He [Washington] has often declared to me that he considered our new constitution as an experiment on the practicability of republican government, and with what dose of liberty man could be trusted for his own good; that he was determined the experiment should have a fair trial, and would lose the last drop of his blood in support of it. And these declarations he repeated to me the oftener and the more pointedly.
Interpretation
Washington viewed the new constitution as a test of republican government and personal liberty, willing to sacrifice for its success.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson conveys George Washington's strong belief in the new constitution as a critical experiment that would determine how much freedom individuals could handle under a republican system. Washington was committed to ensuring that this government would function effectively, indicating his readiness to fight for its principles, demonstrating the deep commitment to democratic ideals and the belief in the capacity for self-governance.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of civic engagement, one might say, 'As Washington believed, our constitution is an experiment that needs your involvement.'
The firmness with which the (American) people have withstood the... abuses of the press, the discernment they have manifested between truth and falsehood, show that they may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false and to form a correct judgment between them.
I, place economy among the first & most important republican virtues, & public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared
We must make our choice between economy and liberty or confusion and servitude...If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and comforts, in our labor and in our amusements...if we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
Very many and very meritorious were the worthy patriots who assisted in bringing back our government to its republican tack. To preserve it in that, will require unremitting vigilance.
A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.
Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.
Here we are the way politics ought to be in America; the politics of happiness, the politics of purpose and the politics of joy.
It is the genius of our Constitution that under its shelter of enduring institutions and rooted principles there is ample room for the rich fertility of American political invention.
I hereby accuse the North American empire of being the biggest menace to our planet.
Every power vested in a government is in its nature sovereign, and includes by force of the term a right to employ all the means requisite . . . to the attainment of the ends of such power.
Populists and isolationists ignore the tangible benefits that have resulted from our active international role during the past half-century.
Politics matter, but politics can't come first. If politics come first in your life, something is wrong with you. It's a sad thing.
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