Henry John Temple Quotes
Large republics seem to be essentially and inherently aggressive.
Ashley, Evelyn. The Life of Henry John Temple, Viscount Palmerston: 1846-1865. Vol. 2, Richard Bentley and Son, 1876.
The veracity depends on how one defines a democracy. Serbia attacked Croatia and Bosnia—all fledgling democracies. Argentina, claiming to be a democracy, attacked England by invading the Falkland Islands. Hitler was elected in Germany in a free and fair election, and once they started their aggressive war Germany became a Fascist Dictatorship. What appears to be the case is that stable industrial democracies never make war on each other.
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC, FRS was a British statesman, who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period 1830 to 1865, when Britain stood at the height of its imperial power. He held office almost continuously from 1807 until his death in 1865. He began his parliamentary career as a Tory, defected to the Whigs in 1830, and became the first prime minister from the newly-formed Liberal Party in 1859. He was highly popular with the British public. David Brown argues "an important part of Palmerston's appeal lay in his dynamism and vigour."
