"The Government of the absolute majority instead of the Government of the people is but the Government of the strongest interests; and when not efficiently checked, it is the most tyrannical and oppressive that can be devised"
About this Quote
The line works because it turns a comforting ideal into a threat without changing the vocabulary. "Government of the people" gets replaced by something that only looks similar from far away. Calhoun's subtext is institutional: majorities need "efficient checks" or they will metastasize into tyranny. He is selling a theory of veto points and minority protections as the real safeguard of liberty.
Context matters, and it complicates the moral. Calhoun, a South Carolina statesman in the age of Jacksonian mass politics, was building the intellectual case for nullification and for shielding slaveholding Southern power from national majorities. His fear of "oppression" is not abstract; it's the anxiety of a regional elite watching the electorate expand and federal policy drift against its economic system. The brilliance - and the danger - is how portable the argument is: a genuine insight about majoritarian overreach crafted to justify a minority's right to block democratic change.
Quote Details
| Topic | Freedom |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Calhoun, John C. (2026, January 16). The Government of the absolute majority instead of the Government of the people is but the Government of the strongest interests; and when not efficiently checked, it is the most tyrannical and oppressive that can be devised. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-government-of-the-absolute-majority-instead-93885/
Chicago Style
Calhoun, John C. "The Government of the absolute majority instead of the Government of the people is but the Government of the strongest interests; and when not efficiently checked, it is the most tyrannical and oppressive that can be devised." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-government-of-the-absolute-majority-instead-93885/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The Government of the absolute majority instead of the Government of the people is but the Government of the strongest interests; and when not efficiently checked, it is the most tyrannical and oppressive that can be devised." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-government-of-the-absolute-majority-instead-93885/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
