Thomas Jefferson quotes, verified

“The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time.”

A Summary View of the Rights of British America, 1774

Jefferson wrote this in 1774 as draft instructions for Virginia's delegates to the First Continental Congress.

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“My god! how little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy.”

Letter to James Monroe, Paris, 17 June 1785 (Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 8)

From a letter Jefferson wrote to James Monroe from Paris on 17 June 1785.

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“Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains rather than do an immoral act.”

Letter to Peter Carr, Paris, 19 August 1785

From a letter written in Paris on 19 August 1785 to Peter Carr, Jefferson's teenage nephew and ward, then a student in Virginia.

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“The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have past at home in the bosom of my family.”

Letter to Francis Willis Jr., 18 Apr 1790

From a letter written in New York on 18 April 1790 to his old Virginia friend Francis Willis Jr., weeks after Jefferson took office as Secretary of State.

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“I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”

Letter to Benjamin Rush, 23 Sep 1800

From a letter written at Monticello on 23 September 1800 to Dr. Benjamin Rush of Philadelphia, a signer of the Declaration and a close friend.

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“A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.”

First Inaugural Address, Washington, 4 March 1801

From Jefferson's First Inaugural Address, delivered in the Senate chamber of the unfinished Capitol in Washington on 4 March 1801.

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“The care of human life & happiness, & not their destruction, is the first & only legitimate object of good government.”

Letter to the Republicans of Washington County, Maryland, 31 Mar 1809

From Jefferson's reply of 31 March 1809 to citizens of Washington County, Maryland, who had met at Hagerstown to thank him as he left the presidency.

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“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”

Letter from Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, 1 August 1816

From a letter written at Monticello on 1 August 1816 to John Adams, when Jefferson was 73.

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“adore God. reverence and cherish your parents. love your neighbor as yourself, and your country more than yourself. be just. be true.”

Letter to Thomas Jefferson Smith, Monticello, 21 February 1825

From a letter written at Monticello on 21 February 1825 to Thomas Jefferson Smith, a boy named after him, sent at the request of the boy's father.

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