Tag Archives: Thomas Jefferson

First Principles: I Think All the World Would Gain By Setting Commerce At Perfect Liberty

“I think all the world would gain by setting commerce at perfect liberty.” – Thomas Jefferson (1785)

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First Principles: This I Hope Will Be the Age of Experiments In Government, and That Their Basis Will Be Founded In Principles of Honesty, Not of Mere Force

“This I hope will be the age of experiments in government, and that their basis will be founded in principles of honesty, not of mere force.” – Thomas Jefferson (1796)

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First Principles: I Never Considered A Difference of Opinion In Politics, In Religion, In Philosophy, As Cause For Withdrawing From A Friend

“I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” – Thomas Jefferson

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First Principles: Equal and Exact Justice To All Men, of Whatever Persuasion, Religious or Political

“Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever persuasion, religious or political.” —Thomas Jefferson (1801)

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First Principles: Equal and Exact Justice To All Men, of Whatever Persuasion, Religious Or Political

“Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever persuasion, religious or political.” – Thomas Jefferson (1801)

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First Principles: I Tremble For My Country When I Reflect That God Is Just; That His Justice Cannot Sleep Forever

“And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be … Continue reading

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First Principles: Our Peculiar Security Is In the Possession of A Written Constitution. Let Us Not Make It A Blank Paper By Construction.

“Our peculiar security is in the possession of a written Constitution. Let us not make it a blank paper by construction.” – Thomas Jefferson, letter to Wilson Nicholas, 1803

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First Principles: The True Key For the Construction of Everything Doubtful In A Law Is the Intention of the Law-Makers

“The true key for the construction of everything doubtful in a law is the intention of the law-makers. This is most safely gathered from the words, but may be sought also in extraneous circumstances provided they do not contradict the … Continue reading

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First Principles: An Honest Man Can Feel Not Pleasure In the Exercise of Power Over His Fellow Citizens

“An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens.” – Thomas Jefferson (1813)

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First Principles: The Press Is Impotent When It Abandons Itself To Falsehood

“But the fact being once established, that the press is impotent when it abandons itself to falsehood, I leave to others to restore it to its strength, by recalling it within the pale of truth.” – Thomas Jefferson (1805)

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