Henry Adams (February 16, 1838-March 27, 1918) was an American philosopher and historian. He was the great-grandson of John Adams, the grandson of John Quincy Adams, and the son of Charles Francis Adams. He authored The Education of Henry Adams, 1918; as well as a nine volume work, titled, History of the United States, 1889-91; in which he stated:
<The Pilgrims of Plymouth, the Puritans of Boston, the Quakers of Pennsylvania, all avowed a moral purpose, and began by making institutions that consciously reflected a moral idea.> 1838HA001
Henry Adams wrote of Jefferson's attitude toward the Federal Government:
<Not three years had passed since Jefferson himself penned...the Kentucky Resolutions, in which he declared 'that in cases of an abuse...where powers are assumed which have not been delegated, a nullification of the act is the rightful remedy...each State has a natural right...to nullify of their own authority all assumptions of power by others within their limits; that without this right they would be under the dominion, absolute and unlimited, of whosoever might exercise this right of judgment for them.'
He went so far as to advise that every State should forbid, within its borders, the execution of any act of the general government 'not plainly and intentionally authorized by the Constitution'...Kentucky and Virginia...acted on the principle so far as to declare certain laws of the United States unconstitutional, with the additional understanding that whatever was unconstitutional was void...
Jefferson and his followers held that freedom could be maintained only by preserving inviolate the right of every State to judge for itself what was, or was not, lawful.> 1838HA002
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1838HA001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Henry Adams, 1889-1891, History of the United States, 9 vols. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, Great Seal Books, 1889-1891; 1960), p. 127. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, From Sea to Shining Sea (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1985), p. 48.
1838HA002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Henry Adams. History of the United States, 9 vols. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, Great Seal Books, 1889-1891; 1960).