"Great ideas do not burst upon the world unannounced. They are reached by a gradual development over a length of time usually proportionate to their importance. This is especially true of the principles laid down in the Declaration of Independence. Three very definite propositions were set out in its preamble regarding the nature of mankind and therefore of government. These were the doctrine that all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain inalienable rights, and that therefore the source of the just powers of government must be derived from the consent of the governed. If no one is to be accounted as born into a superior station, if there is to be no ruling class, and if all possess rights which can neither be bartered away nor taken from them by any earthly power, it follows as a matter of course that the practical authority of the Government has to rest on the consent of the governed. While these principles were not altogether new in political action, and were very far from new in political speculation, they had never been assembled before and declared in such a combination."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Presidents of the United StatesPoliticians from MassachusettsAutobiographers from the United StatesPoliticians from VermontUnited States presidential candidates, 1932
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Calvin_Coolidge
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Calvin Coolidge
1872 – 1933
US-amerikanischer Politiker
402 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Calvin Coolidge →
Related Quotes
"I appeal to Amherst men to reiterate the Amherst doctrine that the man who builds a factory builds a temple, that the…"
"When a great many people are unable to find work, unemployment results."
"Our inhabitants are especially free to promote their own welfare. They are unburdened by militarism. They are not cal…"
"The history of government on this earth has been almost entirely a history of the rule of force held in the hands of …"
"The evidence of this is all about us, in our wealth, our educational facilities, our charities, our religious institu…"
"There are only two main theories of government in the world. One rests on righteousness, the other rests on force. On…"
"Yet Americans are not visionary, they are not sentimentalists. They want idealism, but they want it to be practical, …"
"This is the main thought which your presence here brings to my mind. Let us maintain all the high ideals which have b…"
"We Americans are idealists. We are willing to follow the truth solely because it is the truth. We put our main emphas…"
""Mr. Coolidge was a real conservative, probably the equal of Benjamin Harrison," said Herbert Hoover, who was frequen…"