Consent Of The Governed Quotes

• For in reason, all government without the consent of the governed is the very definition of slavery.

  Jonathan Swift

  Government, Slavery, Definitions

  The Drapier's Letters no. 4 (1724)

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• Man is not made for the State but the State for man and it derives its just powers only from the consent of the governed.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Men, States, Made

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  No man is good enough to govern another man without the other's consent.

  Abraham Lincoln

  Leadership, Witty, Men

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• If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions.

  Calvin Coolidge

  Men, Rights, Progress

  Calvin Coolidge (2001). “The Quotable Calvin Coolidge: Sensible Words for a New Century”, Images from the Past Incorporated

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• We are a nation that has a government - not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the earth. Our government has no power except that granted to it by the people It is time to check and reverse the growth of government which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed.

  Ronald Reagan

  Government, People, Growth

  First Inaugural Address, delivered 20 January 1981

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• Our nation is built on the bedrock principle that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.

  Adrian Cronauer

  Government, Principles, Rehabilitation

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• The consent of the governed is not consent if it is not informed.

  Edward Snowden

  Consent, Ifs

  "Edward Snowden: NSA whistleblower answers reader questions". Live chat, www.theguardian.com. June 17, 2013.

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• If once the people become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies, Judges and Governors, shall all become wolves. It seems to be the law of our general nature, in spite of individual exceptions.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Law, Tyrants, People

  Thomas Jefferson, Jerry Holmes (2002). “Thomas Jefferson: A Chronology of His Thoughts”, p.82, Rowman & Littlefield

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• In a government bottomed on the will of all, the... liberty of every individual citizen becomes interesting to all.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Freedom, 4th Of July, Government

  Thomas Jefferson (2010). “The Works of Thomas Jefferson: Correspondence and Papers, 1803-1807”, p.192, Cosimo, Inc.

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  Governments rest on the consent of the governed, and that it is the right of the people to alter or abolish them at will whenever they become destructive of the ends for which they were established.

  Jefferson Davis

  Government, People, Ends

  Jefferson Davis (1963). “The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government (Complete)”, p.272, Library of Alexandria

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• It is to secure our rights that we resort to government at all.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Rights, Government, Resorts

  Thomas Jefferson (1854). “The Writings of Thomas Jefferson”, p.114

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• Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends [life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness] it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Pursuit Of Happiness, Government, People

  Declaration of Independence (1776).

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• Even government by the consent of the governed, as in our own Constitution, must be limited in its power to act against its people; so that there may be no interference with the right to worship, or with the security of the home; no arbitrary imposition of pains or penalties by officials high or low; no restrictions on the freedom of men to seek education or work or opportunity of any kind, so that each man may become all he is capable of becoming.

  Robert Kennedy

  Pain, Home, Opportunity

  Robert F. Kennedy, Edwin O. Guthman (1993). “RFK: collected speeches”, Viking Pr

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• Voting is the foundational act that breathes life into the principle of the consent of the governed.

  DeForest Soaries

  Voting, Principles, Breathe

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• The source of the government's authority is “the consent of the governed.” This means that the government is not the ruler, but the servant or agent of the citizens; it means that the government as such has no rights except the rights delegated to it by the citizens for a specific purpose.

  Ayn Rand

  Mean, Rights, Government

  Ayn Rand (1988). “The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z”, p.204, Penguin

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• We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Life, Change, Happiness

  Declaration of Independence (1776).

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• The consent of the governed" is more than a safeguard against ignorant tyrants: it is an insurance against benevolent despots as well.

  Walter Lippmann

  Tyrants, Ignorant, Democracy

  Walter Lippmann (1914). “A Preface to Politics”

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• Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

  Cory Doctorow

  Happiness, Men, Power

  Cory Doctorow (2010). “Little Brother”, p.235, Tor Teen

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• I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Education, Peace, Exercise

  Letter to William Charles Jarvis, 28 Sept. 1820

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• Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed

  Walter E. Williams

  Men, Independence, Unalienable Rights

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• What we seek is the reign of law, based upon the consent of the governed and sustained by the organized opinion of mankind.

  Woodrow Wilson

  Law, Reign, Opinion

  Woodrow Wilson (1945). “Woodrow Wilson: Selections for Today”

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• Government itself is founded upon the great doctrine of the consent of the governed, and has its cornerstone in the memorable principle that men are endowed with inalienable rights.

  Leland Stanford

  Memorable, Men, Rights

  Leland Stanford (1887). “Co-operation of Labor: Views of Senator Leland Stanford of California. An Interview ...”

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• Nothing is more surprising than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few.

  David Hume

  Philosophy, Philosophical, Government

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• 'All men are created equal', 'government by consent of the governed', 'give me liberty or give me death'. Well, those are not just clever words, or those are not just empty theories.

  Lyndon B. Johnson

  Inspirational, Motivational, Clever

  Special Message to the Congress: The American Promise, March 15, 1965.

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• Even the most despotic government cannot stand except for the consent of the governed.... Immediately the subject ceases to fear the despotic force, his power is gone.

  Mahatma Gandhi

  Government, Gone, Force

  Mahatma Gandhi (2014). “Freedom's Battle: Being a Comprehensive Collection of Writings and Speeches on the Present Situation”, p.50, The Floating Press

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