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the Government may be the Choice of a Party, for its own Ends, not of the nation for the national good.
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“the Government may be the Choice of a Party, for its own Ends, not of the nation for the national good.”

John Adams

Source
Inaugural Address, 4 March 1797
Date
1797
Meaning

Meaning of “the Government may be the Choice of a…”

Adams warns that corruption or manipulation of elections can substitute factional interest for the public choice an elected government is supposed to represent.

Source context

Where does it come from?

Inaugural Address, March 4, 1797, represented by Founders Online / National Archives. The clause appears in Adams’s warning about party artifice, corruption and foreign interference in elections; it remains historical presidential rhetoric rather than current election-law advice.

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IntegrityResponsibilityThought-Provoking Quotes That Invite ReflectionDemocracyPoliticsPower
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The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government.
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“The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government.”

George Washington · Farewell Address, 19 September 1796 · 1796
Meaning & context

Washington grounds legitimate constitutional authority in the people’s continuing right to establish and revise their form of government.

Source details

Farewell Address, September 19, 1796, preserved by Founders Online / National Archives. The sentence appears while Washington urges respect for the Constitution and laws while affirming the people’s right to alter constitutional government. It is a historical republican argument, not present-day legal advice about amendment procedures.

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In politics we cannot keep our hands clean.
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“In politics we cannot keep our hands clean.”

Henry Adams · Democracy: An American Novel · 1880
Voice: Fictional character · Senator Silas Ratcliffe
Meaning & context

Ratcliffe bluntly argues that political action can involve morally compromising choices, exposing the novel’s conflict between expediency and personal integrity.

Source details

Democracy: An American Novel, represented by Project Gutenberg #2815. Senator Silas Ratcliffe says this to Madeleine Lee while defending questionable acts in his political career. It is fictional character dialogue in Adams’s political novel, not Adams speaking autobiographically or prescribing political conduct.

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If men were angels, no government would be necessary.
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“If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”

James Madison · Federalist No. 51 · 1788
Meaning & context

Madison uses the hypothetical contrast with angels to explain why constitutional institutions need checks on both governed people and those who exercise governmental power.

Source details

The Federalist No. 51, February 1788. The line sits inside Madison’s argument for checks and balances and institutional controls; it is political theory about constitutional design rather than a factual measurement of human nature.

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The object of government is the welfare of the people.
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“The object of government is the welfare of the people.”

Theodore Roosevelt · The New Nationalism · 1910
Meaning & context

Roosevelt evaluates public power by whether it serves the welfare of people rather than becoming an instrument for entrenched private advantage or special interests.

Source details

The New Nationalism, Osawatomie, Kansas, August 31, 1910. This is Progressive Era political argument about public welfare, economic power and government responsibility, not current policy guidance.

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to hold the Union of the States as the basis of their peace and happiness;
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“to hold the Union of the States as the basis of their peace and happiness;”

James Madison · First Inaugural Address, 4 March 1809 · 1809
Meaning & context

Madison presents preservation of the federal union as one of the governing principles he intends to follow in office.

Source details

First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1809, represented by Founders Online / National Archives. This clause occurs in Madison’s long statement of presidential principles and remains historical political rhetoric rather than a prediction or current constitutional instruction.

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Energy in the Executive is a leading character in the definition of good government.
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“Energy in the Executive is a leading character in the definition of good government.”

Alexander Hamilton · Federalist No. 70 · 1788
Meaning & context

Hamilton argues that effective republican government requires an executive capable of acting with enough unity, speed and responsibility to carry laws and public duties into effect.

Source details

The Federalist No. 70, reviewed against the Gideon-edition Wikisource transcription. Hamilton's 'Energy in the executive...' sentence introduces his constitutional case for executive unity, duration, support and competent powers; it remains eighteenth-century institutional argument rather than a timeless empirical rule about government.