James Madison on wealth

[snopes]

Comment: This quote attributed to James Madison is making the rounds on
the internet, mentioned most often in connection with the Wall Street
protests. Google search reveals it being repeated over and over again, but
always without documentation. Is it real?

"We are free today, substantially, but the day will come when our Republic
will be an impossibility. It will be an impossibility because wealth will
be concentrated in the hands of few. A Republic cannot stand upon
bayonets, and when the day comes…we must rely upon the wisdom of the best
elements in the country to readjust the laws of the nation to the changed
conditions."

[musicgeek]

It's attributed to Madison here, ostensibly a speech given in 1900 which quoted several founding fathers. Looking for primary sources for this "magnificent little essay" now.

[Tootsie Plunkette]

I think we can debunk it pretty quickly if they say it's from 1900.

Ah, never mind. I see that it was referenced in a speech that was given in 1900. That darned reading comprehension thing.

[musicgeek]

I'm searching Madison's writings at constitution.org now, but am coming up fairly empty. (No hits for the quote reproduced in the OP.) Madison did have this to say:

The great object [of political parties] should be to combat the evil: 1. By establishing a political equality among all. 2. By withholding unnecessary opportunities from a few, to increase the inequality of property, by an immoderate, and especially an unmerited, accumulation of riches. 3. By the silent operation of laws, which, without violating the rights of property, reduce extreme wealth towards a state of mediocrity, and raise extreme indigence towards a state of comfort.

[crocoduck_hunter]

I've heard a number of supposed Madison quotes from various Tea-Baggers that all had the same general meaning as the one Snopes lists above, generally as a "beware the banks" thing.

[musicgeek]

The interesting thing is that Madison did have some very strong words against the accumulation of wealth and influence... by religious institutions. Funny how those quotations never seem to pop up in right-wing screeds.

Everything about the supposed quote by Madison on concentrated wealth, and a living constitution to redistribute that wealth, seemed contrary to everything our founders believed in so I asked an expert about the authenticity of the quote.

Dear Mr. Layser,
You are not the only one trying to track down the quote. We've had several
queries about it and I'm copying what I sent the others.

I've done a thorough search and could not find this quote in Madison's
papers.

David B. Mattern
Research Professor and
Sr. Assoc. Editor
Papers of James Madison
University of Virginia

Originally Posted by BLayser

Everything about the supposed quote by Madison on concentrated wealth...

"I've done a thorough search and could not find this quote in Madison's
papers."[David B. Mattern Research Professor]

Kept in mind when asking a question to a professor (or a politician too) that it is better to generalize the question.

Also, many documents have been scanned into computer databases these days via text format, so a text search can turn up a negative search if right keywords are not used. Further, its not uncommon for previous remarks to be re-worded overtime in other publications.

When one looks at what "musicgeek" posted, "Madison did have this to say," it does show Madison's beliefs on this topic, which are similar in tone to first poster's cited quote.