On every question of construction (of the Constitution) let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit of the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes understanding the Constitution through the context of its creation rather than manipulating its language.
Thomas Jefferson urges us to interpret the Constitution by returning to the historical context and intentions of its framers. He suggests that rather than trying to extract vague meanings or distort the text, we should aim to grasp the original spirit and debates that shaped the document's creation, which allows for a more authentic and faithful understanding of its purpose.
In practice
This quote could be used in a lecture about constitutional law to emphasize historical interpretation.
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.
We have the most religious freedom of any country in the world, including the freedom not to believe.
What gave you this idea of an imperfect god?' 'I don't know. It seems quite feasible to me. That is the only god I could imagine believing in, a god whose passion is not a redemption, who saves nothing, fulfills no purpose--a god who simply is.
It is not possible to eat me without insisting that I sing praises of my devourer?
When a daffadill I see, Hanging down his head towards me, Guess I may, what I must be: First, I shall decline my head; Secondly, I shall be dead: Lastly, safely buryed.
What we need to realize is that there can be, shall we say, a movement, a stirring among people, which can be organically designed instead of politically designed.
The whole history of civilization is strewn with creeds and institutions which were invaluable at first, and deadly afterwards
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