KENTUCKY

LAW

JOURNAL

VOLUME

86

1997-98

NUMBER

1

ARTICLE

Republicanism,

Liberalism,

and

the

Law

BY

MORTIMER

SELLERS*

INTRODUCTION

"[A]

republic

signiffies]

only

a

government, m

which

all

men,

rich

and

poor,

magistrates and

subjects,

officers

andpeople,

masters and

servants,

the

first

citizen

and

the last,

are

equally

subject to

the

laws. [I]t

signifie[s]

a government,

m which

the

property

of

the

public,

or

people,

and

of

every one

of

them,

[is]

secured and

protected

by

law.

This

idea

implies

liberty;

that

the property

and liberty

of

all

men, not merely

of

a

majority,

should

be

safe;

for

the

people,

or

public,

comprehends

more than

a

majority,

it

comprehends

all

and

every

individual;

and

the

property

of

every

citizen

is

a

part

of

the

public

property,

as

each citizen

is

a

part

of

the public, people,

or

community."

John Adams'

*

Professor

of

Law

and

Director

of

the

Center

for

International

and

Comparative

Law,

Umversity

of

Baltimore

School

of

Law.

A.B.,

J.D.,

Harvard;

B.C.L.,

D.Phil., Oxford.

I

I

JOHN ADAMS,

DEFENCE

OF

THE

CONSTITUTIONS OF

GOVERNMENT

OF