Quote#Wisdom
A popular Government without popular information, or the means of…
Quote byJames Madison · 1751–1836
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Letter to W.T. Barry (4 August 1822), in The Writings of James Madison (1910) edited by Gaillard Hunt, Vol. 9, p. 103; these words, using the older spelling "Governours", are inscribed to the left of the main entrance, Library of Congress James Madison Memorial Building..
English (original)
A popular Government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy, or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.
— James Madison
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