Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of providing fair and impartial treatment to all individuals, regardless of their background or beliefs.
Thomas Jefferson's quote advocates for the principle of equality and fairness within the legal system. It asserts that justice should be administered equally to everyone without favoritism or prejudice, regardless of one's social status, beliefs, or affiliations. This foundational idea promotes a just society where all people can expect to be treated with fairness and dignity.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about legal reforms aimed at ensuring equality.
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.
Systemic racism always takes a toll, whether it be by bullet or by blood clot.
Justice is never given; it is exacted.
Mass incarceration and its never-ending human toll will be with us until we come to see that no crime justifies permanent civic death.
Although our rules and laws are now officially colorblind, they operate to discriminate in a grossly disproportionate fashion.
The success of any legal system is measured by its fidelity to the universal ideal of justice.
I think it's useful to recall that a lot of these statutes like 'disrupting the classroom' or 'disturbing the peace' have long been historically used to oppress and criminalize black people.
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