Thomas Jefferson

A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and read more

A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inferences

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one
people to dissolve the political bands which read more

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one
people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them
with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the
separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of
Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of
mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel
them to the separation.
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--That to secure these Rights, Governments
are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the
the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of
Government becomes destructive to these Ends, it is the Right of
the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new
Government, laying its foundation on such Principles and
and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem
most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. . . .

Delay is preferable to error.

Delay is preferable to error.

That government is best which governs least, because its people discipline themselves.

That government is best which governs least, because its people discipline themselves.

It is the trade of lawyers to question everything, yield nothing, and to talk by the hour.

It is the trade of lawyers to question everything, yield nothing, and to talk by the hour.