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There are two ways to conquer and enslave a country. One is by the sword. The other is by debt.

John Adams

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John Adams
Age: 90 †
Born: 1735
Born: October 19
Died: 1826
Died: July 4
2Nd U.S. President
Diplomat
Lawyer
Political Philosopher
Politician
Statesperson
Braintree
Massachusetts
President Adams
J. Adams
President John Adams
Ways
Two
Country
Way
Enslave
Sword
Conquer
Debt

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The essence of a free government consists in an effectual control of rivalries.
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It is weakness rather than wickedness which renders men unfit to be trusted with unlimited power.
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What is to become of an independent statesman, one who will bow the knee to no idol, who will worship nothing as a divinity but truth, virtue, and his country? I will tell you he will be regarded more by posterity than those who worship hounds and horses and although he will not make his own fortune, he will make the fortune of his country.
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Slavery is a foul contagion in the human character.
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National defense is one of the cardinal duties of a statesman, and that there is an obligation to perform such a duty absolutely irrespective of party politics or factional differences.
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Let every sluice of knowledge be opened and set a-flowing.
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What other form of government, indeed, can so well deserve our esteem and love?
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Public business must always be done by somebody. It will be done by somebody or other. If wise man decline, others will not if honest man refuse it, others will not.
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During the whole time I sat with him in Congress, I never heard him utter three sentences together.
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I shall have liberty to think for myself without molesting others or being molested myself.
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It is folly to anticipate evils, and madness to create imaginary ones.
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I do not like the reappearance of the Jesuits... Nevertheless, we are compelled by our system of religious toleration to offer them an asylum.
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I will insist that the Hebrews have done more to civilize man than any other nation.
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If the multitude is possessed of the balance of real estate, the multitude will have the balance of power, and in that case the multitude will take care of the liberty, virtue, and interest of the multitude in all acts of government.
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What havoc, said I to myself, would these manners make in America! Our governors, our judges, our senators or representatives, and even our ministers, would be appointed by harlots, for money and their judgments, decrees, and decisions, be sold to repay themselves, or, perhaps, to procure the smiles of profligate females.
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Where annual elections end, there slavery begins ... Humility, patience, and moderation, without which every man in power becomes a ravenous beast of prey.
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Because power corrupts, society's demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases.
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The Declaration of Independence I always considered as a theatrical show. Jefferson ran away with all the stage effect of that... and all the glory of it.
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Power must never be trusted without a check.
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Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited. What a Utopia! What a paradise this region would be.
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