The danger in our system is that the general government, which represents the interests of the whole, may encroach on the states, which represent the peculiar and local interests, or that the latter may encroach on the former.
John C. CalhounRead
There is not an example on record of any free state holding a province of the same extent and population without disastrous consequences. The nations conquered and held as a province have, in time, retaliated by destroying the liberty of their conquerors through the corrupting effect of extended patronage and irresponsible power.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote discusses the dangers of a free state maintaining control over conquered territories and the corrupting influence of power.
John C. Calhoun highlights the inherent risks for a free nation that keeps conquered territories under its control. He argues that such dominion often leads to negative consequences, as the subjugated nations may eventually undermine the liberty of their conquerors due to the corrupting nature of power and the burdens that accompany the governance of others.
Themes
FreedomPowerCorruptionGovernanceLiberty
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about colonialism, referencing Calhoun's insights on the consequences of imperial rule.
More from John C. Calhoun
All quotes βThere is a tendency in all parties, when they have been for a long time in possession of power, to augment it.
John C. CalhounRead
I hold that there is a mysterious connection between the fate of this country and that of Mexico; so much so that her independence and capability of sustaining herself are almost as essential to our prosperity and the maintenance of our institutions as they are to hers.
John C. CalhounRead
The error is in the assumption that the General Government is a party to the constitutional compact. The States ... formed the compact, acting as sovereign and independent communities.
John C. CalhounRead
Stripped of all its covering, the naked question is, whether ours is a federal or consolidated government; a constitutional or absolute one; a government resting solidly on the basis of the sovereignty of the States, or on the unrestrained will of a majority; a form of government, as in all other unlimited ones, in which injustice, violence, and force must ultimately prevail.
John C. CalhounRead
Restore, without delay, the equilibrium between revenue and expenditures, which has done so much to destroy our credit and derange the whole fabric of government. If that should not be done, the government and country will be involved, ere long, in overwhelming difficulties.
John C. CalhounRead
Similar quotes
I hereby accuse the North American empire of being the biggest menace to our planet.
Hugo ChavezRead
The deep problems that afflict the Middle East are not easy to fix, but they must be dealt with if we are not to see a son of ISIS, or even a grandson of ISIS, developing in the years to come.
Peter BergenRead
I want to make a policy statement. I am unabashedly in favor of women.
Lyndon B. JohnsonRead
"I criticize America because I love her. I want her to stand as a moral example to the world."
Martin Luther King, Jr.Read
Being in politics is like being a football coach. You have to be smart enough to understand the game, and dumb enough to think it's important.
Eugene MccarthyRead
If a novelist had concocted a villain like Trump - a larger-than-life, over-the-top avatar of narcissism, mendacity, ignorance, prejudice, boorishness, demagoguery, and tyrannical impulses, she or he would likely be accused of extreme contrivance and implausibility.
Michiko KakutaniRead