The danger in our system is that the general government, which represents the interests of the whole, may encroach on the states, which represent the peculiar and local interests, or that the latter may encroach on the former.
John C. CalhounRead
Without thinking or reflecting, we plunge into war, contract heavy debts, increase vastly the patronage of the Executive, and indulge in every species of extravagance, without thinking that we expose our liberty to hazard. It is a great and fatal mistake.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote warns against acting impulsively without considering the consequences, particularly in matters of war and government debt.
John C. Calhoun emphasizes the dangers of rash decisions made without careful thought and reflection. He suggests that society often rushes into conflicts and overextends itself financially, which can threaten individual liberties and lead to grievous errors in governance. This reflection calls for a more measured and thoughtful approach to significant national issues.
Themes
ThoughtfulnessWarLibertyGovernmentMistakes
In practice
Example use cases
Discussing the importance of critical thinking in a political science class.
More from John C. Calhoun
All quotes →There is a tendency in all parties, when they have been for a long time in possession of power, to augment it.
John C. CalhounRead
I hold that there is a mysterious connection between the fate of this country and that of Mexico; so much so that her independence and capability of sustaining herself are almost as essential to our prosperity and the maintenance of our institutions as they are to hers.
John C. CalhounRead
The error is in the assumption that the General Government is a party to the constitutional compact. The States ... formed the compact, acting as sovereign and independent communities.
John C. CalhounRead
There is not an example on record of any free state holding a province of the same extent and population without disastrous consequences. The nations conquered and held as a province have, in time, retaliated by destroying the liberty of their conquerors through the corrupting effect of extended patronage and irresponsible power.
John C. CalhounRead
Stripped of all its covering, the naked question is, whether ours is a federal or consolidated government; a constitutional or absolute one; a government resting solidly on the basis of the sovereignty of the States, or on the unrestrained will of a majority; a form of government, as in all other unlimited ones, in which injustice, violence, and force must ultimately prevail.
John C. CalhounRead
Similar quotes
Dharma is not upheld by talking about it. Dharma is upheld by living in harmony with it.
Gautama BuddhaRead
We're not our skin of grime, we're not our dread bleak dusty imageless locomotive, we're all beautiful golden sunflowers inside, we're blessed by our own seed & hairy naked accomplishment-bodies growing into mad black formal sunflowers in the sunset, spied on by our eyes under the shadow of the mad locomotive riverbank sunset Frisco hilly tincan evening sitdown vision.
Allen GinsbergRead
I don't presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die. But I feel very strongly that whether the reward is in the here and now or in the hereafter, the aligning myself to my faith and my values is a good thing.
Barack ObamaRead
While the State exists there can be no freedom; when there is freedom there will be no State.
Vladimir LeninRead
A squat grey building of only thirty-four stories. Over the main entrance the words, CENTRAL LONDON HATCHERY AND CONDITIONING CENTRE, and, in a shield, the World State's motto, COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY.
Aldous HuxleyRead
I will far rather see the race of man extinct than that we should become less than beasts by making the noblest of God's creation, woman, the object of our lust.
Mahatma GandhiRead