Individuality is the aim of political liberty. By leaving to the citizen as much freedom of action and of being, as comports with order and the rights of others, the institutions render him truly a freeman. He is left to pursue his means of happiness in his own manner.
James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) American novelist
“Individuality,” The American Democrat (1838)
The tendency of democracies is, in all things, to mediocrity.
James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) American novelist
“On the Disadvantages of Democracy,” The American Democrat (1838)
It is the besetting vice of democracies to substitute public opinion for law. This is the usual form in which masses of men exhibit their tyranny.
James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) American novelist
“On the Disadvantages of Democracy,” The American Democrat (1838)
Power always has most to apprehend from its own illusions.
James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) American novelist
The American Democrat, Introduction (1838)
"Apprehend" here meaning "fear".
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