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Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of. Notwithstanding the military establishments in the several kingdoms of Europe, which are carried as far as the public resources will bear, the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.

— James Madison Federalist Papers (1787)

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Guns

More quotes by James Madison

But what is Government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?

Federalist Papers (1787)

The legislative department is everywhere extending the sphere of its activity and drawing all power into its impetuous vortex.

Federalist Papers (1787)

Slavery is, as you justly complain, a sad blot on our free country.

Letter to Lafayette (1821)

Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other.

The Constitution requires an adoption in toto, and for ever.

Letter to Alexander Hamilton (1788)

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The tank, the B-52, the fighter-bomber, the state-controlled police and military are the weapons of dictatorship. The rifle is the weapon of democracy.

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Guns will make us powerful; butter will only make us fat.

Hermann Göring Radio broadcast (1936)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: James Madison (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.