The several states composing the United States of America are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their general government
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of balance between state and federal authority.
Thomas Jefferson's quote reflects his belief that the individual states within the United States should not be entirely submissive to the federal government. Instead, there should be a balance where states have the power to govern themselves and protect their rights without being overridden by a central authority, highlighting the principles of autonomy and federalism.
In practice
In a speech about state rights, you might reference this quote to highlight the need for autonomy.
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.
A man is the sum of his misfortunes. One day you'd think misfortune would get tired but then time is your misfortune
Oh, am I a feminist? I usually say that I was an accidental feminist. Really, I was just being me.
Not believing in force is the same as not believing in gravitation.
If it be true that democracy is based upon the assumption that every man shall serve his fellow man, the organization of democracy should be gradually adapted to that assumption.
Big Brother in the form of an increasingly powerful government and in an increasingly powerful private sector will pile the records high with reasons why privacy should give way to national security, to law and order, to efficiency of operation, to scientific advancement and the like.
I'm almost like three people. There's me the, Dolly, the person. There's me, the star. And then there's me, the manager.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.