Famous Quotes & Stories of James Monroe Preparation for war is a constant stimulus to suspicion and ill will. James Monroe The best form of government is that which is most likely to prevent the greatest sum of evil. James Monroe [In a republic,] it is not the people themselves who make the decisions, but the people they themselves choose to stand in their places. James Monroe It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising their sovereignty. Usurpation is then an easy attainment, and an usurper soon found. The people themselves become the willing instruments of their own debasement and ruin. James Monroe Of the liberty of conscience in matters of religious faith, of speech and of the press; of the trial by jury of the vicinage in civil and criminal cases; of the benefit of the writ of habeas corpus; of the right to keep and bear arms.... If these rights are well defined, and secured against encroachment, it is impossible that government should ever degenerate into tyranny. James Monroe The American continents... are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers. - Monroe Doctrine, 1823 - James Monroe