The primary element in a free government--the determination how many people shall have a share in it--in America depends not on the Government but on certain subordinate local, and sometimes, as in the South now, hostile bodies.
This statement underscores the importance of local bodies in determining who participates in government, reflecting on the complexities of American democracy.
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More from Walter Bagehot
In early society, originality in life was forbidden and repressed by the fixed rule of life.
It is absurd to choose by contested party election an impartial chooser of Ministers.
But all men heed great results, and a change of Government is a great result.
All savage religions are full of superstitions founded on luck.
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