--Thomas Jefferson to Amos J. Cook, 1816. --Thomas Jefferson: On the Book Duty, 1821. Self-Government, Sovereignty Education and Defense Ministry (SEDM), Corruption of Educational System Playlist. them. To other sections in Thomas Jefferson on Politics & Government:-, Governed by Reason | Publicly ME 12:360, "The reflections that the boys of this age are to be the men of the next; that they should be prepared to receive the holy charge which we are cherishing to deliver over to them; that in establishing an institution of wisdom for them, we secure it to all our future generations; that in fulfilling this duty, we bring home to our own bosoms the sweet consolation of seeing our sons rising under a luminous tuition, to destinies of high promise; these are considerations which will occur to all." ME 19:213, "The mass of our citizens may be divided into two classes -- the laboring and the learned. ME 15:340, "There are two subjects, indeed, which I shall claim a right to further as long as ME 15:314. --Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Knox, 1810. --Thomas Jefferson: Autobiography, 1821. FE 10:99, "If the Wise be the happy man he must be virtuous too; for, without virtue, --Thomas Jefferson: Report for University of Virginia, 1818. His diverse education enabled him to eschew popular but erroneous beliefs in favour of the rational thinking that is required while formulating State legislation. (Forrest version) ME 6:392, "It is an axiom in my mind that our liberty can never be safe but in the hands of the people themselves, and that, too, of the people with a certain degree of instruction. Madison
ME 19:213, "By [selecting] the youths of genius from among the classes of the poor, we These inspirational Thomas Jefferson quotes will change your life. ", "The constitutional freedom of religion is the most inalienable and sacred of all human rights. 1816. His tenure of power started in 1801 and ended in 1809. general. I shall not die without a hope that light and liberty are on a steady advance. Thomas Jefferson, Most men die at age 25, but arent buried until 70. Thomas Jefferson, I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have. Thomas Jefferson, The greatest calamity which could befall us would be submission to a government of unlimited powers. Thomas Jefferson, Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor. Thomas Jefferson, I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery. Thomas Jefferson, The government you elect is the government you deserve. Thomas Jefferson, Say nothing of my religion. The Spread of Self-Government. future generations; that in fulfilling this duty, we bring home to our own bosoms the "In the constitution of Spain as proposed by the late Cortes, there was a principle entirely new to me: that no person born after that day should ever acquire the rights of citizenship until he could read and write. --Thomas Jefferson to George Washington, 1786. Act! ME 14:405, "The boys of the rising generation are to be the men of the next, and the sole Throughout his life, the third American president talked about education, religion, liberty, freedom and many other topics. ME 2:206, "Instead of an aristocracy of wealth, of more harm and danger than benefit to society, to make an opening for the aristocracy of virtue and talent, which nature has wisely provided for the direction of the interests of society and scattered with equal hand through all its conditions, was deemed essential to a well-ordered republic." ", "Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits. indulge in the degeneracies of civilization?" "In the constitution of Spain as proposed by the late Cortes, there was a Knox, 1810. become useful instruments for the public, it is better that such should be sought for and "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own "No nation is permitted to live in ignorance with impunity." They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty." to them; that in establishing an institution of wisdom for them, we secure it to all our When we apply wisdom, the correct attitude, principle, self-drive and self-control, we make the world a better place. ", "I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it. ME 12:388, "I look to the diffusion of light and education as the resource most to be relied to the weak or wicked." --Thomas Jefferson to Peter Carr, 1814. For his myriad contributions to his country, Jefferson is regarded as one of the greatest American Presidents by historians and scholars. --Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1787. the public happiness that those persons whom nature has endowed with genius and virtue ME 19:24, "A system of general instruction, which shall reach every description of our nothing can keep it right but their own vigilant and distrustful superintendence." "I feel an ardent desire to see knowledge so disseminated through the mass of ", "A Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to against every government, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference. acquirements." Jefferson was a well-learned man who commanded a mastery over disciplines ranging from mathematics and mechanics to religion and philosophy. --Thomas Jefferson to M. A. Jullien, 1818.
One of the most famous and influential global leaders of the past was President Thomas Jefferson. ", "Say nothing of my religion. enlightening the minds of its citizens, the protection it affords against foreign power, His words of wisdom tackled various facets of human life. of the human mind or changes in human affairs, it is the most effectual." The laboring will need the first grade of education to qualify them for their pursuits and duties; the learned will need it as a foundation for further acquirements." ME 14:491, "[The] provision [in the new constitution of Spain] which, after a certain epoch, FE 2:221, Papers 2:526, "The information of the people at large can alone make them the safe as they are the sole depositary of our political and religious freedom." ME Freedom allows human beings the chance to speak, pursue happiness and act without being overly restricted. --Thomas Jefferson: On the Book Duty, 1821. Through the quotes by Thomas Jefferson, many people were enlightened and sensitised about critical social issues that needed attention. Self-Government | And to render even them safe, their minds must be improved to a certain degree." "I feel an ardent desire to see knowledge so disseminated through the mass of mankind that it may, at length, reach even the extremes of society: beggars and kings." consequently [one of] those which ought to shape its administration." If very angry, count to one hundred., I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past., Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits., How much pain they have cost us, the evils which never happened., My theory has always been, that if we are to dream, the flatteries of hope are as cheap, and pleasanter, than the gloom of despair., Do not bite at the bait of pleasure till you know there is no hook beneath it., I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the I have of it., Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances., Think as you please, and so let others, and you will have no disputes., We tell your stories. ambition under all its shapes, and prompt to exert their natural powers to defeat its to illuminate, as far as practicable, the minds of the people at large, and more Educated people have a better understanding of the world, and their perspective about different things is better and more informed. It is known to God and myself alone. Zen quotes that will keep you calm and peaceful. ME 15:315, "The reward of esteem, respect and gratitude [is] due to those who devote their time and efforts to render the youths of every successive age fit governors for the next." This then is the true scope of all academical emulation." them to see that it is their interest to preserve peace and order, and they will preserve ME 3:211, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it Be the first to get hottest news from our Editor-in-Chief, Check your email and confirm your subscription. This is the business of the state to effect, and on a general plan." ME 14:84. ME 9:297. 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Cabell, 1818. --Thomas Jefferson to Charles Yancey, ME, FE = Memorial Edition, Ford Edition. So, in remembrance of this historic icon on his 274th birthday, here are 45 of Jeffersons most noteworthy quotes: I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical., The equal rights of man and the happiness of every individual, are now acknowledged to be the only legitimate objects of government., Whenever a man has cast a longing eye on offices, a rottenness begins in his conduct., Get stories of change makers and innovators from the startup ecosystem in your inbox. This then is the true scope of all academical emulation." --Thomas Jefferson: Report for ", "When we see religion split into so many thousands of sects, and I may say Christianity itself divided into its thousands also, who are disputing, anathematising and where the laws permit burning and torturing one another for abstractions which no one of them understand, and which are indeed beyond the comprehension of the human mind, into which of the chambers of this Bedlam would a man wish to thrust himself. Top Karl Marx quotes on capitalism, communism and religion. It is inconsistent with our government. Thomas Jefferson, We are not to expect to be translated from despotism to liberty in a featherbed. Thomas Jefferson, Only aim to do your duty, and mankind will give you credit where you fail. Thomas Jefferson. Enable them to see that it is their interest to preserve peace and order, and they will preserve them. Required fields are marked *. ", "I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend. It is always oppressive. Thomas Jefferson, I have sworn upon the altar of God Eternal, hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. Thomas Jefferson, It is not by the consolidation or concentration of powers but by their distribution that good government is effected. Thomas Jefferson, Power is not alluring to pure minds. Thomas Jefferson, Conquest is not in our principles. constitution. These things allow us to promote tolerance towards different religions and to promote freedom and high-quality education for all. ME 7:253. ME 3:322, "Though [the people] may acquiesce, they cannot approve what they do not --Thomas them to exercise oversight. ", "Never spend your money before you have earned it. ", "Enlighten the people, generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like spirits at the dawn of day. deposit of the rights and liberties of their fellow citizens; and that they should be ", "Educate and inform the whole mass of the people They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty. ME 3:322, "Though [the people] may acquiesce, they cannot approve what they do not understand." --Thomas Jefferson to Richard Price, 1789. --Thomas Jefferson to Joseph C. Cabell, 1818. establishing this love in a republic; and to inspire it ought to be the principal business Different religions have their unique practices and doctrines, which we should all respect instead of criticising what is different from your beliefs. ", "It is an axiom in my mind, that our liberty can never be safe but in the hands of the people themselves, and that too of the people with a certain degree of instruction. ME 19:408, "Freedom [is] the first-born daughter of science." Action will delineate and define you., In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock., Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue it., Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude., Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom., When angry count to ten before you speak. Freedom, liberty, education and religion are some of the most critical issues in modern society. next." Jefferson: Virginia Board of Visitors Minutes, 1821. It should be noted, that when This canker is eating "Light and liberty go together." --Thomas Jefferson: Autobiography, 1821.
", "The equal rights of man, and the happiness of every individual, are now acknowledged to be the only legitimate objects of government. FE 10:99, "If the Wise be the happy man he must be virtuous too; for, without virtue, happiness cannot be. --Thomas Jefferson: 1st Inaugural Address, 1801. --Thomas Jefferson to Joseph C. Cabell, 1814. --Thomas Jefferson to Mann Page, 1795. Of all those which have been thought of for --Thomas Jefferson to Joseph C. Cabell, 1818. --Thomas Jefferson to Cornelius Camden Blatchly, 1822. ME 14:384. Any government is crucial for the development of a country and its relations with other countries. James Madison, 1787. ME 19:24, "A system of general instruction, which shall reach every description of our citizens from the richest to the poorest, as it was the earliest, so will it be the latest of all the public concerns in which I shall permit myself to take an interest." convinced that on their good sense we may rely with the most security for the preservation See Sources. But the indigence of the greater number disabling them from so educating at their own expense those of their children whom nature has fitly formed and disposed to become useful instruments for the public, it is better that such should be sought for and educated at the common expense of all, than that the happiness of all should be confined to the weak or wicked." ", "Liberty is the great parent of science and of virtue; and a nation will be great in both in proportion as it is free. --Thomas --Thomas Jefferson: copied into his Commonplace Book. Of all those which have been thought of for securing fidelity in the administration of the government, constant reliance to the principles of the constitution, and progressive amendments with the progressive advances of the human mind or changes in human affairs, it is the most effectual." As such love requires a constant preference of public to private interest, it is the source of all private virtue; for they are nothing more than this very preference itself Now a government is like everything else: to preserve it we must love it Everything, therefore, depends on establishing this love in a republic; and to inspire it ought to be the principal business of education; but the surest way of instilling it into children is for parents to set them an example.'" citizens from the richest to the poorest, as it was the earliest, so will it be the latest --Thomas an example.'" I consider the continuance of republican government as absolutely hanging on these two hooks." --Thomas Jefferson: Opinion on Apportionment Bill, 1792. ME 12:388, "I look to the diffusion of light and education as the resource most to be relied on for ameliorating the conditions, promoting the virtue and advancing the happiness of man." ", "In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. This is the business of the state to effect, and on a general plan." --Thomas Jefferson: Notes on Virginia Q.XIV, 1782. --Thomas Jefferson to Peter Carr, 1814. But the indigence of the greater number disabling them from so educating at advantage of training up able counselors to administer the affairs of our country in all --Thomas Jefferson: Notes on --Thomas Jefferson to republican government, and that it is also essential to its protection against foreign FE 2:221, Papers "Laws will be wisely formed and honestly administered in proportion as those who A champion of democracy and individual rights, Jefferson, along with the likes of George Washington, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin, led the successful American Revolution against the prevailing British rule. ME 15:172. For the era he lived in, Jeffersons ideologies were remarkably progressive and insightful. --Thomas Jefferson to Hugh L. White, et al., 1810. ME 19:213, "By [selecting] the youths of genius from among the classes of the poor, we hope to avail the State of those talents which nature has sown as liberally among the poor as the rich, but which perish without use if not sought for and cultivated." Supported Education | The Safest Depository, Self-Government | The Spread of Jefferson: Online Resources. --Thomas Jefferson to Littleton Waller Tazewell, 1805. --Thomas Jefferson: Diffusion of Knowledge Bill, 1779. This canker is eating on the vitals of our existence, and if not arrested at once, will be beyond remedy." When there is proper leadership in government, social issues such as gender equality are given due attention. An enlightened citizenry is indispensable for the proper functioning of a republic. ME 15:340, "There are two subjects, indeed, which I shall claim a right to further as long as I breathe: the public education, and the sub-division of counties into wards. ME 14:130, "And say, finally, whether peace is best preserved by giving energy to the ", "A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labour the bread it has earned. suitable education be provided for all its citizens. their own expense those of their children whom nature has fitly formed and disposed to Francois D'Ivernois, 1795. He authored the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom which served as a pre-cursor to the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause which together stated that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. ME 9:297. of a due degree of liberty." ME 15:399, "If the condition of man is to be progressively ameliorated, as we fondly hope and 30 fascinating JFK quotes that are relevant to everyone. The United States of America owes a massive debt to Thomas Jefferson for the country it is today, the recent turbulence notwithstanding. they should be prepared to receive the holy charge which we are cherishing to deliver over "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government; whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights." ME 14:84. Jefferson to George Washington, 1786. These include religion, education, liberty, governance, and many others. You have been successfully registered for our daily newsletter. --Thomas Jefferson: Reply to American Philosophical Society, 1808. "Light and liberty go together." Jefferson: 1st Inaugural Address, 1801. Creativity and happiness also increase. especially to give them knowledge of those facts which history exhibits, that possessed "The value of science to a republican people, the security it gives to liberty by enlightening the minds of its citizens, the protection it affords against foreign power, the virtue it inculcates, the just emulation of the distinction it confers on nations foremost in it; in short, its identification with power, morals, order and happiness (which merits to it premiums of encouragement rather than repressive taxes), are considerations [that should] always [be] present and [bear] with their just weight." ", "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. of all the public concerns in which I shall permit myself to take an interest." This it is the business of the State to effect, and on a general plan. This is the true secret, the grand recipe, for felicity. Thomas Jefferson, When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty. Thomas Jefferson, Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading. Thomas Jefferson, The press is impotent when it abandons itself to falsehood. Thomas Jefferson, Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching. Thomas Jefferson, No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever. Thomas Jefferson, Commerce with all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto. Thomas Jefferson, I believe the states can best govern our home concerns, and the general government our foreign ones. Thomas Jefferson, Never trouble another for what you can do yourself Thomas Jefferson, Nothing but free argument, raillery and even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion. Thomas Jefferson, Wine brightens the life and thinking of anyone Thomas Jefferson, Waris as much a punishment to the punisher as to the sufferer. Thomas Jefferson, Let the eye of vigilance never be closed. Thomas Jefferson, Every citizen should be a soldier.