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