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Happy Birthday Thomas Jefferson! What do you think about these quotes?

A singular Enlightenment figure, Jefferson ardently championed the spiritual and intellectual independence of the individual. Hooray! A few quotes in the spirit of the day: From his Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom: "to compel a man to furnish....money for the propagation of opinions,” is both “sinful and tyrannical." On Liberty: "unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others." Reason empowers each person to use their minds to overcome obstacles and control their own lives through Liberty: "If you always lean on your master, you will never be able to proceed without him. It is part of the American character to consider nothing as desperate---to surmount every difficulty . . . to invent and to execute; to find the means within ourselves, and not to lean on others." finally: "Fix reason firmly to her seat and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion." Many Happy Returns!

Public Comments

1. These are all such wonderful quotes! A perfect representation of a great American leader!
2. BA Man of his times, but how well it sounds to our ears of today! :), God, I love reading history, Thank you!
3. Truly a great man. He knew without a second amendment, the others were worthless. That was his greatest vision.
4. Jefferson always did tend to think in the abstract. He viewed life in a cold scientific way. He experimented constantly with live, government, etc. Unfortunately, he tended to exclude himself from some of his ideas. In other words, "Do as I say, not as a I do." By the end of his life, this wise man was in debt and had to sell his books, which formed the Library of Congress, and other possessions. History is mixed on him.
5. Here is my favorite. "Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations--entangling alliances with none, I deem [one of] the essential principles of our government, and consequently [one of] those which ought to shape its administration." --Thomas Jefferson: 1st Inaugural Address, 1801. ME 3:321
6. Maural, I don't mean to knock Thomas Jefferson's words here--he was unquestionably a powerful figure in our history--but are you aware that Thomas Jefferson had 6 illegitimate children by his black slave named Sally that he never acknowledged as his own? Jefferson freed his slave Sally IN HIS WILL ( ie., no inconvenience to one's self if you don't free your slaves until after you die). But sadly, Sally died before Jefferson did so she never experienced freedom. And as best as I can determine from history, Jefferson's illegitimate children lived their lives as black servants or field workers, no help from their father. It wasn't until DNA testing came along in recent years that Sally's descendants were verified as actually being Thomas Jefferson's descendants. The lesson to be learned here? Rhetoric is great, but let's be careful what we teach our children. Words of glory don't speak for character.
7. GBTJ. Most of my ancestors would approve of those quotes, even though some of them were Federalists and others were mere Sons of Liberty. They would not approve of Authoritarian governments. Nor will we tolerate Totalitarians now. Jefferson was the first to write freedom of religion into law. Prior to this, no adult white man had a right to choose his belief because it was determined by the State. The idea that an individual has a right to choose his own religion was not new, but the idea that The State must accept this was extremely dangerous and revolutionary. Jefferson was a very good gift to all of us, of any race or religion or creed, that enjoys and prospers because of his intellect and courage. The man was born a British subject. And he became a traitor, and changed history for all men and women. And he died in his bed.: a difficult task for any ordinary revolutionary. 'Nuff said. Give TJ more than ten points; the concepts of individual liberty would not exist without him and his brethren, and it is a sin to think otherwise.
8. Wonderful, Jefferson was a thinker of his time and also a slave owner. The slave owner part makes his comments oxymoron's/hypocritical though....I guess you live and learn as a Nation civilizes over the years.