All power is inherent in the people.
Interpretation
The authority and strength of governance comes from the collective will of the citizens.
This quote by Thomas Jefferson emphasizes the foundational principle of democracy, that the ultimate source of political power lies with the people rather than a ruling elite. It suggests that the government should reflect the desires and needs of its citizens and that the individuals have the right to claim their power in shaping their own governance.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech advocating for civic engagement and voter participation.
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.
It doesn't matter if you please the whole world and don't please Jesus. But if you please Jesus, it doesn't matter whom you displease.
A few years ago, the city council of Monza, Italy, barred pet owners from keeping goldfish in curved bowls... saying that it is cruel to keep a fish in a bowl with curved sides because, gazing out, the fish would have a distorted view of reality. But how do we know we have the true, undistorted picture of reality?
Those who cannot renounce attachment to the results of their work are far from the path.
I intend to leave after my death a large fund for the promotion of the peace idea, but I am skeptical as to its results.
The most lively thought is still inferior to the dullest sensation.
A beast can never be as cruel as a human being, so artistically, so picturesquely cruel.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.