Posted on 05/04/2009 3:14:15 PM PDT by A Navy Vet
President Thomas Jefferson's own words (the right-wing extremist that he was!):
"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."
"Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state."
"I own that I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive."
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
"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."
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground."
"Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty."
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."
They were possibly the wisest men who ever graced this planet. They were learned; they were experienced; they were businessmen; they were cobblers; they were of all classes. Most importantly, they were willing to give ALL for their LIBERTY and inherent rights.
Most people forget if Washingtion, Adams, Jefferson, et al had lost the Revolutionary War, they would have been executed as traitors by King George.
Because of their willingness to put ALL on the line, me and my wife have freedom (although diminishing under Bush/Obami) and opportunity that doesn't exist in so many places in the world.
And because of THEIR sacrifice and wisdom, and those who have sacrificed after them, I still and will always uphold my Oath to the United States Constitution.
Thank you.
Jefferson is my favorite President.
I've never understood the fanaticism with Lincoln. Although, I may be ill-informed, I didn't like the fact that he fought so much against the South succeeding. I believe any State or Peoples have the right to separate from their societal compact for what ever reason.
There are numerous States who have or are considering resolutions to re-affirm their State rights. Of course, state resolutions have no binding authority over their contract with the Union. But it is good that the States are getting fed up with the FedGov dictating to everyone within those States.
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)
Those two (2) quotes, above all, need to be hammered into the Joe-Soccor-Mom mentality again and again and again, until they finally understand and stop voting for well-spoken "charming" politicians.
I agree with you but the constitution is being destroyed by people that dont believe in it , understand it or care about it. Some even think the constitution is something you spit on.
I really dont think the constitution will survive the future.
you have a few elites taking control of everthing and a dumb uneducated public who keeps voting them in office because they think they can get something for free.Half the public has nothing invested in this country and really dont care.
So, how many of the following quotes are bogus? Best I can tell, all but the first two:
"A wise and frugal government, [which shall restrain men from injuring one another,] 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." LOOKS GOOD
"Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state." LOOKS GOOD
"I own that I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive." BOGUS
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." BOGUS
"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." BOGUS
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." BOGUS
"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." BOGUS
"Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty." BOGUS
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."BOGUS
Have mercy on us !!
Prepare to be flamed !!!
Wow, so a lot of these are urban legend-type quotes?
Even my favorite Jefferson quote:
“That Govt is best which governs least.”
http://wiki.monticello.org/mediawiki/index.php/That_government_is_best_which_governs_least
Ha! ;-)
Some years ago I paid $10 for a 1,000 page book of genuine quotations, including many by Jefferson -- for example:
"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg."
But I think now, I'd pay a lot more than $10 for a book of all the fake quotations floating around, explaining where they came from and why... ;-)
On all but one I believe you are correct.
The “No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms” quote is actually part of the original draft for the Virginia Constitution, Article IV, Rights, Public and Private.
Years ago I bought (and paid alot for!) Jefferson: Writings
ed. By Merrill Peterson
It does not have a complete collection of his writings except I think that all of his letters ever recovered are there.
Check out my link above.
You're right, it was part of Jefferson's draft, but not adopted in the final Virginia Constitution.
Note further how Jefferson himself apparently modified the language in subsequent drafts -- adding "within his own lands or tenements."
I think you can deduce Jefferson's real thought on this subject by combining one of the genuine quotes above:
"Every citizen should be a soldier...."
with the Second Ammendment:
"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
What Jefferson, Washington and other Founders wanted was for every citizen, belonging to "a well regulated militia," to "keep and bear arms" in his home, ready to be called up for service whenever needed.
And remember the reason: because they hated the idea, and denied the necessity, of a large standing army. Citizen soldiers serving in "a well regulated militia" would eliminate the need for such a dangerous institution.
Fortunately (or unfortunately), their ideal of no standing army didn't survive a series of now largely forgotten early military disasters.
Actual source: John Philpot Curran, in a speech before the Privy Council on July 10, 1790.
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." NEAR-MISS
It's a common mis-quote. The correct quote is:
"if we can but prevent the government from wasting the labours of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy." - Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Cooper, 29 November 1802[1]
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." BOGUS:
"This exact quotation has not been found in any of the writings of Thomas Jefferson. It bears a very vague resemblance to Jefferson's comment in a prospectus for his translation of Destutt de Tracy's Treatise on Political Economy:
"To take from one, because it is thought that his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, ‘the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry, & the fruits acquired by it.'"[3]"
"There is nothing more unequal, than the equal treatment of unequal people." BOGUS
So be it, if so. Still, each "BOGUS" quote is a truism. Guess I better do so more research. Thanks for the heads up.
Still, the gist of many of his statements amount to the statements I related above. I feel bad that I didn't quote our most important Statesman correctly and believed my historically incorrect quotations to be a slight upon such a great man.
I may have screwed up, but will continue to look into his papers to see if my quotations were based in fact. The Founding Fathers had much personal correspondence between themselves (letters and memos) that was not promoted in the media at the time. Let's look further...
Again, even if I'm proven wrong, the concepts are still valid in relation to our Constitutional heritage. Do you not agree?
“”No freeman shall be debarred the use of arms [within his own lands]” PROPOSED Virginia CONSTITUTION. FORD ED., ii, 27. (June, 1776.) On record. You’re wrong.
//"I own I am not a friend to a very energetic government//. It is always oppressive. It places the governors indeed more at their ease, at the expense of the people." --Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1787. (Forrest version) ME 6:391
//
Sorry, pal, but these and other quotes I mentioned above by President Jefferson actually exist. I don't know what books you've been reading (don't believe everything you read"), but these quotations are in the National Archives and some are hand-written by Mr. Jefferson, others are in copies of historical newsletters, not to mention minutes of the Continental Congress.
Have you ever read the personal correspondence between the Founding Fathers? I'll look up the other quotes you say I'm wrong about and get back to you. I could be wrong on some of the paraphrasing, and I could still be wrong about certain quotes. Well see, but I believe not because some blogger says no.
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. 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"
Citation: Thomas Jefferson, 1 Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
Do yourself a favor and quit reading biased books and read the National Archives. It's all there for anyone to see, and actually exists on real-life parchment. Thomas Jefferson may have not said the exact words you want to agrue, but the intent is there for all to see. Shall we continue?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.