97 State Sovereignty Quotes

Following is our list of state sovereignty quotations and slogans full of insightful wisdom and perspective about national sovereignty.

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Famous State Sovereignty Quotes

A state is a perfect body of free men, united together to enjoy common rights and advantages. — Hugo Grotius

The state reserves the right to be the sole interpreter of the needs of society. — Benito Mussolini

How could a state be governed, or protected in its foreign relations if every individual remained free to obey or not to obey the law according to his private opinion. — Thomas Hobbes

The sovereignty of states must be subordinated to international law and international institutions. — George Soros

Preserving power, rather than increasing it, is the main goal of states. —

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. — Joseph Story

Peaceful secession and nullification are the only means of returning to a system of government that respects rather than destroys individual liberty. — Thomas DiLorenzo

True republicanism is the sovereignty of the people. There are natural and imprescriptible rights which an entire nation has no right to violate. — Marquis de Lafayette

The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed. — Thomas Jefferson

No state more extensive than the minimal state can be justified. — Robert Nozick

States in the world are like individuals in the state of nature. They are neither perfectly good nor are they controlled by law. — Kenneth Waltz

Respect for sovereignty means to not allow unconstitutional action and coup d'états, the removal of legitimate power. — Vladimir Putin

The worth of the state, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it. — John Stuart Mill

The state is or can be master of money, but in a free society it is master of very little else. — William Beveridge

No state, upon its own mere motion, can lawfully get out of the Union. Plainly, the central idea of secession, is the essence of anarchy. — Abraham Lincoln

Sovereignty Quotes

Revolution is an inalienable right of mankind. Freedom is an imperishable birth right of all. Labor is the real sustainer of society, the sovereignty of the ultimate destiny of the workers. — Bhagat Singh

A god who is all love, all grace, all mercy, no sovereignty, no justice, no holiness, and no wrath is an idol. — R. C. Sproul

The fusion (of economic functions) would compel nations to fuse their sovereignty into that of a single European State. — Jean Monnet

State sovereignty quote Defeat is a state of mind: no one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality.
Defeat is a state of mind: no one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality.

The essence of neo-colonialism is that the State which is subject to it is, in theory, independent and has all the outward trappings of international sovereignty. In reality its economic system and thus its political policy is directed from outside. — Kwame Nkrumah

There is no real peace in Europe, if the states are reconstituted on a basis of national sovereignty. (…) They must have larger markets. Their prosperity is impossible, unless the States of Europe form themselves in a European Federation. — Jean Monnet

Democracy and liberty are not the same. Democracy is little more than mob rule, while liberty refers to the sovereignty of the individual. — Walter E. Williams

State sovereignty quote Be in a state of gratitude for everything that shows up in your life. Be thankful for the storms as
Be in a state of gratitude for everything that shows up in your life. Be thankful for the storms as well as smooth sailing.

I have taken a wife, I have sold my sovereignty for a dowry. [Lat., Uxorem accepi, dote imperium vendidi.] — Plautus

When you go through a trial, the sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which you lay your head. — Charles Spurgeon

No one should underestimate the resolve, the will, and the ability of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity. — Xi Jinping

Until the control of the issue of currency and credit is restored to government and recognized as its most conspicuous and sacred responsibility, all talks of the sovereignty of Parliament and of democracy is idle and futile. — William Lyon Mackenzie King

National Sovereignty Quotes

Since we cannot defeat Israel in war, we do this in stages. We take any and every territory that we can of Palestine, and establish a sovereignty there, and we use it as a springboard to take more. When the time comes, we can get the Arab nations to join us for the final blow against Israel. — Yasser Arafat

Europe is my home, Europe is my continent. Europe is where we live. The European Union is a political bureaucratic organization that took away our identity and our national sovereignty. So, I would get rid of the European Union and be a nation-state again. — Geert Wilders

I think everybody in Ukraine is so tired about Burisma. We have our own country. We have our independence, we have our problems and questions. — Volodymyr Zelenskyy

State sovereignty quote Paradise is not a place, its a state of mind.
Paradise is not a place, its a state of mind.

This regionalization is in keeping with the Tri-Lateral Plan which calls for a gradual convergence of East and West, ultimately leading toward the goal of one world government. National sovereignty is no longer a viable concept. — Zbigniew Brzezinski

There are natural and imprescriptible rights which an entire nation has no right to violate. —MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE — Michelle Moran

If you want freedom, take pride in your country. If you want democracy, hold on to your sovereignty. And if you want peace, love your nation. The future does not belong to globalists. The future belongs to patriots. The future belongs to sovereign and independent nations. — Donald Trump

State sovereignty quote Defeat is a state of mind! No one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as reality.
Defeat is a state of mind! No one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as reality.

The development of the Internet has posed new challenges to national sovereignty, security and development interests. — Xi Jinping

The Council on Foreign Relations is the American branch of a society which originated in England ... [and] ... believes national boundaries should be obliterated and one-world rule established. — Carroll Quigley

In this relation, then, the proposed government cannot be deemed a national one; since its jurisdiction extends to certain enumerated objects only, and leaves to the several states, a residuary and inviolable sovereignty over all other objects. — James Madison

A small nation, faced with the denial of its sovereignty — indeed, of its very existence — reminded us that the price of freedom is high but never so costly as the loss of freedom. — Ronald Reagan

Sovereignty Means Quotes

Decentralization is only a means towards the key to blockchain value, trust minimization, which brings a host of benefits: immutability, censorship resistance, global seamlessness, monetary and financial sovereignty. Other kinds of decentralization are security theater. — Nick Szabo

By Revolution, we mean the ultimate establishment of an order of society which may not be threatened by such breakdown, and in which the sovereignty of the proletariat should be recognized and a world federation should redeem humanity from the bondage of capitalism and misery of imperial wars. — Bhagat Singh

In the age of globalization pooled sovereignty means more power, not less. — Jose Manuel Barroso

State sovereignty quote All oppression creates a state of war.
All oppression creates a state of war.

Alzheimer's disease is never an 'accident' in a marriage. It falls under the purview of God's sovereignty. In the case of someone with Alzheimer's, this means God's unconditional and sacrificial love has an opportunity to be even more gloriously displayed in a life together. — Joni Eareckson Tada

Political sovereignty is but a mockery without the means of meeting poverty and illiteracy and disease. Self-determination is but a slogan if the future holds no hope. — John F. Kennedy

Respecting the sovereignty means preventing coups, unconstitutional actions and illegitimate overthrowing of the legitimate government. All these things should be totally prevented. — Vladimir Putin

State sovereignty quote Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling.
Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling.

Nuclear weapons and other weapons are the means to protect our sovereignty and legitimate interests, not the means to behave aggressively or to fulfil some non-existent imperial ambitions. — Vladimir Putin

Popular sovereignty has to be given by a people to itself, and this is the important meaning of self-determination. — Judith Butler

Tribal sovereignty means that. It's sovereign. You're a... you're a... you've been given sovereignty and you're viewed as a sovereign entity. — George W. Bush

When globalisation means that many of the services that individual governments used to have direct power over are privatised, in education and health, even prison services, nonetheless national sovereignty still needs to be exercised. — Mary Robinson

Austerity is not part of the European treaties; democracy and the principle of popular sovereignty are. — Alexis Tsipras

Where is democratic process or popular sovereignty for the endangered population? It cannot be "given" or "allocated" by some other power without that same power claiming the right to withdraw what it gives. — Judith Butler

It was the French Revolution that served as the catalyst of this renovation. Its impact was to make the concept of popular sovereignty the new moral justification for the political system of historical capitalism. — Immanuel Wallerstein

State sovereignty quote The foundation of every state is the education of its youth.
The foundation of every state is the education of its youth.

Quite simply, there can be no popular sovereignty without a real belief in the value of government. If government does not assume and carry out public responsibilities, less accountable institutions such as the corporation will do the job in their own self-interest. — Charles Derber

Has it popular sovereignty not got down as thin as the homeopathic soup that was made by boiling the shadow of a pigeon that had starved to death? — Abraham Lincoln

Was all of Stephen A. Douglas's promotion of 'popular sovereignty' a plausible device for getting him elected president? With his death in June, 1861, any possible answer to that question went to Douglas's grave with him. — Allen C. Guelzo

State sovereignty quote Wealth breeds a class of people for whom human beings are disposable commodities. Once oligarchs ach
Wealth breeds a class of people for whom human beings are disposable commodities. Once oligarchs achieve unchecked economic and political power, as they have in the United States, the citizens too become disposable.

Now what is Judge Douglas Popular Sovereignty? It is, as a principle, no other than that, if one man chooses to make a slave of another man, neither that other man nor anybody else has a right to object. — Abraham Lincoln

People Writing About State Sovereignty

Name Quotes Likes
Read quotes by Hugo Grotius

Hugo Grotius

10 266
Read quotes by Benito Mussolini

Benito Mussolini
quotes on fascism, democracy

125 3997
Read quotes by Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes
quotes on government, human nature and absolute monarchy

243 2437
Read quotes by George Soros

George Soros
quotes on investing, trading and money

194 2013
Read quotes by Joseph Story

Joseph Story
quotes on life, bible and guns

48 497
Read quotes by Marquis de Lafayette

Marquis de Lafayette
quotes on education, slavery and government

15 945

More State Sovereignty Quotes

The State is a tax farm, and you are the crop. This farming operation harvests the fruits of taxpayer labor through both taxation and inflation. With the rise of Bitcoin, inflation is in decline as a revenue source for The State, and taxation is more difficult to impose. As state revenues continually decline, we will move into a world characterized less by nation-states and more by sovereign individuals. — Robert Breedlove

While there are still imperialist aggressors, the state that has no defense power of its own to protect its sovereignty against the internal and external enemies is, in fact, not a fully independent and sovereign state. — Kim Il-sung

United States Government needs to acknowledge and respect our sovereignty, treaties, traditional Native American values, and our human rights as a people, which under the law as written we deserve, and which should be protected. — Leonard Peltier

Marxism represents a further vital and creative stage in the maturing of man's universal vision... The nation-state is gradually yielding its sovereignty... More intensive efforts to shape a new world monetary structure will have to be undertaken. — Zbigniew Brzezinski

Each state enjoys sovereign power. — Gouverneur Morris

To bring about government by oligarchy, masquerading as democracy, it is fundamentally essential that practically all authority and control be centralized in our Federal government. . . The individual sovereignty of our states must first be destroyed. — Franklin D. Roosevelt

Our servants (weaker nations) are becoming our masters. You have my word: As long as there is life in me, I will spend the rest of my days fighting to restore the lost sovereignty of the United States. — Pat Buchanan

So that the executive and legislative branches of the national government depend upon, and emanate from the states. Every where the state sovereignties are represented; and the national sovereignty, as such, has no representation. — Joseph Story

We believe that human rights transcend boundaries and must prevail over state sovereignty. — Jose Ramos-Horta

We will never agree to give up Jerusalem, a united city under Israeli sovereignty, and only Israeli. We will not accept a terrorist Palestinian state, we will not accept an agreement based on the 67 lines. — Naftali Bennett

However, the sovereignty of the states is constitutionally defined and recognized, while the powers of the local government in Puerto Rico are defined by, and subject to alteration under, federal statutory law. — Dick Thornburgh

It's all very well for us to sit here in the west with our high incomes and cushy lives, and say it's immoral to violate the sovereignty of another state. But if the effect of that is to bring people in that country economic and political freedom, to raise their standard of living, to increase their life expectancy, then don't rule it out. — Niall Ferguson

To restore morality we must first recognize the source from which all morality springs. From our earliest history in 1776 when we were declared to be the United States of America, our forefathers recognized the sovereignty of God. — Roy Moore

A European currency will lead to member-nations transferring their sovereignty over financial and wage policies as well as in monetary affairs... It is an illusion to think that States can hold on to their autonomy over taxation policies. — Hans Tietmeyer

If any state in the Union will declare that it prefers separation... to a continuance in union... I have no hesitation in saying, 'let us separate. — Thomas Jefferson

As the highest ranking American official in the United Nations organization, I came to understand thoroughly that the national constitutional processes of the member states define the status of territories under their sovereignty. — Dick Thornburgh

The invention of the concept of sustainable human development and that of so-called human security, as opposed to territorial security of nation- states, and its promotion by the UN is in clear contradiction to all that we, the Group of 77, and the UN Charter itself consider inalienable, namely national sovereignty and security. — Pranab Mukherjee

The Constitution does not protect the sovereignty of States for the benefit of the States or state governments as abstract political entities, or even for the benefit of the public officials governing the States. To the contrary, the Constitution divides authority between federal and state governments for the protection of individuals. — Sandra Day O'Connor

But as the plan of the convention aims only at a partial union or consolidation, the State governments would clearly retain all the rights of sovereignty which they before had, and which were not, by that act, EXCLUSIVELY delegated to the United States. — Alexander Hamilton

Sovereignty must be redefined if states are to cope with globalisation. — Richard N. Haass

Principles-and I have in mind such principles as states' rights or national sovereignty or the free market or pacifism-have a way of drying up while the sap of life goes flowing in another direction. — Max Lerner

Within the next hundred years...nationhood as we know it will be obsolete; all states will recognize a single, global authority... National sovereignty wasn't such a great idea after all. — Strobe Talbott

The health care reform legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last night clearly violates the U.S. Constitution and infringes on each state's sovereignty. — Bill McCollum

A share in the sovereignty of the state, which is exercised by the citizens at large, in voting at elections is one of the most important rights of the subject, and in a republic ought to stand foremost in the estimation of the law. — Thomas Jefferson

The Thirteen States are Thirteen Sovereign bodies. — Oliver Ellsworth

Jordan recognizes that east Jerusalem is the capital of the Palestinian state and Jordan rejects foreign sovereignty -- Israeli sovereignty -- over the holy sites — Yasser Arafat

Gun control is part and parcel of the ongoing collectivist effort to eviscerate individual sovereignty and replace it with dependence upon and allegiance to the state. — Lawrence Hunter

The Electoral College protects state sovereignty. It actually is one of the most brilliantly conceived electoral mechanisms ever. — Rush Limbaugh

That the several states who formed that instrument, being sovereign and independent, have the unquestionable right to judge of its infraction; and that a nullification, by those sovereignties, of all unauthorized acts done under colour of that instrument, is the rightful remedy. — Thomas Jefferson

I have made it quite clear that a unified Ireland was one solution that is out. A second solution was a confederation of two states. That is out. A third solution was joint authority. That is out-that is a derogation of sovereignty. — Margaret Thatcher

We already have a federation. The 11, soon to be 12, member States adopting the euro have already given up part of their sovereignty, monetary sovereignty, and formed a monetary union, and that is the first step towards a federation. — Joschka Fischer

A declaration of the independence of America, and the sovereignty of the United STates was drawn by the ingenious and philosophic pen of Thomas Jefferson, Esquire, a delegate from the state of Virginia. — Mercy Otis Warren

Paul Martin talks eloquently about defending national sovereignty but the reality hasn't matched the rhetoric. When it comes to the United States, Mr. Martin says he calls them as he sees them, but when it comes to American passage through Canada, he doesn't actually see anything. — Stephen Harper

For me, everything is still possible and I am as determined as ever. I believe first that the project of a people does not die. It is the project of freedom for a people, it is a project of sovereignty. And since the nation exists, it has the right to its own state. I will work to advance it in that direction. — Pauline Marois

We wish to be citizens of the United States or citizens of Puerto Rico. In either case, with all the inherent rights of a natural sovereignty. — Jose de Diego

I hope in time N. H. as well as the other States will feel the importance of Sovereignty. — William Whipple

Specifically, the reservation of sovereignty to the people of the states in matters not governed by federal law is constitutionally defined and permanently enshrined in the 10th Amendment. — Dick Thornburgh

If U.S. national sovereignty continues, it is only as a state that Puerto Rico will have permanent 10th Amendment powers over its non-federal affairs, as well as voting power in Congress. — Dick Thornburgh

It should be appreciated that this whole effort to hold leaders of states criminally responsible is a rather radical challenge to territorial sovereignty and a repudiation of the whole related ethos of 'sovereign immunity'. — Richard A. Falk

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