Quotes · Quote card
Quotation from A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America by John Adams
“The institutions now made in America will not wholly wear out for thousands of years. It is of the last importance, then, that they should begin right.”
A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, Preface (Works of John Adams, ed. C. F. Adams, vol. 4 (1851))
Adams explains why the choice between a single assembly and balanced branches matters so much at the founding.
Citation: "The institutions now made in America will not wholly wear out for thousands of years. It is of the last importance, then, that they should begin right." — John Adams, A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, Preface (Works of John Adams, ed. C. F. Adams, vol. 4 (1851)). (id a-defence-of-the-constitutions-q7)
Portrait: John Adams, Gilbert Stuart, Public domain.
