Thomas Jefferson Quotes on Freedom

I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery. – Thomas Jefferson

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. – Thomas Jefferson

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. – Thomas Jefferson

A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned – this is the sum of good government. – Thomas Jefferson

The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground. – Thomas Jefferson

The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time. – Thomas Jefferson

The boisterous sea of liberty is never without a wave. – Thomas Jefferson

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it. – Thomas Jefferson

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. – Thomas Jefferson

Educate and inform the whole mass of the people… They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty. – Thomas Jefferson

I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. – Thomas Jefferson

Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty. – Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson Quotes on Freedom part 2

Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth. – Thomas Jefferson

Experience hath shown, that even under the best forms of government, those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny. – Thomas Jefferson

The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it always to be kept alive. – Thomas Jefferson

If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. – Thomas Jefferson

Honesty is the first chapter of the book wisdom. – Thomas Jefferson

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. – Thomas Jefferson

I would rather belong to a poor nation that was free than to a rich nation that had ceased to be in love with liberty. – Thomas Jefferson

Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost. – Thomas Jefferson

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. – Thomas Jefferson

The price of liberty is eternal vigilance. – Thomas Jefferson

The harder the conflict, the greater the triumph. – Thomas Jefferson

Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits. – Thomas Jefferson

Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. – Thomas Jefferson

Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching. – Thomas Jefferson

The glow of one warm thought is to be worth more than money. – Thomas Jefferson

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. – Thomas Jefferson

Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you. – Thomas Jefferson

Every generation needs a new revolution. – Thomas Jefferson

I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past. – Thomas Jefferson

Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear. – Thomas Jefferson

The sheep are happier of themselves than under the care of wolves. – Thomas Jefferson

I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have. – Thomas Jefferson

Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances. – Thomas Jefferson

He who knows best knows how little he knows. – Thomas Jefferson

Nothing is unchangeable but the inherent and unalienable rights of man. – Thomas Jefferson

Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much can be done if we are always doing. – Thomas Jefferson

The harder I work, the more I live. – Thomas Jefferson

I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have. – Thomas Jefferson

Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe. – Thomas Jefferson

Always take hold of things by the smooth handle. – Thomas Jefferson

Ignorance is preferable to error, and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing than he who believes what is wrong. – Thomas Jefferson

I hold that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing. – Thomas Jefferson

I cannot live without books. – Thomas Jefferson