#Thomas Jefferson
Quotes about thomas-jefferson
Thomas Jefferson, a towering figure in American history, represents a complex tapestry of ideals and contradictions that continue to captivate and inspire. As the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States, Jefferson's legacy is deeply intertwined with the foundational principles of liberty, democracy, and the pursuit of knowledge. His thoughts and writings offer a window into the Enlightenment era, reflecting a profound belief in the power of reason and the potential for human progress. People are drawn to quotes about Thomas Jefferson because they encapsulate timeless themes of freedom, governance, and personal integrity. His words resonate with those who value intellectual curiosity and the courage to challenge the status quo. Jefferson's insights into the human condition and the responsibilities of citizenship provide a rich source of reflection and motivation. Whether contemplating the nature of government or the importance of education, Jefferson's legacy invites us to explore the enduring questions of our time, making his quotes a perennial source of inspiration and contemplation.
Jefferson appeared to his enemies as an American version of Candide; Hamilton as an American Machiavelli.
To achieve these Jeffersonian ends, Alexander Hamilton—Jefferson’s philosophical rival—devised an ingenious strategy that entailed a strong manufacturing base, a national banking system, a centralized federal government, and an export-led economic scheme protected by the U.S. Navy.
He learned from the Greek poets "not to expect too much from life; not to dream of a chimerical bliss, ... but to do his duty, without expecting to be rewarded ..., to cultivate his friends and love his country even to the point of self sacrifice." From ancient writers he learned the possibility of courageous resignation, and under their inspiration he worked out for himself a program which was little short of the heroic.
[John Adams] is vain, irritable, and a bad calculator of the force and probable effect of the motives which govern men. This is all the ill which can possibly be said of him.
If we {Federalists] must have an enemy at the head of government, let it be one whom we can oppose, and for whom we are not responsible, who will not involve our party in the disgrace of his foolish and bad measures. Under Adams as under Jefferson, the government shall sink. The party in the hands of whose chief it shall sink will sink with it—and the advantage will be all on the side of his adversaries.
In Jefferson's mind great historical leaps forward were almost always the product of a purging, which freed societies from the accumulated debris of the past and thereby allowed the previously obstructed natural forces to flow forward into the future. Simplicity and austerity, not equality or individualism, were the messages of his inaugural march. It was a minimalist statement about a purging of excess and a recovery of essence.
I promise to question everything my leaders tell me. I promise to use my critical faculties. I promise to develop my independence of thought. I promise to educate myself so I can make my own judgements.