Any nation that expects to be ignorant and free," Jefferson said, "expects what never was and never will be." And if the gap between the educated and the uneducated in America continues to grow as it is in our time, as fast as or faster than the gap between the rich and the poor, the gap between the educated and the uneducated is going to be of greater consequence and the more serious threat to our way of life. We must not, by any means, misunderstand that.

To this noble end the delegates had pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

You have to have wisdom and knowledge as well as virtue to preserve your rights and liberties.

...Had proven himself a leader of remarkable ability, a man not only of enterprising ideas, but with the staying power to carry them out.

You can't be a full participant in our democracy if you don't know our history.

Read somewhat in the English poets every day. You will find them elegant, entertaining and constructive companions through your whole life.

Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives. - John Adams