1822 July 4

Constitut. Code

In a representative Democracy, the Anglo-American United States for example, suppose a man partly by political situation, partly by individual frame of mind, seconded /partly/ by political situation /Office/ placed in a situation, capable of inspiring him with the hope /expectation/, and through the expectation with the effectual desire of putting himself in possession of some new mass of power, by means of which, at the expence of the greatest number of the members of the community, some great plan of depredation or oppression, or both might, for his benefit, be accomplished /carried into effect/. Take for example, the President: and let the desired mass of power pregnant with the faculty of exercising depredation and oppression in a manner gratifying to the oppressor be the acquisition of the power given by the Constitutional Code to the President to be exercised by him over a territory subject to the United States, and not as yet admitted to a share in the Supreme Operative power over the whole, by sending Representatives of its own to the Supreme Operative Assembly the Congress. Suppose him having /possessing/ the support of a party, each individual toiling to be a sharer with him in the expected benefit. By no such party under the existing Constitution could any such effect be produced, without its constituting a majority in the Supreme Operative body - the Congress, and that majority continuing /persevering/ to join with him the head in this same pursuit, and that for a length of time including in which several Elections would be But an enterprize of this sort could not be carried into effect nor present any means conducive to the purpose, other than that of a war - a war of aggression begun and continued and ended for that purpose. But of this war, all the Electors in the United States to the number of perhaps more than a million would have to share in the expence: while in the benefit if any /supposing it attended with any/ a very small proportion of that number could have any expectation of being sharers. By concurring in the Election of a Representative if any such there were disposed to concurr in the prosecution of this all-comprehensive /so extensively/ pernicious scheme each Elector would be concurring in the /a/ sacrifice of his own share in the universal interest: and this without any tolerably well grounded prospect of advancing /promoting/ to any thing like an equal amount, if to any amount any such supposed share of his in the particular and sinister interest.