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Quote#Politics & Power

A government of laws, and not of men

Quote byJohn Adams · 1735–1826

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Novanglus Essays (1774–1775), No. 7; this phrase was incorporated into the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780. It itself is a an alteration of a quote from James Harrington, which Adams previously quoted directly in a letter written in 1776..

English (original)

A government of laws, and not of men.

— John Adams

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