Thomas Jefferson

"In the constitution of Spain as proposed by the late Cortes, there was a principle entirely new to me:... that no person born after that day should ever acquire the rights of citizenship until he could read and write. It is impossible sufficiently to estimate the wisdom of this provision. Of all those which have been thought of for securing fidelity in the administration of the government, constant reliance to the principles of the constitution, and progressive amendments with the progressive advances of the human mind or changes in human affairs, it is the most effectual."

3 likes

Source: Thomas Jefferson, Brett F. Woods (2009). “Thomas Jefferson: Thoughts on War and Revolution : Annotated Correspondence”, p.115, Algora Publishing

About the author

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Politician, Founding Father

Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, advocating for liberty and democracy.

All quotes by Thomas Jefferson →

Same author

More quotes by Thomas Jefferson

See all →
Thomas Jefferson Politician, Founding Father

"The end of democracy and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations."

Read quote
Thomas Jefferson Politician, Founding Father

"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . . . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."

Read quote