William Shakespeare Quotes
If money go before, all ways do lie open.
Shakespeare, William. The Merry Wives of Windsor. Edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine, Washington Square Press, 2004, act 2, sc. 2.
While New York City and a few other jurisdictions—states and local—have more stringent laws and ethical standards for politicians than does Congress and Federal Officials, but most have lower standards. In some of the jurisdictions judges can try cases and rule in favor of a company or wealthy individual who gave the judge the money to campaign with and get elected.
Today, we assume that corporations including banks chartered by State and Federal governments would hire lobbyists and use their money for political elections. However, in 1833, that was so shocking to public morality that the President addressed it in his State of the Union Address and it was the subject of countless debate. Interestingly, the body politic was equally, if not more, shocked by the fact that the Bank was trying to manipulate public opinion. Jackson and the politicians of that day would take a very dim view of corporate activities today.
Many were new to Washington politics and lobbyists.
William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. They also continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
