(1) We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately. - Benjamin Franklin, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence — 1776
(2) Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security, or the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths. - James Madison, Federalist No. 10 — 1787
On the first point: consider the circumstances of the Declaration's signing. Had the Revolution failed, anyone found to have led or helped lead would've likely faced either a long prison sentence or a one-way trip to the gallows bar. Thus Franklin's words were a reminder to the others that if either they succeed and America becomes its' own nation or they hang together in failure.
On the second point: Madison reminds us that America is not a democracy as many like to tout but a constitutional republic w/democratic features, limited powers, and rights guaranteed by God to the people thereof not to be traded and dealed out as favors but as rights guaranteed by law.
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