William H. Crawford Quotes

What do gentlemen mean by a strict construction? If they contend only against that enlarged construction which would extend words beyond their natural and obvious import, we might question the application of the term, but should not controvert the principle. If they contend for that narrow construction which, in support of some theory not to be found in the Constitution, would deny to the government those powers which the words of the grant, as usually understood, import, and which are consistent with the general views and objects of the instrument; for that narrow construction, which would cripple the government, and render it unequal to the objects for which it is declared to be instituted, and to which the powers given, as fairly understood, render it competent; then we cannot perceive the propriety of this strict construction, nor adopt it as the rule by which the Constitution is to be expounded. As men whose intentions require no concealment generally employ the words which most directly and aptly express the ideas they in tend to convey, the enlightened patriots who framed our Constitution, and the people who adopted it, must be understood to have employed words in their natural sense, and to have intended what they have said.

The great object in view is to limit and qualify the powers of government.

We can’t trust government to limit its powers to the Constitution.

It seems that the reins of government are held with too feeble a hand..

The Constitution was framed fundamentally as a bulwark against governmental power.

If the sense in which the Constitution was accepted and ratified by the Nation ... be not the guide in expounding it, there can be no security for a consistent and stable government, more than for a faithful exercise of its powers

The Constitution is simply a sign that says “keep off the grass.”

Nobody knows exactly what that means ... It has become a wish list for people who want things in the Constitution.

The American people want a large government that can do all kinds of things ... that are not within the enumerated powers [of the Constitution.]

The real difficulty is not with the Constitution but with the judges who interpret it.

I get nervous every time we start tinkering with the Constitution.

No man in the U. S. I suppose, approved of every title in the constitution.

… tough times is a strong argument with many of us to stretch the Constitution

The peculiar circumstances of the moment may render a measure more or less wise, but cannot render it more or less constitutional.

Our greatest present disloyalty to the Constitution lies in the fact that we do not study and criticize it as did the men who devised and adopted it.

Every amendment which I am convinced will have the tendency to lesson the danger of civil liberty by the central government will receive my sincere approbation.

A constitution cannot possibly enumerate the means by which the powers of government are to be carried into execution.

When you are talking about constitutional law, you are talking about the balance of power in the community and the question of how you find meaning boils down concretely here to who finds the meaning.

The constitution of the United States is to receive a reasonable interpretation of its language, and its powers, keeping in view the objects and purposes, for which those powers were conferred. By a reasonable interpretation, we mean, that in case the words are susceptible of two different senses, the one strict, the other more enlarged, that should be adopted, which is most consonant with the apparent objects and intent of the Constitution

The Constitution is not about restricting the people; it is about restricting the government.

The State has invariably shown a striking talent for the expansion of its powers beyond any limits that might be imposed upon it.

Income taxes are responsible for the transformation of the Federal government from one of limited powers into a vast leviathan whose tentacles reach into almost every aspect of American life.

The War between the States... produced the foundation for the kind of government we have today: consolidated and absolute, based on the unrestrained will of the majority, with force, threats, and intimidation being the order of the day. Today's federal government is considerably at odds with that envisioned by the framers of the Constitution. ... [The War] also laid to rest the great principle enunciated in the Declaration of Independence that 'Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed'.

My quarrel is not with the legitimate role of government but with the unlimited role of government.

They need to review this secret world. We have an incredibly powerful government that gets on automatic pilot.