#jefferson

Nevertheless, (Jefferson) believed that the habit of skepticism is an essential prerequisite for responsible citizenship. He argued that the cost of education is trivial compared to the cost of ignorance, of leaving government to the wolves. He taught that the country is safe only when the people rule. ↗

— Carl Sagan

#ignorance #skepticism #thomas-jefferson #education

As the nation divided into Federalists and Republicans, each group called the other the worst name possible: "party". Most Americans feared the idea of party; believing that a society should unite to achieve the public good, they denounced parties as groups of ambitious men selfishly competing for power. Worse, parties were danger signals for a republic; if parties dominated a republic's politics, its days were numbered. ↗

— R.B. Bernstein

#parties #politics #republic #men

‎Some of my finest hours have been spent on my back veranda, smoking hemp and observing as far as my eye can see. ↗

— Thomas Jefferson

#marijuana #pot-smoking #thomas-jefferson #verenda #observation

The boldness of his mind was sheathed in a scabbard of politeness. ↗

— Dumas Malone

#boldness #courtesy #mind #politeness #scabbard

I couldn't help but to think back to my classmates at Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio. They had the same talent, the same brains, the same dreams as the folks we sat with at Stanford and Harvard. I realized the difference wasn't one of intelligence or drive. The difference was opportunity. ↗

— Julian Castro

#back #brains #classmates #difference #dreams

Men of Virginia, countrymen of Washington, of Patrick Henry, of Jefferson, and of Madison, will ye be true to your constitutional faith? ↗

— Caleb Cushing

#constitutional #countrymen #faith #henry #jefferson

Washington, not Jefferson, freed his slaves upon his death. ↗

— Stephen Ambrose

#freed #his #jefferson #slaves #upon

The adoption by Jefferson and the Republicans of the political structure of their opponents is of an importance hardly inferior to that of the adoption of the Constitution by the states. ↗

— Herbert Croly

#constitution #hardly #importance #inferior #jefferson

Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt faced adversities that, in their times, seemed impregnable. Great presidents overcome great odds. ↗

— Ron Fournier

#faced #great #impregnable #jefferson #lincoln

From Jefferson to Jackson to Lincoln to FDR to Reagan, every great president inspires enormous affection and enormous hostility. We'll all be much saner, I think, if we remember that history is full of surprises and things that seemed absolutely certain one day are often unimaginable the next. ↗

— Jon Meacham

#affection #certain #day #enormous #every