It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or … - James Madison

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Engraved portrait of James Madison, facing right

It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.

English
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About James Madison

James Madison Jr. (16 March 1751 – 28 June 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.

Biography information from Wikiquote · Portrait adapted from Wikimedia Commons, John Vanderlyn (Public domain / CC0)

Also Known As

Birth Name: James Madison, Jr.
Alternative Names: James Madison Jr. President Madison President James Madison

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It were doubtless to be wished, that the power of prohibiting the importation of slaves had not been postponed until the year 1808, or rather that it had been suffered to have immediate operation. But it is not difficult to account, either for this restriction on the general government, or for the manner in which the whole clause is expressed. It ought to be considered as a great point gained in favor of humanity, that a period of twenty years may terminate forever, within these States, a traffic which has so long and so loudly upbraided the barbarism of modern policy; that within that period, it will receive a considerable discouragement from the federal government, and may be totally abolished, by a concurrence of the few States which continue the unnatural traffic, in the prohibitory example which has been given by so great a majority of the Union. Happy would it be for the unfortunate Africans, if an equal prospect lay before them of being redeemed from the oppressions of their European brethren!"

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