Joseph Story Quotes

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• One of the ordinary modes, by which tyrants accomplish their purposes without resistance, is, by disarming the people, and making it an offense to keep arms.

  Joseph Story

  Gun, Tyrants, People

  Joseph Story (1865). “A Familiar Exposition of the Constitution of the United States: Containing a Brief Commentary on Every Clause, Explaining the True Nature, Reasons, and Objects Thereof; Designed for the Use of School Libraries and General Readers”, p.264

  69 Copy quote

• Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens. They fall, when the wise are banished from the public councils, because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded, because they flatter the people, in order to betray them.

  Joseph Story

  Wise, Fall, Order

  Joseph Story (1834). “The Constitutional Class Book: Being a Brief Exposition of the Constitution of the United States: Designed for the Use of the Higher Classes in Common Schools”, p.154

  71 Copy quote

• The militia is the natural defense of a free country against sudden foreign invasions, domestic insurrections, and domestic usurpation of power by rulers. The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of the republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally ... enable the people to resist and triumph over them.

  Joseph Story

  Country, Strong, People

  Joseph Story (1833). “Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States: With a Preliminary Review of the Constitutional History of the Colonies and States, Before the Adoption of the Constitution”, p.746

  46 Copy quote

• Without justice being freely, fully, and impartially administered, neither our persons, nor our rights, nor our property, can be protected. And if these, or either of them, are regulated by no certain laws, and are subject to no certain principles, and are held by no certain tenure, and are redressed, when violated, by no certain remedies, society fails of all its value; and men may as well return to a state of savage and barbarous independence.

  Joseph Story

  Men, Rights, Law

  Joseph Story (1873). “Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States: With a Preliminary Review of the Constitutional History of the Colonies and States Before the Adoption of the Constitution”, p.353, Boston : Little, Brown

  59 Copy quote

• I verily believe Christianity necessary to the support of civil society. One of the beautiful boasts of our municipal jurisprudence is that Christianity is a part of the Common Law... There never has been a period in which the Common Law did not recognize Christianity as lying its foundations.

  Joseph Story

  Beautiful, Lying, Believe

  33 Copy quote

• The real object of the First Amendment was not to countenance, much less advance Mohammedanism, or Judaism or infidelity, by prostrating Christianity; but ... to prevent any national ecclesiastical establishment which should give to a hierarchy the exclusive patronage of the national government.

  Joseph Story

  Real, Government, Giving

  48 Copy quote

• The truth is, that, even with the most secure tenure of office, during good behavior, the danger is not, that the judges will be too firm in resisting public opinion, and in defence of private rights or public liberties; but, that they will be ready to yield themselves to the passions, and politics, and prejudices of the day.

  Joseph Story

  Passion, Yield, Rights

  Joseph Story (1858). “Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States: with a preliminary review of the constitutional history of the colonies and states, before the adoption of the Constitution”, p.464

  41 Copy quote

• Let the American youth never forget, that they possess a noble inheritance, bought by the toils, and sufferings, and blood of their ancestors; and capacity, if wisely improved, and faithfully guarded, of transmitting to their latest posterity all the substantial blessings of life, the peaceful enjoyment of liberty, property, religion, and independence.

  Joseph Story

  Blessing, Blood, America

  34 Copy quote

• One of the ordinary modes, by which tyrants accomplish their purposes without resistance, is, by disarming the people, and making it an offence to keep arms, and by substituting a regular army in the stead of a resort to the militia. The friends of a free government cannot be too watchful, to overcome the dangerous tendency of the public mind to sacrifice, for the sake of mere private convenience, this powerful check upon the designs of ambitious men.

  Joseph Story

  Powerful, Army, Sacrifice

  Joseph Story (1842). “A Familiar Exposition of the Constitution of the United States”, p.264

  37 Copy quote

• Temporary delusions, prejudices, excitements, and objects have irresistible influence in mere questions of policy. And the policy of one age may ill suit the wishes or the policy of another. The constitution is not subject to such fluctuations. It is to have a fixed, uniform, permanent construction. It should be, so far at least as human infirmity will allow, not dependent upon the passions or parties of particular times, but the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.

  Joseph Story

  Party, Passion, Yesterday

  Joseph Story, Edmund H. Bennett (1858). “Commentaries on the Constitution of the Un. States: With a Prelim. Review of the Constitut. History of the Colonies and States, Bef. the Adoption of the Constitution”, p.303

  33 Copy quote

• The promulgation of the great doctrines of religion, the being, and attributes, and providence of one Almighty God: the responsibility to him for all our actions, founded upon moral freedom and accountability; a future state of rewards and punishments; the cultivation of all the personal, social, and benevolent virtues-these these never can be a matter of indifference in any well-ordered community. It is, indeed, difficult to conceive how any civilized society can exist without them.

  Joseph Story

  Responsibility, Punishment, Community

  Joseph Story (1833). “Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States: With a Preliminary Review of the Constitutional History of the Colonies and States, Before the Adoption of the Constitution”, p.699

  27 Copy quote

• A feeble execution is but another phrase for a bad execution; and a government ill executed, whatever may be its theory, must, in practice, be a bad government.

  Joseph Story

  Government, Practice, Phrases

  Joseph Story, Edmund H. Bennett (1858). “Commentaries on the Constitution of the Un. States: With a Prelim. Review of the Constitut. History of the Colonies and States, Bef. the Adoption of the Constitution”, p.317

  90 Copy quote

• No man can well doubt the propriety of placing a president of the United States under the most solemn obligations to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution.

  Joseph Story

  Men, Doubt, President

  Joseph Story (1833). “Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States: With a Preliminary Review of the Constitutional History of the Colonies and States, Before the Adoption of the Constitution”, p.339

  30 Copy quote

• In the next place, the state governments are, by the very theory of the constitution, essential constituent parts of the general government. They can exist without the latter, but the latter cannot exist without them.

  Joseph Story

  Government, Next, Essentials

  Joseph Story (1873). “Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States: With a Preliminary Review of the Constitutional History of the Colonies and States Before the Adoption of the Constitution”, p.370, Boston : Little, Brown

  40 Copy quote

• This provision (the 4th Amendment) speaks for itself. Its plain object is to secure the perfect enjoyment of that great right of the common law, that a man's house shall be his own castle, privileged against all civil and military intrusion.

  Joseph Story

  Military, Men, Law

  19 Copy quote

• It yet remains a problem to be solved in human affairs, whether any free government can be permanent, where the public worship of God, and the support of religion, constitute no part of the policy or duty of the state in any assignable shape. The future experience of Christendom, and chiefly of the American states, must settle this problem, as yet new in the history of the world, abundant, as it has been, in experiments in the theory of government.

  Joseph Story

  Religious, Government, Support

  Joseph Story (1833). “Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States: With a Preliminary Review of the Constitutional History of the Colonies and States, Before the Adoption of the Constitution”, p.700

  9 Copy quote

• The constitution of the United States is to receive a reasonable interpretation of its language, and its powers, keeping in view the objects and purposes, for which those powers were conferred. By a reasonable interpretation, we mean, that in case the words are susceptible of two different senses, the one strict, the other more enlarged, that should be adopted, which is most consonant with the apparent objects and intent of the Constitution.

  Joseph Story

  Mean, Views, Two

  Joseph Story (1851). “Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States: With a Preliminary Review of the Constitutional History of the Colonies and States, Before the Adoption of the Constitution”, p.298

  28 Copy quote

• The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered as the palladium of the liberties of a republic.

  Joseph Story

  Gun, Liberty, Second Amendment

  Joseph Story (1833). “Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States: With a Preliminary Review of the Constitutional History of the Colonies and States, Before the Adoption of the Constitution”, p.708

  9 Copy quote

• Piety, religion, and morality are intimately connected with the well being of that state, and indispensable to the administration of civil justice.

  Joseph Story

  Justice, Religion, Administration

  Joseph Story (1842). “A Familiar Exposition of the Constitution of the United States”, p.260

  8 Copy quote

• [I]t is impossible for those, who believe in the truth of Christianity, as a divine revelation, to doubt, that it is the especial duty of government to foster, and encourage it among all the citizens and subjects. This is a point wholly distinct from that of the right of private judgment in matters of religion, and of the freedom of public worship according to the dictates of one's conscience.

  Joseph Story

  Religious, Believe, Government

  21 Copy quote

• And it is no less true, that personal security and private property rest entirely upon the wisdom, the stability, and the integrity of the courts of justice.

  Joseph Story

  Integrity, Justice, Court

  Joseph Story (1833). “Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States: With a Preliminary Review of the Constitutional History of the Colonies and States, Before the Adoption of the Constitution”, p.426

  25 Copy quote

• To secure integrity there must a lofty sense of duty and a deep responsibility to future times as well as to God.

  Joseph Story

  Integrity, Responsibility, Virtue

  Joseph Story (1833). “Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States: With a Preliminary Review of the Constitutional History of the Colonies and States, Before the Adoption of the Constitution”, p.272

  8 Copy quote

• Marriage is treated by all civilized societies as a peculiar and favored contract. It is in its origin a contract of natural law . . . . It is the parent, and not the child of society; the source of civility and a sort of seminary of the republic.

  Joseph Story

  Family, Children, Law

  21 Copy quote

• I know of no power, indeed, of which a free people ought to be more jealous, than of that of levying taxes and duties.

  Joseph Story

  Jealous, People, Duty

  4 Copy quote

• There is not a truth to be gathered from history more certain, or more momentous, than this: that civil liberty cannot long be separated from religious liberty without danger, and ultimately without destruction to both. Wherever religious liberty exists, it will, first or last, bring in and establish political liberty.

  Joseph Story

  Religious, Truth, Long

  Joseph Story (1852). “The miscellaneous writings of Joseph Story ... ed. by his son, William W. Story”, p.441

  10 Copy quote

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