Words of Wisdom: Thomas Jefferson on Liberty
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 liberty:
- Liberty is to the collective body, what health is to every individual body. Without health no pleasure can be tasted by man; without liberty, no happiness can be enjoyed by society
- The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time
- I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it
- Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty
- We are not to expect to be translated from despotism to liberty in a featherbed
- It behooves every man who values liberty of conscience for himself, to resist invasions of Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty
- The boisterous sea of liberty is never without a wave
- We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
- The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants
- Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual. In every country and every age, the priest had been hostile to Liberty
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Posted by DDFD at 5/21/2009 10:46 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
I think a post like this requires some elucidation. While many think Jefferson was our greatest president, there is certain hypocrisy in these writings about liberty. Old Thomas was a slaveholder. These slaves had not a glimmer of liberty. Indeed he may have said “The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time” but TJ was instrumental in taking it away. And if you consider “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people...” you will find that slaves were excluded.
At a time when the continent was largely empty, and people were coming in from Europe to seek their fortunes, the slaves were unable to do such a simple thing as walk over into Kentucky and try their own luck at farming or hunting and trapping.
This man had a slave mistress and even she remained a slave until his death.
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Thomas Jefferson also reminded us that defending the liberty of our fellow citizens is important, for it only takes a slight change of circumstances to find our own freedoms under attack.
Clair
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