“It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising the sovereignty. Usurpation is then an easy attainment, and a usurper soon found. The people themselves become the willing instruments of their own debasement and ruin. Let us, then, look to the great cause, and endeavor to preserve it in full force. Let us by all wise and constitutional measures promote intelligence among the people as the best means of preserving our liberties.”
![“This [the U.S. Constitution] is likely to be administered for…” quote by Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d23/benjamin-franklin-65_constitution_this-the-u-s-constitution-is-likely-to-b_2328463.jpg)
![“It [concentration of wealth and power] has been a menace…” quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cae/franklin-d-roosevelt-488_american-democracy_it-concentration-of-wealth-and-power-has_2441480.jpg)
