Every man, and every body of men on earth, possesses the right of self-government. They receive it with their being from the hand of nature. Individuals exercise it by their single will; collections of men by that of their majority; for the law of the majority is the natural law of every society of men.
Thomas JeffersonThe tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Thomas Jefferson[F]alsehood of the tongue leads to that of the heart, and in time depraves all its good dispositions.
Thomas JeffersonWe should talk over the lessons of the day, or lose them in Music, Chess, or the merriments of our family companions.
Thomas JeffersonA first attempt to recover the right of self government may fail, so may a second, a third, etc. But as a younger and more instructed race comes on, the sentiment becomes more and more intuitive, and a fourth, a fifth, or some subsequent one of the ever renewed attempts will ultimately succeed... To attain all this, however, rivers of blood must yet flow, and years of desolation pass over; yet the object is worth rivers of blood and years of desolation. For what inheritance so valuable can man leave to his posterity?
Thomas Jefferson