| The Columbia World of Quotations. 1996. |
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| NUMBER: | 30844 |
| QUOTATION: | Every constitution..., and every law, naturally expires at the end of 19 years [a generation]. If it be enforced longer, it is an act of force, and not of right. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), U.S. president. Letter, September 6, 1789, to James Madison. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 15, p. 396, ed. Julian P. Boyd, et al. (1950). |
| BIOGRAPHY: | Columbia Encyclopedia. |
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| | | The Columbia World of Quotations. Copyright © 1996 Columbia University Press. |
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