James Madison
“If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”
James Madison, Federalist No. 51 (1788), published in The Independent Journal under the pseudonym “Publius”
Documented source
Attribution
James Madison
Source
James Madison, Federalist No. 51 (1788), published in The Independent Journal under the pseudonym “Publius”
In full
“If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”
Status
Public domain in the United States
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About this line
Madison wrote it to sell a skeptical public on a radical new document — arguing a republic can’t rely on the virtue of its leaders and has to build in structural checks instead. Some arguments age well.
Why we carry this line
The clear-eyed case for checks and balances: people aren’t angels, so design for that. Ouch. Point taken.
Objects carrying this line
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