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Here, sir, the people govern; here they act by their immediate representatives.
-Alexander Hamilton
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The system is the best that the present views and circumstances of the country will permit.
-Alexander Hamilton
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The history of human conduct does not warrant that exalted opinion of human virtue which would make it wise in a nation to commit interests of so delicate and momentous a kind as those which concern its intercourse with the rest of the world to the sole disposal of a magistrate, created and circumstanced, as would be a President of the United States.
-Alexander Hamilton
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When occasions present themselves, in which the interests of the people are at variance with their inclinations, it is the duty of the persons whom they have appointed to be the guardians of those interests, to withstand the temporary delusion, in order to give them time and opportunity for more cool and sedate reflection.
-Alexander Hamilton
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In the usual progress of things, the necessities of a nation in every stage of its existence will be found at least equal to its resources.
-Alexander Hamilton
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In the main it will be found that a power over a mans support salary is a power over his will.
-Alexander Hamilton
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A garden, you know, is a very usual refuge of a disappointed politician. Accordingly, I have purchased a few acres about nine miles from town, have built a house, and am cultivating a garden.
-Alexander Hamilton
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I never expect to see a perfect work from imperfect man.
-Alexander Hamilton
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The fundamental source of all your errors, sophisms, and false reasonings, is a total ignorance of the natural rights of mankind. Were you once to become acquainted with these, you could never entertain a thought, that all men are not, by nature, entitled to a parity of privileges. You would be convinced, that natural liberty is a gift of the beneficent Creator, to the whole human race; and that civil liberty is founded in that; and cannot be wrested from any people, without the most manifest violation of justice. Civil liberty is only natural liberty, modified and secured by the sanctions of civil society. It is not a thing, in its own nature, precarious and dependent on human will and caprice; but it is conformable to the constitution of man, as well as necessary to the well-being of society.
-Alexander Hamilton
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Adaptability
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We must make the best of those ills which cannot be avoided.
-Alexander Hamilton
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Belief
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Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.
-Alexander Hamilton, attributed, also attributed to others with some variations
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Constitution
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Constitutions should consist only of general provisions; the reason is that they must necessarily be permanent, and that they cannot calculate for the possible change of things.
-Alexander Hamilton
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Control
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Real firmness is good for anything; strut is good for nothing.
-Alexander Hamilton
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Genius
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Men give me credit for some genius. All the genius I have is this. When I have a subject in mind. I study it profoundly. Day and night it is before me. My mind becomes pervaded with it... the effort which I have made is what people are pleased to call the fruit of genius. It is the fruit of labor and thought.
-Alexander Hamilton
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Government
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Even to observe neutrality you must have a strong government.
-Alexander Hamilton
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Gun Control
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Little more can reasonably be aimed at, with respect to the people at large, than to have them properly armed and equipped.
-Alexander Hamilton
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Humanity
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The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power.
-Alexander Hamilton
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Liberty
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Safety from external danger is the most powerful director of national conduct. Even the ardent love of liberty will after a time, give way to its dictates. The violent destruction of life and property incident to war, the continual effort and alarm attendant on a state of continual danger, will compel nations the most attached to liberty to resort for repose and security to institutions which have a tendency to destroy their civil and political rights. To be more safe, they at length become willing to run the risk of being less free.
-Alexander Hamilton, from No. 8, The Federalist
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Marriage
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Such a wife as I want... must be young, handsome I lay most stress upon a good shape, sensible a little learning will do, well-bread, chaste, and tender. As to religion, a moderate stock will satisfy me. She must believe in God and hate a saint.
-Alexander Hamilton
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Power
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Power over a man's subsistence amounts to power over his will.
-Alexander Hamilton
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Presidency
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It is of the nature of war to increase the executive at the expense of the legislative authority.
-Alexander Hamilton, from No. 8, The Federalist
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Reason
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Man is a reasoning rather than a reasonable animal.
-Alexander Hamilton
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Rules
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It is inherent in the nature of sovereignty not to be amenable to the suit of any individual without its consent. This is the general sense and the general practice of mankind; and the exemption, as one of the attributes of sovereignty, is now enjoyed by the government of every State in the Union. . . . The contracts between a nation and individuals are only binding on the conscience of the sovereign, and have no pretensions to a compulsory force. They confer no right of action, independent of the sovereign will. To...authorize suits against States for the debts they owe...could not be done without waging war against the contracting State..., a power which would involve such a consequence, would be altogether forced and unwarranted.
-Alexander Hamilton
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Vanity
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A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing.
-Alexander Hamilton
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Books by and about Alexander Hamilton