Founders Online New York Ratifying Convention. First Speech of June 21 (Francis Childs’s Version), [21 June 1788] quotes Hamilton: It has been observed by an honorable gentleman, that a pure democracy, if it were practicable, would be the most perfect government.5 Experience has proved, that no position in politics is more false than this. So I wanted to know who he was responding to and what they had said. Footnotes 3 and 5 say: 3. H is referring to the remarks made by Williams and Smith w...| Recent Questions - History Stack Exchange