--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [T]he Constitution ought to be the…" description: "\"[T]he Constitution ought to be the standard of construction for the laws, and that wherever there is an evident opposition, the laws ought to give plac..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a00/alexander-hamilton-619_circumstances_t-he-constitution-ought-to-be-the-standa_636805.jpg" --- # \[T\]he Constitution ought to be the standard of… ![“[T]he Constitution ought to be the standard of construction for the laws, and that wherever there is an evident opposition, the laws ought to give place to the Constitution. But this doctrine is not deducible from any circumstance peculiar to the plan of convention, but from the general theory of…” quote by Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a00/alexander-hamilton-619_circumstances_t-he-constitution-ought-to-be-the-standa_636805.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a00/alexander-hamilton-619_circumstances_t-he-constitution-ought-to-be-the-standa_636805.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a00/alexander-hamilton-619_circumstances_t-he-constitution-ought-to-be-the-standa_636805.jpg) > “\[T\]he Constitution ought to be the standard of construction for the laws, and that wherever there is an evident opposition, the laws ought to give place to the Constitution. But this doctrine is not deducible from any circumstance peculiar to the plan of convention, but from the general theory of a limited Constitution.” [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The Constitution should guide legal interpretation; when conflict arises, the Constitution prevails over statutes. **In simple terms:** Constitution overrides conflicting laws. Key Takeaway Prioritize constitutional limits. Themes law constitution interpretation limits authority Mood serious reflective Type political legal When to use this quote - court rulings - legislative drafting - policy analysis - governmental checks Key Concepts legal theory constitutionalism judicial review Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance constitutional rigidity with societal change? - When should courts intervene? A Different Perspective Constitutional supremacy may clash with democratic flexibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstances/) [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Constitution Doctrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution-doctrine-5121516/) [Constitution Ought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution-ought-956019/) [Construction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/construction/) [Conventions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conventions/) [Doctrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrine/) [Evident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evident/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Laws Ought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws-ought-395928/) [Limited Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limited-constitution-282059/) [Opposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposition/) [Ought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought/) [Peculiar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peculiar/) [Place Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place-constitution-3681044/) [Plans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plans/) [Standards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standards/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) ## Related quotes > [If, then, the courts of justice are to be considered as the bulwarks of a limited Constitution against legislative encroachments, this consideration will afford…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/if-then-the-courts-of-justice-are-to-be-considered-as-the-bulwarks-of/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [The complete independence of the courts of justice is peculiarly essential in a limited Constitution. By a limited Constitution, I understand one which contains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-complete-independence-of-the-courts-of-justice-is-peculiarly/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [To answer the purpose of the adversaries of the Constitution, they ought to prove, not merely that particular provisions in it are not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/to-answer-the-purpose-of-the-adversaries-of-the-constitution-they/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [The interpretation of the laws is the proper and peculiar province of the courts. A constitution is, in fact, and must be regarded by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-interpretation-of-the-laws-is-the-proper-and-peculiar-province-of/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [A constitution is, in fact, and must be regarded by judges, as a fundamental law. It therefore belongs to them to ascertain its meaning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/a-constitution-is-in-fact-and-must-be-regarded-by-judges-as-a/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [ I shall make it my chief business to see that the \[royal\] executive power has its place in the constitution. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honore-gabriel-riqueti-comte-de-mirabeau/i-shall-make-it-my-chief-business-to-see-that-the-royal-executive/) [Honore Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honore-gabriel-riqueti-comte-de-mirabeau/) > [Give the church a place in the Constitution, let her touch once more the sword of power, and the priceless fruit of all ages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/give-the-church-a-place-in-the-constitution-let-her-touch-once-more/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [The powers contained in a constitution...ought to be construed liberally in advancement of the public good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-powers-contained-in-a-constitution-ought-to-be-construed/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [There are rights that Hillary Clinton doesn't like. American people have too many rights. There's too much freedom. Government doesn't have enough rights, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/there-are-rights-that-hillary-clinton-doesn-t-like-american-people/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The laws ought to be so framed as to secure the safety of every citizen as much as possible. ... Political liberty does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-the-great/the-laws-ought-to-be-so-framed-as-to-secure-the-safety-of-every/) [Catherine the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-the-great/) > [Laws ought to be fashioned unto the manners and conditions of the people whom they are meant to benefit, and not imposed upon them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/laws-ought-to-be-fashioned-unto-the-manners-and-conditions-of-the/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [“We know that laws ought to be obeyed only if they come out of people's sense of justice, not because the state needs them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/we-know-that-laws-ought-to-be-obeyed-only-if-they-come-out-of-people/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another; and this is all from which the laws ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/no-man-has-a-natural-right-to-commit-aggression-on-the-equal-rights/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“If he who has control of men ought not to control the laws, then he who controls the laws ought not control men: otherwise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/if-he-who-has-control-of-men-ought-not-to-control-the-laws-then-he/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [I have sometimes thought that the laws ought not to punish those actions of evil which are committed when the senses are steeped in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-have-sometimes-thought-that-the-laws-ought-not-to-punish-those/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) ## More by Alexander Hamilton > [“I am apprehensive, Sir, that in the warmth of my feelings, I may have uttered expressions, which were too vehement. If such has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/i-am-apprehensive-sir-that-in-the-warmth-of-my-feelings-i-may-have/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [“The truth unquestionably is, that the only path to a subversion of the republican system of the Country is, by flattering the prejudices of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-truth-unquestionably-is-that-the-only-path-to-a-subversion-of-the/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [ \[W\]ar is a question, under our constitution, not of Executive, but of Legislative cognizance. It belongs to Congress to say whether the Nation shall… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/w-ar-is-a-question-under-our-constitution-not-of-executive-but-of/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-will-be-of-little-avail-to-the-people-that-the-laws-are-made-by/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Though a wide ocean separates the United States from Europe, yet there are various considerations that warn us against an excess of confidence or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/though-a-wide-ocean-separates-the-united-states-from-europe-yet-there/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [It is an unquestionable truth, that the body of the people in every country desire sincerely its prosperity. But it is equally unquestionable that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-is-an-unquestionable-truth-that-the-body-of-the-people-in-every/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [There are still to be found visionary or designing men, who stand ready to advocate the paradox of perpetual peace between the states, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/there-are-still-to-be-found-visionary-or-designing-men-who-stand/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [ It is one thing to be subordinate to the laws, and another \[for the Executive\] to be dependent on the legislative body. The first… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-is-one-thing-to-be-subordinate-to-the-laws-and-another-for-the/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Man is very much a creature of habit. A thing that rarely strikes his senses will generally have but little influence upon his mind.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/man-is-very-much-a-creature-of-habit-a-thing-that-rarely-strikes-his/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Money is, with propriety, considered as the vital principle of the body politic; as that which sustains its life and motion, and enables it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/money-is-with-propriety-considered-as-the-vital-principle-of-the-body/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [The nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master and deserves one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-nation-which-can-prefer-disgrace-to-danger-is-prepared-for-a/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [It is a well-known fact that in countries in which the national debt is properly funded, and an object of established confidence, it answers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-is-a-well-known-fact-that-in-countries-in-which-the-national-debt/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [A government, the constitution of which renders it unfit to be trusted with all the powers which a free people ought to delegate to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/a-government-the-constitution-of-which-renders-it-unfit-to-be-trusted/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [The Liberty of the press consists in the right to publish with impunity truth with good motives for justifiable ends, though reflecting on government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-liberty-of-the-press-consists-in-the-right-to-publish-with/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [You should not have taken advantage of my sensibility to steal into my affections without my consent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/you-should-not-have-taken-advantage-of-my-sensibility-to-steal-into/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) [Explore all 443 Alexander Hamilton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) ## More Circumstances quotes > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Although under particular circumstances, the violence method - any method - can be justified, nevertheless once you commit violence, then counterviolence will be returned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/although-under-particular-circumstances-the-violence-method-any/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Trust is about keeping commitments, but in many instances, circumstances change and organizations therefore shed commitments, things such as retiree medical benefits, pension obligations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/trust-is-about-keeping-commitments-but-in-many-instances/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [The fortunate circumstances of our lives are generally found, at last, to be of our own producing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/the-fortunate-circumstances-of-our-lives-are-generally-found-at-last/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [“The set of circumstances that justifies the use of deadly force is a situation of immediate danger of death or great bodily harm to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massad-ayoob/the-set-of-circumstances-that-justifies-the-use-of-deadly-force-is-a/) [Massad Ayoob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massad-ayoob/) > [My sister-in-law works for a group that supports orphanages in Cairo. She and her colleagues take care of children left behind by circumstances beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/my-sister-in-law-works-for-a-group-that-supports-orphanages-in-cairo/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [It's impossible to know who Donald might have been under different circumstances and with different parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-l-trump/it-s-impossible-to-know-who-donald-might-have-been-under-different/) [Mary L. Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-l-trump/) > [When we watch a play under the standard circumstances, we've lost volition and time is passing. A still play feels like an existential threat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/when-we-watch-a-play-under-the-standard-circumstances-we-ve-lost/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [Being positive helps you to keep away negative thoughts. And helps you to stand in adverse circumstances with the hope that in the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/being-positive-helps-you-to-keep-away-negative-thoughts-and-helps-you/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [It seemed to me that the human beings I met reacted pretty much the same to the same stimuli. Different idioms,yes. Circumstances and conditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/it-seemed-to-me-that-the-human-beings-i-met-reacted-pretty-much-the/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [I don't think you would have missed that putt, but in these circumstances, I would never give you the opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicklaus/i-don-t-think-you-would-have-missed-that-putt-but-in-these/) [Jack Nicklaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicklaus/) > [I used to think I could shape the circumstances around me, but now I know Jesus uses circumstances to shape me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-goff/i-used-to-think-i-could-shape-the-circumstances-around-me-but-now-i/) [Bob Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-goff/) > [Instead of complaining about your circumstances, get busy creating new ones. You either suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-complaining-about-your-circumstances-get-busy-creating-new/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 4,560 Circumstances quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstances/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[T]he Constitution ought to be the standard of construction for the laws, and that wherever there is an evident opposition, the laws ought to give place to the Constitution. 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