Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States, serving from 1801 to 1809. He was a Founding Father who was instrumental in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence and later the United States Constitution. He was also a planter, philosopher, and statesman who championed individual liberty and pushed for the expansion of the United States.
What is the most famous quote by Thomas Jefferson ?
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.
— Thomas Jefferson
What can you learn from Thomas Jefferson (Life Lessons)
- Thomas Jefferson taught us to never give up, even in the face of adversity. He persevered through many difficult moments in his life and ultimately became one of the most influential presidents in American history.
- He also taught us the importance of staying true to our values and beliefs, no matter what the cost. He was a strong advocate for democracy and the rights of the people, and he fought for these ideals throughout his life.
- Finally, Thomas Jefferson taught us the importance of education and knowledge. He was an avid reader and believed that knowledge was the key to success. He encouraged others to learn as much as they could and to use their knowledge to make the world a better place.
The most bashful Thomas Jefferson quotes that will activate your inner potential
Following is a list of the best Thomas Jefferson quotes, including various Thomas Jefferson inspirational quotes, and other famous sayings by Thomas Jefferson.
I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.
The end of democracy and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations.
The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.
In matters of style, swim with the current, in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
When angry count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred.
Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.
I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more luck I have.
I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.
When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.
Truth between candid minds can never do harm.
Legacy quotes by Thomas Jefferson
Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.
The government will one day be corrput and filled with liars and the people will flock to the one who tells the truth.
When the representative body have lost the confidence of their constituents, when they have notoriously made sale of their most valuable rights, when they have assumed to themselves powers which the people never put into their hands, then indeed their continuing in office becomes dangerous to the state
When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.
Laws that forbid the carrying of arms .
. . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . . . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.
It is neither wealth nor splendour but tranquillity and occupation which give happiness.
Does the government fear us? Or do we fear the government? When the people fear the government, tyranny has found victory. The federal government is our servant, not our master!
On matters of style, swim with the current, on matters of principle, stand like a rock.
Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.
When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.
When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty.
Quotations by Thomas Jefferson that are enlightenment and leadership
Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.
Equal rights for all, special privileges for none
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.
The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases.
I think we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labor of the industrious.
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Good wine is a necessity of life for me.
The cornerstone of democracy rests on the foundation of an educated electorate.
Honesty is the first chapter of the book wisdom.
Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite.
Men of quality are not threatened by women of equality
The art of life is the art of avoiding pain; and he is the best pilot, who steers clearest of the rocks and shoals with which it is beset.
Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. The real extent of this state of misinformation is known only to those who are in situations to confront facts within their knowledge with the lies of the day.
Those who live by mystery & charlatanerie, fearing you would render them useless by simplifying the Christian philosophy - the most sublime and benevolent, but most perverted system that ever shone on man - endeavored to crush your well-earned & well-deserved fame.
A private central bank issuing the public currency is a greater menace to the liberties of the people than a standing army. We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.
The purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness. Government exists for the interests of the governed, not for the governors.
Man once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a ship without rudder, is the sport of every wind. With such persons, gullibility, which they call faith, takes the helm from the hand of reason, and the mind becomes a wreck.
To consider judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions is a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy.
Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence.
Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none.
The boisterous sea of liberty is never without a wave.
The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others.
Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.
Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends [life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness] it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government.
Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.
I have no ambition to govern men; it is a painful and thankless office.
An enlightened citizenry is indispensable for the proper functioning of a republic. Self-government is not possible unless the citizens are educated sufficiently to enable them to exercise oversight. It is therefore imperative that the nation see to it that a suitable education be provided for all its citizens.
Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading. I will rather say more necessary because health is worth more than learning.
Difference of opinion leads to inquiry, and inquiry to the truth.
I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.
The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.
It is neither wealth nor splendor; but tranquility and occupation which give you happiness.
The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time.
There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequal people.