The mobs of great cities add just so much to the support of pure government as sores do to the strength of the human body.
Thomas JeffersonWe have the wolf by the ears, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other.
Thomas JeffersonWhile the farmer holds the title to the land, actually, it belongs to all the people because civilization itself rests upon the soil.
Thomas JeffersonThe most effective way to find ourselves enslaved will not be done openly. If weakened we will sink gradually. I ask, who are the militia? They consist of the whole people, .... except a few public officers.
Thomas Jefferson