Without Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, Americans wouldn’t have the Declaration of Independence (listen to a reading here). Rather strangely, both men died on the same day, exactly fifty years after the signing of the Declaration -- July 4, 1826. Quite the factoid. Below, we have a clip from HBO’s excellent mini series “John Adams,” and here you can see the two men at work on the Declaration.
Thomas Jefferson quotes:
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. ” 2. “It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.”
3. “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.”
4. “My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.”
5. “No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.”
6. “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.”
7. “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
8. “To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which He disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”
9. “I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”