Letter XVIII of Adams’s Letters to John Taylor, a reply to Taylor’s critique of his political theory, dated 17 December 1814 by Founders Online (as cited by Quote Investigator). The exact popular wording is printed in The Works of John Adams, vol. 6 (1851), p. 484, and confirmed in the scan.
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide” John Adams, letter to John Taylor, 17 December 1814 (The Works of John Adams, vol. 6, 1851, p. 484)
Can you use it?
✓ Free to use, including in commercial and paid presentations — no permission or licence needed.
Image direction — grounded in this quote’s real context; paste into your image tool
In context
Evoking the world of John Adams — Second U.S. President, lawyer & political writer. Theme: "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
Minimalist
Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
Provenance
The source
Work
Letters to John Taylor, of Caroline, Virginia — Letter XVIII
Dated
17 December 1814 (Founders Online, as cited by Quote Investigator)
Printed in
The Works of John Adams, ed. Charles Francis Adams, vol. 6 (Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1851), pp. 483–484
You say, I “might have exhibited millions of plebeians sacrificed to the pride, folly, and ambition of monarchy and aristocracy.” This is very true. And I might have exhibited as many millions of plebeians sacrificed by the pride, folly, and ambition of their fellow-plebeians and their own, in proportion to the extent and duration of their power. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. It is in vain to say that democracy is less vain, less proud, less selfish, less ambitious, or less avaricious than aristocracy or monarchy. It is not true, in fact, and nowhere appears in history. Those passions are the same in all men, under all forms of simple government, and when unchecked, produce the same effects of fraud, violence, and cruelty.
Text as printed in the 1851 Works, vol. 6, p. 484. The Founders Online transcription that Quote Investigator quotes uses looser punctuation and capitals: “Remember Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes exhausts and murders itself. There never was a Democracy Yet, that did not commit suicide.”
Adams wrote the letter in 1814, and the exact wording shown is from The Works of John Adams, vol. 6, published in Boston in 1851. Both are long before 1931, so the text is in the U.S. public domain.
Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.
Fact-check
Right author, missing context
The attribution is correct. The problems are context and wording: the line is usually quoted on its own, as if Adams were dismissing democracy alone.
~
Context“Adams thought democracy uniquely bad” Clipped
A few sentences earlier in the same letter, Adams writes: “I do not say that democracy has been more pernicious on the whole, and in the long run, than monarchy or aristocracy.” Right after the famous line, he says the same passions drive men “under all forms of simple government” (Wikiquote, XVIII, pp. 483–484 ↗). His target is any unchecked, single-power government.
✕
WordingTwo transcriptions Variant
The familiar punctuation follows the 1851 printed Works ↗. The Founders Online text quoted by Quote Investigator ↗ reads “Remember Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes exhausts and murders itself. There never was a Democracy Yet, that did not commit suicide.” The words are the same.
✕
Neighboring line“Democracy… while it lasts is more bloody than either aristocracy or monarchy” Misquoted
Wikiquote notes that the sentence just before the famous line is “usually misquoted” in that form. In the letter it reads: “Democracy has never been and never can be so durable as aristocracy or monarchy; but while it lasts, it is more bloody than either” (Wikiquote ↗).
✓John Adams wrote it, in letter XVIII to John Taylor (dated 17 December 1814), printed in The Works of John Adams, vol. 6 (1851), p. 484 ↗. The same letter says democracy is no worse than monarchy or aristocracy.
Context
Why Adams wrote it
In 1814 the Virginia senator John Taylor of Caroline published An Inquiry into the Principles and Policy of the Government of the United States, a long critique of the system Adams had set out in his Defence of the Constitutions (Wikipedia ↗). Adams answered in a series of letters. His grandson and editor, Charles Francis Adams, wrote that they “appear to have been sent to Mr. Taylor, as they were written” (Works, vol. 6, Editor’s Preface ↗).
In letter XVIII, Adams is answering Taylor’s charge that he had piled up victims of “democratic rage” to prove democracy worse than monarchy. Adams denies that and argues that pride, ambition and greed are the same under any simple government, and that only a balanced constitution checks them.
Those passions are the same in all men, under all forms of simple government.
Explore
Filed under
More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.
1735–1826 · Second U.S. President, lawyer & political writer
John Adams was a Massachusetts lawyer and revolutionary, and the second President of the United States (1797–1801). His Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America argued for balanced, mixed government against what he saw as the dangers of any unchecked single power, democracy included. In retirement he defended those views at length in letters like this one.
For writers & researchers
Cite this
Primary source
Adams, John. Letter XVIII to John Taylor, 17 December 1814. In The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States, edited by Charles Francis Adams, vol. 6, 483–84. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1851.
This verification page
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide’?” Last verified 3 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/remember-democracy-never-lasts-long-it-soon-wastes-exhausts/