We did not raise armies for glory or for conquest.
Interpretation
The quote means that the efforts of raising armies should not be for personal or national glory, but for a greater purpose.
Thomas Jefferson emphasizes that the true purpose of raising armies is not to seek glory or engage in conquest, but rather to uphold values, protect freedom, and serve a higher cause. This highlights a moral perspective on leadership and the responsibilities that come with power, suggesting that military might should be a means to an ethical end rather than an end in itself.
In practice
In a speech about military involvement, one might reference this quote to emphasize ethical leadership.
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
βWe 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.
You need people who can walk their companies into the future rather than back them into the future.
Nothing can be more hurtful to the service, than the neglect of discipline; for that discipline, more than numbers, gives one army the superiority over another.
I want to organize so that women see ourselves as people who are entitled to power, entitled to leadership.
I make my battle plans from the spirit of my sleeping soldiers
I just think you ought to talk straight with your people.
As the young leaders of tomorrow, you have the passion and energy and commitment to make a difference. What I'd like to really urge you do is to have a global vision. Go beyond your country; go beyond your national boundaries
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