127+ Alexander Hamilton Quotes [Founding Father]

Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, was a prolific writer and speaker, known for his eloquence and sharp intellect.

His quotes and speeches exhibit several distinct characteristics:

• Intellectualism: Hamilton was known for his intellectual rigor and depth of thought. His quotes often reflect his keen understanding of complex political, economic, and social issues. He approached problems with a logical and analytical mindset, and his quotes showcase his ability to delve into the heart of a matter and offer insightful perspectives.
• Clarity and Precision: Hamilton had a gift for articulating his ideas clearly and concisely. His quotes are often characterized by their brevity and precision, allowing him to convey powerful messages in just a few words. He had a knack for distilling complex concepts into succinct statements that were easy to understand and remember.
• Persuasiveness: Hamilton was a skilled debater and had a persuasive writing style. His quotes were crafted to influence and persuade others, whether it was to rally support for his political ideas or to advocate for specific policies. He had a talent for using persuasive language, logic, and rhetorical devices to make compelling arguments.
• Federalist Ideals: As one of the leading figures in the Federalist Party, Hamilton’s quotes often reflected his support for a strong central government and a robust national economy. Many of his quotes emphasized the importance of a strong federal government, a well-regulated economy, and a strong national defense. His ideas were rooted in the belief that a strong and unified nation was essential for the success and prosperity of the United States.
• Visionary Thinking: Hamilton was a forward-thinking individual who recognized the potential of the United States and sought to shape its future. His quotes often demonstrate his vision for a strong and prosperous nation, embracing ideas such as industrialization, financial systems, and international trade. He advocated for policies and institutions that would enable the United States to compete on the world stage and establish itself as a prominent global power.

Overall, Alexander Hamilton’s quotes reflect his intellectual prowess, clarity of thought, persuasive abilities, commitment to Federalist ideals, and visionary thinking.

They continue to be admired and referenced today for their insight and relevance to various aspects of politics, governance, and societal development.

Alexander Hamilton Quotes

Here are some quotes attributed to Alexander Hamilton:

1. “A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing.”
2. “A promise must never be broken.”
3. “A well-adjusted person is one who makes the same mistake twice without getting nervous.”
4. “A sacred respect for the constitutional law is the vital principle, the sustaining energy of a free government.”
5. “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.”
6. “An army of principles can penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot.”
7. “A national government alone can adequately attend to the interests of the nation.”
8. “A promise made is a debt unpaid.”
9. “A strong body makes the mind strong.”
10. “All the schemes of the most plausible speculators in human improvement will be futile unless they are based on a just estimate of human nature.”
11. “As a nation cannot be trusted to self-government if individuals are not trusted to govern themselves.”
12. “A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.”
13. “Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.”
14. “Cunning and deceit will every now and then find their way into the halls of legislation.”
15. “Even to observe neutrality you must have a strong government.”
16. Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them.”
17. “Here, sir, the people govern.”
18. “I never expect to see a perfect work from imperfect man.”
19. “I never tire of hearing Hamilton speak.”
20. “If the end be clearly comprehended within any of the specified powers, and if the measure have an obvious relation to that end, and is not forbidden by any particular provision of the Constitution, it may safely be deemed to come within the compass of the national authority.”
21. “If we can make it better, we should.”
22. “It is the advertiser who provides the paper for the subscriber. It is not to be disputed that the publisher of a newspaper in this country depends on the intelligence and moral sense of the community for support.”
23. “Man is a reasoning rather than a reasonable animal.”
24. “Men often oppose a thing merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because it may have been planned by those whom they dislike.”
25. “Moderation in temper is always a virtue, but moderation in principle is always a vice.”
26. “My motives must remain in the depository of my own breast.”
27. “Nations, like individuals, who have long been enemies, without knowing each other, or knowing why, become the better friends when they discover that mutual mistakes and misfortunes have kept them so long asunder.”
28. “Nobody expects to trust his body overmuch after death.”
29. “One man with courage is a majority.”
30. “People sometimes attribute my success to my genius; all the genius I know anything about is hard work.”
31. “Real firmness is good for anything; strut is good for nothing.”
32. “Reason, well cultivated, and well instructed by education and knowledge, becomes the principle guide to a wise man.”
33. “Society may be formed so as to exist without crime, without poverty, with health greatly improved, with little, if any misery, and with intelligence and happiness increased a hundredfold.”
34. “The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed.”
35. “The constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.”
36. “The fabric of American empire ought to rest on the solid basis of the consent of the people.”
37. “The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature.”
38. “The voice of the people has been said to be the voice of God; and, however generally this maxim has been quoted and believed, it is not true in fact.”
39. “The wisdom of man never yet contrived a system of taxation that would operate with perfect equality.”
40. “There are seasons in every country when noise and impudence pass current for worth; and in popular commotions especially, the clamors of interested and factious men are often mistaken for patriotism.”
41. “Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.”
42. “To cherish and stimulate the activity of the human mind, by multiplying the objects of enterprise, is not among the least considerable of the expedients, by which the wealth of a nation may be promoted.”
43. “To grant that there is a supreme intelligence who rules the world and has established laws to regulate the actions of his creatures, and still to assert that man, in a state of nature, may be considered as perfectly free from all restraints of law and government, appears, to a common understanding, altogether irreconcilable.”
44. “To infer that because the measures we have pursued have been attended with partial success, we should therefore pursue the same measures and expect a different result, is a species of absurdity.”
45. “To model our political system upon speculations of lasting tranquility, is to calculate on the weaker springs of the human character.”
46. “To secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
47. “Treachery will betray itself.”
48. “We must make the best of mankind as they are, since we cannot have them as we wish.”
49. “Wealth can only be accumulated by the earnings of industry and the savings of frugality.”
50. “We are now forming a republican government. Real liberty is neither found in despotism or the extremes of democracy.”
51. “We have seen the mere distinction of color made in the most enlightened period of time, a ground of the most oppressive dominion ever exercised by man over man.”
52. “When a government betrays the people by amassing too much power and becoming tyrannical, the people have no choice but to exercise their original right of self-defense.”
53. “When the sword is once drawn, the passions of men observe no bounds of moderation.”
54. “Where liberty is, there is my country.”
55. “Wherever the will of the legislature is clear, it must be obeyed, regardless of the results.”
56. “While the constitution continues to be read, and its principles known, the states, must, by every rational man, be considered as essential component parts of the Union; and therefore the idea of sacrificing the former to the latter is totally inadmissible.”
57. “Your people, sir, is a great beast.”
58. “The people, sir, are a great beast.”
59. “I wish, from my soul, that the legislature of this State could see the policy of adopting, and forever after uniformly pursuing, some plan for raising a revenue, by which they could be gradually disburdened of the oppressive taxes, which they have hitherto found it expedient to lay.”
60. “To love the little platoon we belong to in society is the first principle (the germ, as it were) of public affections.”

Alexander Hamilton Quotes About Money, Finance & Politics

Alexander Hamilton Quotes About Money:

1. “Wealth can only be accumulated by the earnings of industry and the savings of frugality.”
2. “A well-adjusted person is one who makes the same mistake twice without getting nervous.”
3. “A government ought to contain in itself every power requisite to the full accomplishment of the objects committed to its care.”
4. “A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing.”
5. “A promise must never be broken.”
6. “A sacred respect for the constitutional law is the vital principle, the sustaining energy of a free government.”
7. “Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.”
8. “In politics, as in religion, it is equally absurd to aim at making proselytes by fire and sword.”
9. “In the general course of human nature, a power over a man’s subsistence amounts to a power over his will.”
10. “It is the advertiser who provides the paper for the subscriber. It is not to be disputed that the publisher of a newspaper in this country depends on the intelligence and moral sense of the community for support.”
11. “Men often oppose a thing merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because it may have been planned by those whom they dislike.”
12. “Money can buy the requisite number of votes to obtain power… But it cannot govern.”
13. “No citizen of the United States shall refrain from any form of lawful industry, nor refuse to contribute by his labor or skill to the welfare and prosperity of the state.”
14. “Real firmness is good for anything; strut is good for nothing.”
15. “The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature.”
16. “To cherish and stimulate the activity of the human mind, by multiplying the objects of enterprise, is not among the least considerable of the expedients, by which the wealth of a nation may be promoted.”
17. “To secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
18. “Treachery will betray itself.”
19. “When the sword is once drawn, the passions of men observe no bounds of moderation.”
20. “While the constitution continues to be read, and its principles known, the states, must, by every rational man, be considered as essential component parts of the Union; and therefore the idea of sacrificing the former to the latter is totally inadmissible.”

Inspirational Alexander Hamilton Quotes

Inspirational Alexander Hamilton Quotes:

1. “Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.”
2. “A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master and deserves one.”
3. “Real liberty is neither found in despotism or the extremes of democracy, but in moderate governments.”
4. “Learn to think continentally.”
5. “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”
6. “Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice without constraint.”
7. “I never expect to see a perfect work from an imperfect man.”
8. “The voice of the people has been said to be the voice of God; and, however generally this maxim has been quoted and believed, it is not true in fact.”
9. “Men often oppose a thing merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because it may have been planned by those whom they dislike.”
10. “In the main, and from beginning to end, the debates [at the Constitutional Convention] were controlled by an overwhelming majority of the members of the Convention, with interests essentially opposed to justice and equity.”

Short Alexander Hamilton Quotes

Short Alexander Hamilton Quotes:

1. “A promise must never be broken.”
2. “A well-adjusted person is one who makes the same mistake twice without getting nervous.”
3. “There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism.”
4. “A national debt, if not excessive, will be to us a national blessing.”
5. “A promise made must be a promise kept.”
6. “I never expect to see a perfect work from an imperfect man.”
7. “A share in the sovereignty of the state, which is exercised by the citizens at large, in voting at elections is one of the most important rights of the subject.”
8. “It’s not tyranny we desire; it’s a just, limited, federal government.”
9. “The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for, among old parchments, or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the Hand of the Divinity itself; and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power.”
10. “In the usual progress of things, the necessities of a nation in every stage of its existence will be found at least equal to its resources.”

Funny Alexander Hamilton Quotes

Funny Alexander Hamilton Quotes:

1. “There’s a million things I haven’t done, just you wait.”
2. “I have a mind to join a club and beat you over the head with it.”
3. “I have learned to hold popular opinion of no value.”
4. “If you don’t know, now you know, Mr. President.”
5. “I’ve been reading Common Sense by Thomas Paine. So men say that I’m intense or I’m insane.”
6. “I was trusted with a mint, I created the national bank. I stayed alive, when I thought I’d die.”
7. “I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love.”
8. “You strike me as a woman who has never been satisfied.”
9. “I’m not throwing away my shot…of espresso.”
10. “I am not throwing away my shot…of tequila.”

Famous Alexander Hamilton Quotes

Famous Alexander Hamilton Quotes:

1. “Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.”
2. “A well-adjusted person is one who makes the same mistake twice without getting nervous.”
3. “Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice without constraint.”
4. “I never expect to see a perfect work from an imperfect man.”
5. “Real liberty is neither found in despotism or the extremes of democracy but in moderate governments.”
6. “The voice of the people has been said to be the voice of God; and however generally this maxim has been quoted and believed, it is not true to fact.”
7. “Men often oppose a thing merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because it may have been planned by those whom they dislike.”
8. “Experience teaches that men are often so much governed by what they are accustomed to see and practice that the simplest and most obvious improvements, in the most ordinary occupations, are adopted with hesitation, reluctance, and by slow gradations.”
9. “The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for, among old parchments, or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased.”
10. “In the main it will be found that a power over a man’s support is a power over his will.”

Deep Alexander Hamilton Quotes

Deep Alexander Hamilton Quotes:

1. “Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice without constraint.”
2. “A promise must never be broken.”
3. “Adversity does not build character, it reveals it.”
4. “Learn to think continentally.”
5. “Real firmness is good for anything; strut is good for nothing.”
6. “In politics, as in religion, it is equally absurd to aim at making proselytes by fire and sword. Heresies in either can rarely be cured by persecution.”
7. “In the usual progress of things, the necessities of a nation in every stage of its existence will be found at least equal to its resources.”
8. “A promise made must be a promise kept.”
9. “It’s not tyranny we desire; it’s a just, limited, federal government.”
10. “The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for, among old parchments, or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased.”

These quotes reflect the depth and wisdom of Alexander Hamilton’s thoughts on various topics, including government, human nature, and the importance of principles and promises.

Conclusion

Alexander Hamilton, a remarkable figure in American history, left behind a legacy of profound quotes that continue to resonate today.

His words reflect his intellect, clarity of thought, and persuasive abilities.

Hamilton’s quotes encompass a wide range of topics, including government, liberty, human nature, and, importantly, money.

With his belief in a strong central government, the benefits of a national debt when managed properly, and the role of industry and frugality in accumulating wealth, Hamilton’s views on money were pragmatic and rooted in economic principles.

His quotes serve as a reminder of the complex relationship between finance and governance, emphasizing the importance of responsible fiscal policies and the impact of economic decisions on a nation’s well-being.

Alexander Hamilton’s insights on money provide valuable perspectives that continue to hold relevance in today’s world.

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