← Back to quotes

Though the President is Commander-in-chief, Congress is his commander; and, God willing… — Thaddeus Stevens

Speech · Political speech

Though the President is Commander-in-chief, Congress is his commander; and, God willing, he shall obey. He and his minions shall learn that this is not a Government of kings and satraps, but a Government of the people, and that Congress is the people.

Thaddeus Stevens
1867
★ 1.0
Other tags relating to this quote
Topic
Separation of powersConstitutional theory
Genre
Political speech
Medium
Speech
Time
1867
Person
Thaddeus Stevens
Provenance
Current citation
Stevens, Thaddeus. "Reconstruction." The Selected Papers of Thaddeus Stevens: April 1865-August 1868, edited by Beverly Wilson Palmer and Holly Byers Ochoa. Vol. 2, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1998.
Original citation
Stevens, Thaddeus. Address in the House of Representatives. House of Representatives meeting. 3 Jan. 1867, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

Related quotes

Other quotes that share a subject, a time, or a voice with this one.

The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials, and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts. One's right to life, liberty, and property, to free speech, a free press, freedom of worship and assembly, and other fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.

Robert H. Jackson
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette · 1943
Another quote aboutTopic·Constitutional theory