"I do not believe that the power and duty of the general government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering. ... A prevalent tendency to disregard the limited mission of this power should, I think, be steadfastly resisted... Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens the sturdiness of our National character." --Grover ClevelandAs you contemplate the "conservatism" of these quotes, keep in mind that Grover Cleveland and Franklin Pierce were both Democrats!
"I feel obliged to withhold my approval of the plan to indulge in benevolent and charitable sentiment through the appropriation of public funds ... I find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution." --Grover Cleveland
"I cannot find any authority in the Constitution for public charity. ... It would be contrary to the letter and the spirit of the Constitution and subversive to the whole theory upon which the Union of these States is founded." --Franklin Pierce (14th President of the United States)
"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents." --James Madison (The "Father" of our Constitution)
Good Day to You, Sir
1 comment:
I just went over Cleveland and Pierce in my Presidency class. Both are way more interesting than I'd ever given them credit for.
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