--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Founding Fathers set up the American…" description: "\"The Founding Fathers set up the American judiciary as a check on the excesses of the elected branches and as a refuge when those branches are corrupted..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/sheldon-whitehouse-3144_american_the-founding-fathers-set-up-the-american_745783.png" --- # The Founding Fathers set up the American judiciary as a… ![“The Founding Fathers set up the American judiciary as a check on the excesses of the elected branches and as a refuge when those branches are corrupted or consumed by passing passions.” quote by Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/sheldon-whitehouse-3144_american_the-founding-fathers-set-up-the-american_745783.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/sheldon-whitehouse-3144_american_the-founding-fathers-set-up-the-american_745783.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/sheldon-whitehouse-3144_american_the-founding-fathers-set-up-the-american_745783.png) > “The Founding Fathers set up the American judiciary as a check on the excesses of the elected branches and as a refuge when those branches are corrupted or consumed by passing passions.” [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The judiciary is designed to limit legislative and executive overreach and protect rights when politics go awry. **In simple terms:** Courts act as a safeguard against political excess. Key Takeaway Support an independent judiciary. Themes checks and balances rule of law government Mood concerned serious Type political legal When to use this quote - legislative overreach - executive abuse - citizen rights - political crisis Key Concepts separation of powers judicial review Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens hold courts accountable? - What limits should be placed on judicial power? A Different Perspective Courts cannot fix all political problems alone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Founding fathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/founding-fathers/) [Judiciary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judiciary/) ## Related quotes > [I want to note that, historically, the make-up of the court has changed just as elected branches have change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-brownback/i-want-to-note-that-historically-the-make-up-of-the-court-has-changed/) [Sam Brownback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-brownback/) > [Maintaining checks and balances on the power of the Judiciary Branch and the other two branches is vital to keep the form of government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-tiahrt/maintaining-checks-and-balances-on-the-power-of-the-judiciary-branch/) [Todd Tiahrt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-tiahrt/) > [The Founding Fathers built our judicial system to withstand the special interest pressures that beset the political branches of government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/the-founding-fathers-built-our-judicial-system-to-withstand-the/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [I suspect that a lot of the frustration people feel about government would feel a lot better if we had corporate influence out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/i-suspect-that-a-lot-of-the-frustration-people-feel-about-government/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [The intensive and concerted effort to exclude references to religion or God from public places is an attack on our founding principles. It's an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-intensive-and-concerted-effort-to-exclude-references-to-religion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The vote by the Judiciary Committee reflects the fact that John Roberts is an exceptional nominee with a conservative judicial philosophy - a philosophy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-vote-by-the-judiciary-committee-reflects-the-fact-that-john/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My concerns through the years increased about the concerns of an independent judiciary and how we maintain it. Certainly in the states. I'm a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/my-concerns-through-the-years-increased-about-the-concerns-of-an/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [Altering the Constitution has become the daily business of the Federal Government which the document is supposed to guide and limit. Both Congress and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/altering-the-constitution-has-become-the-daily-business-of-the/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [What's insulting to the American people, the Senate, to this whole process is that the Republicans, with all other nominees, have said Democrats are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/what-s-insulting-to-the-american-people-the-senate-to-this-whole/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [If you leave out the magnetic stardom of sportsmen and actors, middle-class India today really has just two heroes - the army and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barkha-dutt/if-you-leave-out-the-magnetic-stardom-of-sportsmen-and-actors-middle/) [Barkha Dutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barkha-dutt/) > [ \[The judiciary is\] the least dangerous branch of our government. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-bickel/the-judiciary-is-the-least-dangerous-branch-of-our-government/) Alexander Bickel > [The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, selfappointed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/the-accumulation-of-all-powers-legislative-executive-and-judiciary-in/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [I can say across Europe that many principles that have been taken for granted here around free speech, and around civil liberties and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-can-say-across-europe-that-many-principles-that-have-been-taken-for/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The judiciary must not take on the coloration of whatever may be popular at the moment. We are guardian of rights, and we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-bird/the-judiciary-must-not-take-on-the-coloration-of-whatever-may-be/) [Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) > [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) ## More by Sheldon Whitehouse > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [Muzzling our leading scientists benefits no one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/muzzling-our-leading-scientists-benefits-no-one/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [Make your life your work, not your talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/make-your-life-your-work-not-your-talk/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [Citizens United is a disgrace of a decision, holding that corporate money is corporate speech and entitled to the same First Amendment protection as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/citizens-united-is-a-disgrace-of-a-decision-holding-that-corporate/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [We must unequivocally reject any cuts to Social Security or Medicare benefits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/we-must-unequivocally-reject-any-cuts-to-social-security-or-medicare/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [Implementing the so-called 'Buffett Rule' would restore some badly needed fairness to our tax system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/implementing-the-so-called-buffett-rule-would-restore-some-badly/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [To be clear, I don't know whether the fossil fuel industry and its allies engaged in the same kind of racketeering activity as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/to-be-clear-i-don-t-know-whether-the-fossil-fuel-industry-and-its/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [The fossil fuel industry has taken control of, and powered up, architecture and methods originally built by the tobacco industry and others to attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/the-fossil-fuel-industry-has-taken-control-of-and-powered-up/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [Getting past the influence of the fossil fuel industry will take courage, especially on the part of the Republican majority whom they so relentlessly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/getting-past-the-influence-of-the-fossil-fuel-industry-will-take/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [We have seen the big loan servicers drag their feet in the Obama administration's well-intentioned mortgage modification program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/we-have-seen-the-big-loan-servicers-drag-their-feet-in-the-obama/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [We are here to do God's work. He's not here to do ours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/we-are-here-to-do-god-s-work-he-s-not-here-to-do-ours/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [Talking to my Senate Republican colleagues about climate change is like talking to prisoners about escaping. The conversations are often private, even furtive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/talking-to-my-senate-republican-colleagues-about-climate-change-is/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [If everyone on the Court always voted for the prosecution against the defendant, for the corporation against the plaintiffs, and for the government against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/if-everyone-on-the-court-always-voted-for-the-prosecution-against-the/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [These core principles - helping patients, preventing medical errors, promoting best practices and improving quality - are the reasons that health IT is featured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/these-core-principles-helping-patients-preventing-medical-errors/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [The Heartland Institute is about as biased as they come, and it's funded by the likes of Exxon and the Koch brothers. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/the-heartland-institute-is-about-as-biased-as-they-come-and-it-s/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) [Explore all 138 Sheldon Whitehouse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. 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The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. 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But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) Browse all 7,717 American quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Founding Fathers set up the American judiciary as a check on the excesses of the elected branches and as a refuge when those branches are corrupted or consumed by passing passions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sheldon Whitehouse" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/the-founding-fathers-set-up-the-american-judiciary-as-a-check-on-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/the-founding-fathers-set-up-the-american-judiciary-as-a-check-on-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/sheldon-whitehouse-3144_american_the-founding-fathers-set-up-the-american_745783.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/sheldon-whitehouse-3144_american_the-founding-fathers-set-up-the-american_745783.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f5/sheldon-whitehouse-3144_american_the-founding-fathers-set-up-the-american_745783.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Founding Fathers set up the American judiciary as a check on the excesses of the elected branches and as…” — Sheldon Whitehouse", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sheldon Whitehouse", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The Founding Fathers set up the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/the-founding-fathers-set-up-the-american-judiciary-as-a-check-on-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/the-founding-fathers-set-up-the-american-judiciary-as-a-check-on-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```