John Adams Quote

"There is nothing I dread So much, as a Division of the Republick into two great Parties, each arranged under its Leader, and concerting Measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble Apprehension is to be dreaded as the greatest political Evil, under our Constitution."

by:	John Adams (1735-1826) Founding Father, 2nd US President
Source:	John Adams, Letter to Jonathan Jackson, October 1780, referring to the Constitutional Convention which introduced the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-10-02-0113
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Categories:	Republic, Politics, Division, Opposition, Leadership, Constitution
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Woe unto those who owe their allegiance to self interested partisanship rather than to principle.  -- Patrick Henry, Red Hill      3
The 2 party hegemony has brought about absolute despotism, tyranny and an entrenched criminal elite. The concept of freedom, liberty, inalienable rights, individual sovereignty, natural law, and a body politic / representative republic limited by a constitution has been lost to the masses. By way of example: Obama care turns into republican care - both totalitarian in nature and unconstitutional. When there are only 2 evils to consider - there being little to no truth, love, natural law, liberty, individual sovereignty, inalienable rights, etc. in the equation, wars continue (such as the escalating war on drugs, and a war on those that can not afford Amerika's weapons).  -- Mike, Norwalk      4
A republican form of government is the distribution of power across many hands, with checks and balances in place to keep the power-hungry from dominating. The concentration of power into a few hands creates an endless quest for those seats of power. The so-called democracy has been turned into a rigged lottery between two choices picked for us by the ruling junta. It's Hillary vs Trump rather than the principles of republican governance. We seem to have forgotten that a president is not a king -- s/he cannot do whatever they please. The Congress is responsible for most of what people expect from a president -- it is Congress that spends and declares war, the President must administer the statutes that Congress passes. With neither presidential candidate beholden to the Constitution, and a Congress that has voted itself the money of the People (that's ALL they do now) the USA has become a de facto empire with a Crown and aristocracy that rule the common people. The job of the human being is the same as it ever was -- wake up, take the reins, and do good. INTEGRITY and HONOR are still the foundations of a free republic -- demand it from our servant government.  -- E Archer, NYC      4
He's so right. We have two progressive Parties dominating our politics and gov't, working together to keep the "littles" as insignificant as possible. They both intend an entitlement state with central gov't controlling all. They differ mostly in how quickly we get it done and in whether or not we are just part of a global pack or leader of the global pack.  -- empty pockets, NOLa      3 1
The repubs and dems are two sides of the same coin.  -- Jim K, Austin      3 1
-- Allen, DC
-- Ronw13, ID
One "small" problem with this quote.  It's attributed to a Letter Adams is said to have written in 1780.  Why is that important?  Well, if you go to the website which makes that attribution (click on the link above), you'll find that the Letter refers to the "Constitution" having been the product of a "Convention".  The problem is he's NOT talking about the U.S. Constitution, the convention for which didn't meet until 1787, and which wasn't ratified until 1789, LONG AFTER THE LETTER IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN! Since the Letter also talks about limiting the power of the GOVERNOR, it's probable Adams was talking about the Massachusetts STATE Constitution.  Which, of course, begs the question: why is this quote doing on a website named "The Federalist Papers", since this has NOTHING to do with said Papers, or their subject (the U.S. Constitution)! P.S. — It's also good to realize that not everything Adams wrote should be treated as "gospel".  For one thing, as his correspondence with Jefferson makes clear, he was adamantly opposed to the kind of Theology associated today with "right-wing" Christians.  On the other hand, he also opposed disestablishing the Congregationalist Church in his State (which was the "official" church there).  In fact, he "predicted" that the Solar System would be rearranged before that happened.  Events didn't work out that way!  -- Etaoin Shurdlu
Thanks, Etaoin.  The quote is in reference to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1780.  The source and link have been updated with more complete information.    -- Editor, Liberty Quotes

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