Political Quotes

Lysander Spooner: But if congress had put this prohibition distinctly in the form of a penalty, the usurpation would have been so…

On the record
But if congress had put this prohibition distinctly in the form of a penalty, the usurpation would have been so barefaced--so destitute of all color of constitutional authority--that congress dared not risk the consequences.
Said by
Lysander Spooner

Editor's note · Context

He suggests that if the prohibition had been labeled as a penalty, it would have been more easily challenged.

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