I considered 4 of these bills [of the revised code of Virginia] as forming a system by which every fibre would be eradicated of antient or future aristocracy; and a foundation laid for a government truly republican.
Interpretation
Thomas Jefferson advocates for a government that eliminates aristocratic influences and establishes a true republican system.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson reflects on a set of legislative bills aimed at dismantling any remnants of aristocracy and reinforcing a government that is genuinely representative of the people's will. He envisions a new framework in which power is derived from the consent of the governed, promoting equality and democratic principles over inherited privilege.
In practice
In a speech advocating for electoral reform, one might cite this quote to highlight the importance of a government free from aristocratic influence.
The firmness with which the (American) people have withstood the... abuses of the press, the discernment they have manifested between truth and falsehood, show that they may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false and to form a correct judgment between them.
I, place economy among the first & most important republican virtues, & public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared
We must make our choice between economy and liberty or confusion and servitude...If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and comforts, in our labor and in our amusements...if we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.
Very many and very meritorious were the worthy patriots who assisted in bringing back our government to its republican tack. To preserve it in that, will require unremitting vigilance.
A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society.
Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty.
The whole basis of the United Nations is the right of all nations - great or small - to have weight, to have a vote, to be attended to, to be a part of the twentieth century.
The bureaucracy takes itself to be the ultimate purpose of the state
We support the security of both Israel and her neighbors.
Politically speaking, it's always easier to shell out money for a disaster that has already happened, with clearly identifiable victims, than to invest money in protecting against something that may or may not happen in the future.
There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.
If the United States loses the economic weapons of control, it is very much weakened.
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