John Witherspoon
Nothing is more certain than that a general profligacy and corruption of manners make a people ripe for destruction. A good form of government may hold the rotten materials together for some time, but beyond a certain pitch, even the best constitution will be ineffectual, and slavery must ensue. (The Dominion of Providence over the Passions of men, 1776.)
posted by John | 8/20/2004 08:20:00 PM
1 Comments:
This concept is found throughout the writings of the founding fathers, yet completly foreign to the modern understanding of American Civil Government.
Witherspoon's statement wouldn't have been considered radical, but a rather a simple explanation of the foundations necessary for a free society. Freedom and immorality are inversly proportional. If a man cannot restrain himself, nature itself dictates that he will be restrained by someone else.
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