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.
An evil deed is not redeemed by an evil deed in retaliation.
One isn't born one's self. One is born with a mass of expectations, a mass of other people's ideas - and you have to work through it all.
I sat in the sun on a bench; the animal within me licking the chops of memory; the spiritual side a little drowsed, promising subsequent penitence, but not yet moved to begin.
And when suddenly the god stopped her and, with anguish in his cry, uttered the words: βHe has turned roundβ β she comprehended nothing and said softly: βWho?
Events, circumstances, etc., have their origin in ourselves. They spring from seeds which we have sown.
All man's troubles come from not knowing how to sit still in one room.
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