I should esteem it the extreme of imprudence to prolong the precarious state of our national affairs, and to expose the Union to the jeopardy of successive experiments, in the chimerical pursuit of a perfect plan. I never expect to see a perfect work from imperfect man. The result of the deliberations of all collective bodies must necessarily be a compound, as well of the errors and prejudices, as of the good sense and wisdom, of the individuals of whom they are composed.

The system, though it may not be perfect in every part, is, upon the whole, a good one; is the best that the present views and circumstances of the country wil…

A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one.

The history of human conduct does not warrant that exalted opinion of human virtue which would make it wise in a nation to commit interests of so delicate and …

You don't get everything you want. A dictatorship would be a lot easier.

When you say 'radical right' today, I think of these moneymaking ventures by fellows like Pat Robertson and others who are trying to take the Republican Party …

Many have imagined republics and principalities which have never been seen or known to exist in reality; for how we live is so far removed from how we ought to…