Constitution Quotes

Our constitutional tradition, from the Declaration of Independence and the first inaugural address of Washington… down to the present day, has, with a few aberrations . . ., ruled out of order government-sponsored endorsement of religion – even when no legal coercion is present, and indeed even when no ersatz, “peer-pressure” psycho-coercion is present – […]

Do the people of this land… desire to preserve those (liberties) so carefully protected by the First Amendment… If so, let them withstand all beginnings of encroachment. For the saddest epitaph which can be carved in memory of a vanished liberty is that it was lost because its possessors failed to stretch forth a saving […]

An unconstitutional act is not law; it confers no rights; it imposes no duties; affords no protection; it creates no office; it is in legal contemplation, as inoperative as though it had never been passed.

There is truth in the reply of a great lawyer when asked how the lawyers who formed the United States Constitution had such a mastery of legal principles: “Why, they had so few books.”

The Bill of Rights – The Original Contract With America. Accept no substitutes. Beware of imitations. Insist on the genuine articles.

The Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon.

The Constitution… till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. George WashingtonTo every description of citizens, indeed, let praise be given. But let them persevere in their affectionate vigilance over that precious depository of American happiness, the Constitution of the United States.

If we and our posterity reject religious instruction and authority, violate the rules of eternal justice, trifle with the injunctions of morality, and recklessly destroy the political constitution which holds us together, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us, that shall bury all our glory in profound obscurity.

This is a Government constituted for particular purposes only; and the powers granted to carry it into effect are specifically enumerated and disposed among the various branches. If those powers are insufficient, or if they are improperly distributed, it is not our fault, or within our power to remedy. The People, who bestowed them, must […]

If you want to understand your government, don’t begin by reading the Constitution. It conveys precious little of the flavor of today’s statecraft. Instead, read selected portions of the Washington telephone directory containing listings for all the organizations with titles beginning with the word ‘National’.