Words of Wisdom: Thomas Jefferson on Government
Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the US, a founding father, main author of the Declaration of Independence, horticulturist, statesman, architect, archaeologist, inventor, and founder of the University of Virginia. Here are some of his thoughts on government:
- I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting
- Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government
- That government is the strongest of which every man feels himself a part
- A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government
- My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government
- The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive
- Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter
- The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground
- History, in general, only informs us of what bad government is
- I own that I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them
- No government ought to be without censors; and where the press is free no one ever will
- That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves
- The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government
- When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty
- The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government
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Posted by DDFD at 5/19/2009 7:13 PM 
Categories: Words of Wisdom, Personal Philosophy
Tags: Thomas Jefferson Quotes Personal Philosophy
Categories: Words of Wisdom, Personal Philosophy
Tags: Thomas Jefferson Quotes Personal Philosophy
A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government
Well, slavery was a "pursuit of industry" because being able to work people without paying them was profitable. Government intervention was necessary to break this system.
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I liked the last two the most.
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The fifth one ain't bad either . . .
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