall find that turbulence, violence, and abuse of power, by the majority trampling on the rights of the minority, have produced factions and commotions, which, in republics, have, more frequently than any other cause, produced despotism.
James MadisonRead
The advice nearest to my heart and deepest in my convictions is that the Union of the States be cherished and perpetuated.
James MadisonRead
Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.
James MadisonRead
The magnitude of this evil among us is so deeply felt, and so universally acknowledged, that no merit could be greater than that of devising a satisfactory remedy for it.
James MadisonRead

Similar quotes

We know that a man can read Goethe or Rilke in the evening, that he can play Bach and Schubert, and go to his day's work at Auschwitz in the morning.
George SteinerRead
Faith must be tested, because it can be turned into a personal possession only through conflict.
Oswald ChambersRead
Try to understand the ego. Analyze it, dissect it, watch it, observe it, from as many angles as possible. And don't be in a hurry to sacrifice it, otherwise the greatest egoist is born: the person who thinks he is humble, the person who thinks that he has no ego.
RajneeshRead
We know that we are not collectively guilty, so how can we accuse any other nation, no matter what some of its people have done, of being collectively guilty?
Simon WiesenthalRead
We are so presumptuous that we should like to be known all over the world, even by people who will only come when we are no more. Such is our vanity that the good opinion of half a dozen of the people around us gives us pleasure and satisfaction.
Blaise PascalRead
It is unfortunately none too well understood that, just as the State has no money of its own, so it has no power of its own.
Albert J. NockRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.