When I saw this quote above, I couldn’t help but think that it was written especially for 2025. Lord Acton was was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer. A strong advocate for individual liberty, Acton is best known for his timeless observation on the dangers of concentrated authority.

Another advocate for individual liberties was James Madison, who is known as “The Father of the U.S. Constitution” and the author of Federalist Paper No 51, is a serious hero of mine. I have read much of what he has written. His biography describes him as an intellectual introvert of diminutive size. Most of the Founding Fathers were big men both physically and mentally. Madison was perhaps the biggest mental figure, and the smallest physical figure. Whereas Washington and Jefferson were 6’+, Madison was  5 ft 4 in and therefore the shortest president.

The Federalist Paper No. 51 was primarily about the “Separation of Powers”. In that document Madison highlights that the newly proposed Constitution’s federal system of shared powers between national and state governments, checks and balances, and personal motives would prevent the concentration of power and tyranny.

By dividing political power between the branches, the Framers sought to prevent any single branch of government from becoming too powerful. At the same time, each branch of government was also given the power to check the other two branches.

It will be interesting to see how all this checks work or doesn’t, this year.

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