50 Brilliant Thomas Jefferson Quotes On Life To Help You Build Stronger Principles
Last updated on December 27th, 2023 at 11:00 am
“Thomas Jefferson“, by comptechteacher, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, in Shadwell, Virginia. He was an American architect, diplomat, lawyer, philosopher, statesman, and the founding father who served as the third President of the United States (1801-1809), the second vice-president (1797-1801), and the first secretary of state of the nation (1789-1794). Thomas Jefferson was the primary draftsman of the U.S, Declaration of Independence, a prominent of democracy who motivated the American colonists to form a new nation and break the country from the Kingdom of Great Britain.
Thomas Jefferson Quotes
“But though an old man, I am but a young gardener.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Letter to Charles Willson Peale [August 20, 1811]
“The good old Dominion, the blessed mother of us all.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, “Thoughts on Lotteries” (1826).
“Abstracted from home, I know no happiness in this world.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, letter to Lt. de Unger, 1780
“[Washington] errs as other men do, but errs with integrity”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, letter to William B. Giles, Dec. 31, 1795
“A pirate spreading misery and ruin over the face of the ocean”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Memoirs, Correspondence, and Private Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Late President of the United States (ed. 1829)
“A lawyer without books would be like a workman without tools.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, The papers of Thomas Jefferson (ed. 1950)
“Great innovations should not be forced on slender majorities.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, The writings of Thomas Jefferson (ed. 1853)
“There is not a sprig of grass that shoots uninteresting to me.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, To the Girls and Boys (ed. 1964)
“The ocean…like the air, is the common birth-right of mankind.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, ‘Reply to the Society of Tammany, or Columbian Order, No. 1, of the City of New York’, 29 February 1808
“In war, they will kill some of us; we shall destroy all of them”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, The writings of Thomas Jefferson (ed. 1853)
“A coward is much more exposed to quarrels than a man of spirit.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, The papers of Thomas Jefferson (ed. 1950)
“By oft repeating an untruth, men come to believe it themselves.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Correspondence (ed. 1854)
“When public opinion changes, it is with the rapidity of thought.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Letter to Colonel Charles Yancey (6 January 1816) ME 14:384.
“The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, A Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774)
“One war, such as that of our Revolution, is enough for one life.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Correspondence, contin (ed. 1854)
“No man will labor for himself who can make another labor for him.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Notes on the State of Virginia (ed. 1801)
“I have a right to nothing which another has a right to take away.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Memoir, correspondence, and miscellanies from the papers of T. Jefferson (ed. 1829)
“The Giver of life gave it for happiness and not for wretchedness.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, The Real Thomas Jefferson (ed. Natl Center for Constitutional, 1983)
“I find as I grow older that I love those most whom I loved first.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, The Works of Thomas Jefferson Volume 5: (ed. Best Books on, 1904) – ISBN: 9781623764548
“It is reasonable that everyone who asks justice should do justice”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, The Real Thomas Jefferson (ed. Natl Center for Constitutional, 1983)
“Nothing betrays imbecility so much as the being insensible of it.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Correspondence, contin (ed. 1854)
“I have great confidence in the common sense of mankind in general.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, he Works of Thomas Jefferson Volume 9: (ed. Best Books on, 1904) – ISBN: 9781623764586
“Where a new invention promises to be useful, it ought to be tried.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson (ed. 1854)
“Commerce with all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Letter to Thomas Lomax (12 March 1799)
“The sheep are happier of themselves, than under the care of wolves.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Notes on the State of Virginia (ed. 1801)
“God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Memoir, correspondence, and miscellanies from the papers of T. Jefferson (ed. 1829)
“The execution of the laws is more important than the making of them.”
“The execution of the laws is more important than the making of them.”
“The generation which commences a revolution can rarely complete it.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, letter to John Adams, 4 September 1823, in P. L. Ford Writings of Thomas Jefferson (1899) vol. 10
“It takes time to persuade men to do even what is for their own good.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Correspondence, contin (ed. 1853)
“Good humor is one of the preservatives of our peace and tranquility.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Light and Liberty: Reflections on the Pursuit of Happiness (ed. Modern Library, 2004) – ISBN: 9781588363893
“Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Notes on the State of Virginia (ed. 1832)
“Travelling is good for your health and necessary for your amusement.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Thomas Jefferson Correspondence: Printed from the Originals in the Collections of William K. Bixby (ed. 1916)
“It will be said that great societies cannot exist without government.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Notes on the State of Virginia,… with a map (ed. 1794)
“I find that he is happiest of whom the world says least, good or bad.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, The Life and Writings of… (ed. 1900)
“An equal application of law to every condition of man is fundamental.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Memoirs, Correspondence, and Private Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Late President of the United States (ed. 1829)
“Without society, and a society to our taste, men are never contented.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Memoir, correspondence, and miscellanies from the papers of T. Jefferson (ed. 1829)
“Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Letter to Nathaniel Macon (1819)
“One precedent in favor of power is stronger than a hundred against it.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Political Writings: Representative Selections (ed. 1955)
“Nothing can be believed but what one sees, or has from an eye witness.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Memoirs, correspondence and private papers of Thomas Jefferson, ed. by T.J. Randolph (ed. 1829)
“It is my principle that the will of the majority should always prevail.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Memoirs, Correspondence, and Private Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Late President of the United States (ed. 1829)
Nitesh Kucchal
Nitesh Kuchhal, an IIM Calcutta graduate, is more than an educator—he's a mentor. With a passion for leadership and entrepreneurship, and travel. He has explored over 20 countries. Beyond teaching, he dives into psychology and discusses social issues. Though he is not a history expert, he enjoys learning about it through books, adding a historical touch to his many interests.
