Thomas Jefferson Quotes

Thomas Jefferson

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Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States. He was very important as one of the founding fathers of the United States. He wrote the Declaration of Independence. As president, his greatest achievement was the Louisiana Purchase which more than doubled the size of the US. He created numerous writings including his famous letters to political rival John Adams in his later years. Following are some quotes that shed light on Jefferson's beliefs.

Thomas Jefferson Quotes

"But every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have been called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists."

"Nature intended me for the tranquil pursuits of science, by rendering them my supreme delight. But the enormities of the times in which I have lived have forced me to take a part in resisting them, and to commit myself on the boisterous ocean of political passions."

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

"When a man assumes a public trust, he should consider himself as public property."

"A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular; and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference."

"I view great cities as pestilential to the morals, the health, and the liberties of man."

"I know that the acquisition of Louisiana has been disapproved by some ... that the enlargement of our territory would endanger its union... The larger our association the less will it be shaken by local passions; and in any view is it not better that the opposite bank of the Mississippi should be settled by our own brethren and children than by strangers of another family?"

"A little rebellion now and then is a good thing..."

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground."

"Its soul, its climate, its equality, liberty, laws, people, and manners. My god! how little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!"

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Kelly, Martin. "Thomas Jefferson Quotes." ThoughtCo, Dec. 21, 2022, thoughtco.com/thomas-jefferson-quotes-103996. Kelly, Martin. (2022, December 21). Thomas Jefferson Quotes. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/thomas-jefferson-quotes-103996 Kelly, Martin. "Thomas Jefferson Quotes." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/thomas-jefferson-quotes-103996 (accessed March 19, 2024).