John Marshall Quotes

If by the statement that what the Constitution meant at the time of its adoption it means today, it is intended to say that the great clauses of the Constitution must be confined to the interpretation which the framers, with the conditions and outlook of their time would have placed upon them, the statement carries its own refutation. It was to guard against such a narrow conception that Chief Justice Marshall uttered a memorable warning— ‘We must never forget that it is a Constitution we are expounding ... a constitution intended to endure for ages to come, and consequently to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs.’

The contention that...the Constitution is to be disregarded if it stands in the way of that which is deemed of the public advantage...is destructive of the whole theory upon which our American Commonwealths have been founded.

Constitutions should consist only of general provisions; the reason is that they must necessarily be permanent, and that they cannot calculate for the possible change of things.

The purpose of a written constitution is to bind up the several branches of government by certain laws, which, when they transgress, their acts shall become nullities; to render unnecessary an appeal to the people, or in other words a rebellion, on every infraction of their rights, on the peril that their acquiescence shall be construed into an intention to surrender those rights.

The American Constitution has changed, is changing, and by the law of its very existence must continue to change, in its substance and practical working even its words remain the same.

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

We believe that all legislative assemblies should confine themselves to constitutional principles; and that all such laws should be implicitly obeyed by every American.

Our peculiar security is in the possession of a written constitution

The Constitution of the United States allows us to change; I don't have a problem with that.

Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.

The layman's constitutional view is that what he likes is constitutional and that which he doesn't like is unconstitutional.

To insert essential principles only, lest the operation of government should be clogged by rendering those provisions permanent and unalterable which ought to be accommodated to times and events.

A changeless constitution becomes the protector not only of vested rights but of vested wrongs.

The genius of the Constitution rests not in any static meaning it might have had in a world that is dead and gone, but in the adaptability of its great principles to cope with current problems and current needs.

A new world has come into being since the Constitution was adopted. Are the narrow, limited necessities of the old thirteen states ... to remain the rule of interpretations?

The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each citizen to defend it.

Our fundamental instrument of government [the Constitution] is an evolving document.

Though written constitutions may be violated in moments of passion or delusion, yet they furnish a text to which those who are watchful may again rally and recall the people. They fix, too, for the people the principles of their political creed.

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

If we can make the Constitution better in the opinion of those who are opposed to it, without weakening its frame, or abridging its usefulness, in the judgment of those who are attached to it, we act the part of wise and liberal men.

It is wrong to say that the Constitution will change with the times. It will be, illuminated by the times.

It doesn't really matter what one writes into a constitution. The important thing is what the collective instinct eventually makes of it.

Man must have an idol, and our political idol ought to be our constitution and laws. They, like the ark of the covenant among the Jews, ought to be sacred from all profane touch.

The General Constitution of our country is good, and a wholesome government could be framed upon it, for it was dictated by the invisible operations of the Almighty…

The people made the Constitution, and the people can unmake it. It is the creature of their will, and lives only by their will.