--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The great and radical vice in the…" description: "\"“The great and radical vice in the construction of the existing Confederation is in the principle of LEGISLATION for STATES or GOVERNMENTS, in their CO..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c2/alexander-hamilton-619_confederation_the-great-and-radical-vice-in-the-constr_552539.jpg" --- # The great and radical vice in the construction of the… ![“The great and radical vice in the construction of the existing Confederation is in the principle of LEGISLATION for STATES or GOVERNMENTS, in their CORPORATE or COLLECTIVE CAPACITIES, and as contradistinguished from the INDIVIDUALS of which they consist.” quote by Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c2/alexander-hamilton-619_confederation_the-great-and-radical-vice-in-the-constr_552539.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c2/alexander-hamilton-619_confederation_the-great-and-radical-vice-in-the-constr_552539.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c2/alexander-hamilton-619_confederation_the-great-and-radical-vice-in-the-constr_552539.jpg) > ““The great and radical vice in the construction of the existing Confederation is in the principle of LEGISLATION for STATES or GOVERNMENTS, in their CORPORATE or COLLECTIVE CAPACITIES, and as contradistinguished from the INDIVIDUALS of which they consist.”” [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 quote warns that giving too much legislative power to collective bodies, rather than individuals, undermines the Confederation's integrity. **In simple terms:** Too much power to groups harms the union. Key Takeaway Limit collective legislative authority. Themes government legislation individual rights confederation Mood cautious critical Type political historical When to use this quote - constitutional drafting - legislative reform - citizen advocacy - government oversight Key Concepts federalism political theory collective vs individual power Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance state power with individual liberty? - What mechanisms ensure groups act for the common good? A Different Perspective Collective bodies can still protect individual freedoms if properly checked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Confederation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confederation/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [“The causes which have been specified produced at first only unequal and disproportionate degrees of compliance with the requisitions of the Union. 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Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-a-macdonald/) > [I think in Atlantic Canada, because of what happened in the decades following Confederation, there is a culture of defeat that we have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harper/i-think-in-atlantic-canada-because-of-what-happened-in-the-decades/) [Stephen Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harper/) > [The power of the people pervading the proposed system, together with the strong confederation of the states, will form an adequate security against every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickinson/the-power-of-the-people-pervading-the-proposed-system-together-with/) [John Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickinson/) > [I am challenging Ezer Weizman to accept the democratic state where both of us can live in this democratic state. What confederation? No. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasser-arafat/i-am-challenging-ezer-weizman-to-accept-the-democratic-state-where/) [Yasser Arafat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasser-arafat/) > [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) ## More by Alexander Hamilton > [“I am apprehensive, Sir, that in the warmth of my feelings, I may have uttered expressions, which were too vehement. 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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. 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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 Confederation quotes > [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. 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Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-a-macdonald/) > [I have made it quite clear that a unified Ireland was one solution that is out. A second solution was a confederation of two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-have-made-it-quite-clear-that-a-unified-ireland-was-one-solution/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Brandon McCaw did a question about Federalism is a politicial system in which two or more distinct levels of government share and except power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-mccaw/brandon-mccaw-did-a-question-about-federalism-is-a-politicial-system/) [Brandon Mccaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-mccaw/) > [The Supreme Court, in 2005, emphasized and contrasted the great power of Congress under the Commerce Clause to regulate interstate commerce versus much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ann-radnofsky/the-supreme-court-in-2005-emphasized-and-contrasted-the-great-power/) [Barbara Ann Radnofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ann-radnofsky/) > [All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise, not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/all-the-perplexities-confusion-and-distress-in-america-arise-not-from/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [When any one State in the American Union refuses obedience to the Confederation by which they have bound themselves, the rest have a natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-any-one-state-in-the-american-union-refuses-obedience-to-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [If Yugoslavia is to exist, it can exist only as an alliance, a confederation of independent states.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-yugoslavia-is-to-exist-it-can-exist-only-as-an-alliance-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Great promise and responsibility await Canada. 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