--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The propriety of a law, in a…" description: "\"The propriety of a law, in a constitutional light, must always be determined by the nature of the powers upon which it is founded.\" — Alexander Hamilton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d83/alexander-hamilton-619_determined_the-propriety-of-a-law-in-a-constitution_1360165.jpg" --- # The propriety of a law, in a constitutional light, must… ![“The propriety of a law, in a constitutional light, must always be determined by the nature of the powers upon which it is founded.” quote by Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d83/alexander-hamilton-619_determined_the-propriety-of-a-law-in-a-constitution_1360165.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d83/alexander-hamilton-619_determined_the-propriety-of-a-law-in-a-constitution_1360165.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d83/alexander-hamilton-619_determined_the-propriety-of-a-law-in-a-constitution_1360165.jpg) > “The propriety of a law, in a constitutional light, must always be determined by the nature of the powers upon which it is founded.” [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. A law's legitimacy depends on the constitutional authority of the powers that create it. **In simple terms:** Law must match the power that enacts it. Key Takeaway Align law with constitutional authority. Themes law constitution authority Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type legal philosophical When to use this quote - legislative drafting - court challenges - policy formulation Key Concepts federalism separation of powers legal interpretation Questions to Reflect On - What powers justify new legislation? - How do courts resolve power conflicts? A Different Perspective Power limits can be ambiguous. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Determined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determined/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Propriety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/propriety/) ## Related quotes > [And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-smith-jr/and-that-law-of-the-land-which-is-constitutional-supporting-that/) [Joseph Smith, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-smith-jr/) > [The very idea of the law in a constitutional republic involves the requisite that it be a rule, a guide, uniform, fixed and equal,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-woodbury/the-very-idea-of-the-law-in-a-constitutional-republic-involves-the/) [Levi Woodbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/levi-woodbury/) > [The United States has been declared under martial law...All constitutional rights have been suspended. 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Give me the right to be tried by a jury of my own neighbors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/give-me-the-steady-uniform-unshaken-security-of-constitutional/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [A sacred respect for the constitutional law is the vital principle, the sustaining energy of a free government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/a-sacred-respect-for-the-constitutional-law-is-the-vital-principle/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [ It is by far the safer course to lay \[considerations of the future\] altogether aside; and to confine our attention wholly to the nature… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/it-is-by-far-the-safer-course-to-lay-considerations-of-the-future/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Our large trading cities bear to me very nearly the aspect of monastic establishments in which the roar of the mill-wheel and the crane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/our-large-trading-cities-bear-to-me-very-nearly-the-aspect-of/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [How do our philosophers act? Do they not inscribe their signatures to the very essays they write on the propriety of despising glory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/how-do-our-philosophers-act-do-they-not-inscribe-their-signatures-to/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [The fruit of humanity is devotion to one's parents. The fruit of righteousness is to respect one's elders. The fruit of wisdom is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/the-fruit-of-humanity-is-devotion-to-one-s-parents-the-fruit-of/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [“...the pleasantness of an employment does not always evince its propriety.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/the-pleasantness-of-an-employment-does-not-always-evince-its-propriety/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) ## 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. 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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 Constitutional quotes > [I think that, as Americans, we should never forget that when we tamper with freedom of speech, it is a very sensitive issue that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-b-rangel/i-think-that-as-americans-we-should-never-forget-that-when-we-tamper/) [Charles B. 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It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/constitutional-is-just-a-real-pip-of-a-word-positively-rolls-off-the/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [No migrant of any religion has a constitutional right to come to the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-tancredo/no-migrant-of-any-religion-has-a-constitutional-right-to-come-to-the/) [Tom Tancredo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-tancredo/) > [The current constitutional law places the president of the republic in an embarrassing situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-eduardo-dos-santos/the-current-constitutional-law-places-the-president-of-the-republic/) [Jose Eduardo Dos Santos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-eduardo-dos-santos/) > [The British monarchy has the political and constitutional task of subtracting from the government and governors of Britain the papal and kingly airs that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/the-british-monarchy-has-the-political-and-constitutional-task-of/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [I want to err on the side of constitutional liberty and freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-johnson/i-want-to-err-on-the-side-of-constitutional-liberty-and-freedom/) [Ron Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-johnson/) > [Most of us know nothing about constitutional law, so it's hardly surprising that we take sides in the Obamacare debate the way we root…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/most-of-us-know-nothing-about-constitutional-law-so-it-s-hardly/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [“Constitutional democracy can only survive if the people of our nation are moral.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-r-cooke/constitutional-democracy-can-only-survive-if-the-people-of-our-nation/) [Ronald R. Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-r-cooke/) > [Let us face reality. The framers (of the Constitution) have simply been too shrewd for us. They have outwitted us. 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