Share this page: When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. -- American Declaration of Independence, 1776 We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights; that among these, are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. -- Original draft of the U.S. Declaration of Indepence, 1776 Experience declares that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the governments of Europe, and to the general prey of the rich on the poor. -- Thomas Jefferson, 1787 State a moral case to a ploughman and a professor. The former will decide it as well, and often better than the latter, because he has not been led astray by artificial rules. -- Thomas Jefferson, 1787 A little rebellion now and then is a good thing. -- Thomas Jefferson, 1787 The tree of liberty must be refreshed now and then with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure. -- Thomas Jefferson, 1787 I think our governments will remain virtuous for many centuries; as long as they are chiefly agricultural; and this will be as long as there shall be vacant lands in any part of America. When they get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, they will become corrupt as in Europe. -- Thomas Jefferson, 1787 Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none. -- Thomas Jefferson, 1801 ...freedom of religion; freedom of the press; freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus; and trial by juries impartially selected -- these principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us, and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation. -- Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugral Address, 1801 Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between church and State. -- Letter to Danbury Baptist Association, Connecticut (January 1, 1802) 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. -- Thomas Jefferson to John Taylor, 1816 When wrongs are pressed because it is believed they will be borne, resistance becomes morality. -- Thomas Jefferson Related Links: Thomas Jefferson's Top 10 Quotes On Money And Banking Share this page:

The selection of the above quotes and the writing of the accompanying notes was performed by the author David Paul Wagner. About Us • Contact Us • Privacy • Terms of Use © 2005-23 Wide World of Quotes. All Rights Reserved.