In a nation based on the 'consent of the governed,' judges…

“Fortunately, there was government by consent of the governed in America—but just as unfortunately, such governments dearly hate to admit a mistake.”

— T. R. Fehrenbach

“My country again! Mr. Wilson, you have a country; but what country have I, or any one like me, born of slave mothers? What…

— Harriet Beecher Stowe

“governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of…

— Declaration of Independence

“above all, Locke’s transforming idea that government was established and maintained by the consent of the governed, in which all men had an equal…

— James MacGregor Burns

Democratic government requires the consent of the governed.

— John McDonnell

“The authority of government, even such as I am willing to submit to— for I will cheerfully obey those who know and can do…

— Henry David Thoreau

Even government by the consent of the governed, as in our own Constitution, must be limited in its power to act against its people;…

— Robert Kennedy

Government itself is founded upon the great doctrine of the consent of the governed, and has its cornerstone in the memorable principle that men…

— Leland Stanford

Two hundred years ago, our Founding Fathers gave us a democracy. It was based upon the simple, yet noble, idea that government derives its…

— Paul Tsongas

"All men are created equal." "Government by consent of the governed." "Give me liberty or give me death." And those are not just clever…

— Lyndon B. Johnson

Governments rest on the consent of the governed, and that it is the right of the people to alter or abolish them at will…

— Jefferson Davis

The consent of the governed" is more than a safeguard against ignorant tyrants: it is an insurance against benevolent despots as well.

— Walter Lippmann

Even the most despotic government cannot stand except for the consent of the governed… Immediately the subject ceases to fear the despotic force, his…

— Mahatma Gandhi

The public needs to know the kinds of things a government does in its name, or the 'consent of the governed' is meaningless... The…

— Edward Snowden

Our nation is built on the bedrock principle that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.

— Adrian Cronauer