John Adams

John Adams was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of the American Revolution that achieved independence from Great Britain.

Objected to the constitution^[1] knowing all Democracies fail.^[2]

John Adams said, “Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Morality and virtue are the foundation of our republic and necessary for a society to be free.

When the people chose to engage in the covetous practices of the civil cauldron, or one purse economics of socialist practices the contract clause allowed the masses to develop an appetite for the dainties of rulers.

Such covetousness is idolatry and would turn a once free people into merchandise.

"preserve your own honor; keep a clear Conscience and clean hands: but examine every Man and every Thing. You will Soon be respected in this Course, even if you stand alone." -- John Adams, letter to Charles Adams, January 2, 1795

Footnotes

↑
Objections to the Constitution
- Just as the revolutionary Adams opposed the Constitution in Massachusetts, so did Patrick Henry in Virginia, and the contest in that most important State of all was prolonged and bitter. He who in Stamp Act days had proclaimed that there should be no Virginians or New Yorkers, but only Americans, now declaimed as violently against the preamble of the Constitution because it began, ‘We the People of the United States’ instead of ‘We, the State’. Like many, he feared a ‘consolidated’ government, and the loss of states rights. Not only Henry but much abler men, such as Mason, Benjamin Harrison, Munroe, R.H. Lee, were also opposed and debated... others in what was the most acute discussion carried on anywhere...”
  “Owing to the way in which the conventions were held, the great opposition manifested everywhere, and the management required to secure the barest majorities for ratification, it seems impossible to avoid the conclusion that the greater part of the people were opposed to the Constitution.”
  “It was not submitted to the people directly, and in those days of generally limited suffrage, even those who vote for delegates to the State conventions were mostly of a propertied class, although the amount of property called for may have been slight.” History of the United States by J.T. Adams V.I 258-259.
- Patrick Henry never waivered from his criticism of US Constitution and knew in 1787, when that Constitution was ready to be submitted to the Governors of the states for ratification, Patrick Henry lectured against it in the Virginia State House for three weeks, criticizing the Constitution, warning that it had been written “as if good men will take office!” He asked “what they would do when evil men took office!”.
  "The President will lead in the treason."
  "Your militia will leave you and fight against you."
  "What will you do when evil men take office?"
  "When evil men take office the whole gang will be in collusion."
  "They will keep the people in utter ignorance and steal their liberty by ambuscade".
- “Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” John Adams also reminded the Fourth branch of government of the essential responsibility to avoid immorality included covetous practices.
- Deuteronomy 17 What should be in a biblical constitution.
↑
All democracies fail
- “A democracy is always temporary in nature;" clarifying “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.” ― Alexander Fraser Tytler, a.k.a. Lord Woodhouselee, (1747–1813) a judge, writer, and Professor at the University of Edinburgh.
- “The particular aspect of history which both attracts and benefits its readers is the examination of causes and the capacity, which is the reward of this study, to decide in each case the best policy to follow. Now in all political situations we must understand that the principle factor which makes for success or failure is the form of a state's constitution: it is from this source, as if from a fountainhead, that all designs and plans of action not only originate but reach their fulfillment.”― Polybius, The Rise of the Roman Empire.
- “I do not say that democracy has been more pernicious on the whole, and in the long run, than monarchy or aristocracy. Democracy has never been and never can be so durable as aristocracy or monarchy; but while it lasts, it is more bloody than either. … Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. It is in vain to say that democracy is less vain, less proud, less selfish, less ambitious, or less avaricious than aristocracy or monarchy. It is not true, in fact, and nowhere appears in history. Those passions are the same in all men, under all forms of simple government, and when unchecked, produce the same effects of fraud, violence, and cruelty. When clear prospects are opened before vanity, pride, avarice, or ambition, for their easy gratification, it is hard for the most considerate philosophers and the most conscientious moralists to resist the temptation. Individuals have conquered themselves. Nations and large bodies of men, never.” ― John Adams, The Letters of John and Abigail Adams.
- "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." John Galt, Dreams Come Due: Government and Economics as if Freedom Mattered (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986)
- Democracy without constraint against the worst impulses of the majority will lead to tyranny. Plato, Book VIII of “The Republic.”
- "To take from one, because it is thought that his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, — the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry, & the fruits acquired by it." Jefferson's note on Destutt de Tracy’s Treatise on Political Economy, [ca. May 18, 1816].
- Benjamin Franklin's response to Elizabeth Willing Powel's question: "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" was, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
- Democracy is the common purse of rights and property where by the mob is a king who may gorge themselves on the fleshpots of the cities of blood until they become perfect savages and are also devoured by the Dragon of their own making.
- “Democracy is the most vile form of government ... democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention: have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property: and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.” James Madison, 1787, stated in the Federalist Paper #10.
- “Our constitution (a Republican form of government) was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” John Adams also reminded the Fourth branch of government of the essential responsibility to avoid immorality included covetous practices.

[objectccc-1] Objections to the Constitution
Just as the revolutionary Adams opposed the Constitution in Massachusetts, so did Patrick Henry in Virginia, and the contest in that most important State of all was prolonged and bitter. He who in Stamp Act days had proclaimed that there should be no Virginians or New Yorkers, but only Americans, now declaimed as violently against the preamble of the Constitution because it began, ‘We the People of the United States’ instead of ‘We, the State’. Like many, he feared a ‘consolidated’ government, and the loss of states rights. Not only Henry but much abler men, such as Mason, Benjamin Harrison, Munroe, R.H. Lee, were also opposed and debated... others in what was the most acute discussion carried on anywhere...”
“Owing to the way in which the conventions were held, the great opposition manifested everywhere, and the management required to secure the barest majorities for ratification, it seems impossible to avoid the conclusion that the greater part of the people were opposed to the Constitution.”
“It was not submitted to the people directly, and in those days of generally limited suffrage, even those who vote for delegates to the State conventions were mostly of a propertied class, although the amount of property called for may have been slight.” History of the United States by J.T. Adams V.I 258-259.

Patrick Henry never waivered from his criticism of US Constitution and knew in 1787, when that Constitution was ready to be submitted to the Governors of the states for ratification, Patrick Henry lectured against it in the Virginia State House for three weeks, criticizing the Constitution, warning that it had been written “as if good men will take office!” He asked “what they would do when evil men took office!”.
"The President will lead in the treason."
"Your militia will leave you and fight against you."
"What will you do when evil men take office?"
"When evil men take office the whole gang will be in collusion."
"They will keep the people in utter ignorance and steal their liberty by ambuscade".

“Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” John Adams also reminded the Fourth branch of government of the essential responsibility to avoid immorality included covetous practices.

Deuteronomy 17 What should be in a biblical constitution.

[2] Just as the revolutionary Adams opposed the Constitution in Massachusetts, so did Patrick Henry in Virginia, and the contest in that most important State of all was prolonged and bitter. He who in Stamp Act days had proclaimed that there should be no Virginians or New Yorkers, but only Americans, now declaimed as violently against the preamble of the Constitution because it began, ‘We the People of the United States’ instead of ‘We, the State’. Like many, he feared a ‘consolidated’ government, and the loss of states rights. Not only Henry but much abler men, such as Mason, Benjamin Harrison, Munroe, R.H. Lee, were also opposed and debated... others in what was the most acute discussion carried on anywhere...”
“Owing to the way in which the conventions were held, the great opposition manifested everywhere, and the management required to secure the barest majorities for ratification, it seems impossible to avoid the conclusion that the greater part of the people were opposed to the Constitution.”
“It was not submitted to the people directly, and in those days of generally limited suffrage, even those who vote for delegates to the State conventions were mostly of a propertied class, although the amount of property called for may have been slight.” History of the United States by J.T. Adams V.I 258-259.

[3] Patrick Henry never waivered from his criticism of US Constitution and knew in 1787, when that Constitution was ready to be submitted to the Governors of the states for ratification, Patrick Henry lectured against it in the Virginia State House for three weeks, criticizing the Constitution, warning that it had been written “as if good men will take office!” He asked “what they would do when evil men took office!”.
"The President will lead in the treason."
"Your militia will leave you and fight against you."
"What will you do when evil men take office?"
"When evil men take office the whole gang will be in collusion."
"They will keep the people in utter ignorance and steal their liberty by ambuscade".

[4] “Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” John Adams also reminded the Fourth branch of government of the essential responsibility to avoid immorality included covetous practices.

[5] Deuteronomy 17 What should be in a biblical constitution.

[demofail-2] All democracies fail

“A democracy is always temporary in nature;" clarifying “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.” ― Alexander Fraser Tytler, a.k.a. Lord Woodhouselee, (1747–1813) a judge, writer, and Professor at the University of Edinburgh.

“The particular aspect of history which both attracts and benefits its readers is the examination of causes and the capacity, which is the reward of this study, to decide in each case the best policy to follow. Now in all political situations we must understand that the principle factor which makes for success or failure is the form of a state's constitution: it is from this source, as if from a fountainhead, that all designs and plans of action not only originate but reach their fulfillment.”― Polybius, The Rise of the Roman Empire.

“I do not say that democracy has been more pernicious on the whole, and in the long run, than monarchy or aristocracy. Democracy has never been and never can be so durable as aristocracy or monarchy; but while it lasts, it is more bloody than either. … Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. It is in vain to say that democracy is less vain, less proud, less selfish, less ambitious, or less avaricious than aristocracy or monarchy. It is not true, in fact, and nowhere appears in history. Those passions are the same in all men, under all forms of simple government, and when unchecked, produce the same effects of fraud, violence, and cruelty. When clear prospects are opened before vanity, pride, avarice, or ambition, for their easy gratification, it is hard for the most considerate philosophers and the most conscientious moralists to resist the temptation. Individuals have conquered themselves. Nations and large bodies of men, never.” ― John Adams, The Letters of John and Abigail Adams.

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." John Galt, Dreams Come Due: Government and Economics as if Freedom Mattered (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986)

Democracy without constraint against the worst impulses of the majority will lead to tyranny. Plato, Book VIII of “The Republic.”

"To take from one, because it is thought that his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, — the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry, & the fruits acquired by it." Jefferson's note on Destutt de Tracy’s Treatise on Political Economy, [ca. May 18, 1816].

Benjamin Franklin's response to Elizabeth Willing Powel's question: "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" was, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

Democracy is the common purse of rights and property where by the mob is a king who may gorge themselves on the fleshpots of the cities of blood until they become perfect savages and are also devoured by the Dragon of their own making.

“Democracy is the most vile form of government ... democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention: have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property: and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.” James Madison, 1787, stated in the Federalist Paper #10.

“Our constitution (a Republican form of government) was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” John Adams also reminded the Fourth branch of government of the essential responsibility to avoid immorality included covetous practices.

[7] “A democracy is always temporary in nature;" clarifying “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.” ― Alexander Fraser Tytler, a.k.a. Lord Woodhouselee, (1747–1813) a judge, writer, and Professor at the University of Edinburgh.

[8] “The particular aspect of history which both attracts and benefits its readers is the examination of causes and the capacity, which is the reward of this study, to decide in each case the best policy to follow. Now in all political situations we must understand that the principle factor which makes for success or failure is the form of a state's constitution: it is from this source, as if from a fountainhead, that all designs and plans of action not only originate but reach their fulfillment.”― Polybius, The Rise of the Roman Empire.

[9] “I do not say that democracy has been more pernicious on the whole, and in the long run, than monarchy or aristocracy. Democracy has never been and never can be so durable as aristocracy or monarchy; but while it lasts, it is more bloody than either. … Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. It is in vain to say that democracy is less vain, less proud, less selfish, less ambitious, or less avaricious than aristocracy or monarchy. It is not true, in fact, and nowhere appears in history. Those passions are the same in all men, under all forms of simple government, and when unchecked, produce the same effects of fraud, violence, and cruelty. When clear prospects are opened before vanity, pride, avarice, or ambition, for their easy gratification, it is hard for the most considerate philosophers and the most conscientious moralists to resist the temptation. Individuals have conquered themselves. Nations and large bodies of men, never.” ― John Adams, The Letters of John and Abigail Adams.

[10] "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." John Galt, Dreams Come Due: Government and Economics as if Freedom Mattered (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986)

[11] Democracy without constraint against the worst impulses of the majority will lead to tyranny. Plato, Book VIII of “The Republic.”

[12] "To take from one, because it is thought that his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, — the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry, & the fruits acquired by it." Jefferson's note on Destutt de Tracy’s Treatise on Political Economy, [ca. May 18, 1816].

[13] Benjamin Franklin's response to Elizabeth Willing Powel's question: "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" was, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

[14] Democracy is the common purse of rights and property where by the mob is a king who may gorge themselves on the fleshpots of the cities of blood until they become perfect savages and are also devoured by the Dragon of their own making.

[15] “Democracy is the most vile form of government ... democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention: have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property: and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.” James Madison, 1787, stated in the Federalist Paper #10.

[16] “Our constitution (a Republican form of government) was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” John Adams also reminded the Fourth branch of government of the essential responsibility to avoid immorality included covetous practices.

[1]

[2]

John Adams

Footnotes

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