[The Federal Convention] is really an assembly of demigods.
Interpretation
Jefferson describes the Founding Fathers as near-divine figures shaping American democracy.
In this quote, Thomas Jefferson expresses his admiration for the delegates at the Federal Convention, considering them extraordinary individuals who possess wisdom and vision akin to demigods. This metaphor highlights the immense responsibility they held in crafting the new nation's framework and how their abilities and insights were unprecedented in the context of their time.
In practice
In a discussion about American history, this quote can emphasize the qualities needed for effective governance.
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.
The tank, the B-52, the fighter-bomber, the state-controlled police and military are the weapons of dictatorship. The rifle is the weapon of democracy. Not for nothing was the revolver called an "equalizer."
We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it.
With Yeltsin, the Soviet Union broke apart, the country was totally mismanaged, the constitution was not respected by the regions of Russia. The army, education and health systems collapsed. People in the West quietly applauded, dancing with and around Yeltsin. I conclude therefore that we should not pay too much attention to what the West is saying.
A government, the constitution of which renders it unfit to be trusted with all the powers which a free people ought to delegate to any government, would be an unsafe and improper depositary of the NATIONAL INTERESTS.
Ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors to bullets.
No man who ever held the office of president would congratulate a friend on obtaining it.
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