Thomas Jefferson Quotes

The quest for freedom, dignity, and the rights of man will never end.

The ultimate end of all revolutionary social change is to establish the sanctity of human life, the dignity of man, the right of every human being to liberty and well-being.

The struggle for human rights is at its core a struggle for human dignity.

Emancipation - what is meant by it? Simply that the slaves shall cease to be held as property and shall henceforth be held and treated as human beings. Simply, that we should take our feet from off their necks.

Some values must be universal, like human rights and the equal worth of every human being.

Proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.

We are not fighting for integration, nor are we fighting for separation. We are fighting for recognition as human beings. We are fighting for human rights.

This is not a question of expediency, but of right. In antebellum days the proposition was not, “Are the blacks good enough to be free?” but, “Have they the right?” So today the question is not, “Will outrages result from freeing humanity?” but, “Has it the right to life, the means of life, the opportunities of happiness?”

All men are created equal.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

Subjection of any kind and in any place is beneath the dignity of man ... the highest joy is to fight by the side of those who for any reason of their own making or ours, are unable to develop to full human stature.

I expect to plead not for the slave only, but for suffering humanity everywhere. Especially do I mean to labor for the elevation of my sex.

There is not a right too long denied to which we do not aspire in order to achieve; there is not a wrong too long endured that we are not determined to abolish.

Freedom and Justice are twin sisters.

Life is not a matter of place, things or comfort; rather, it concerns the basic human rights of family, country, justice and human dignity.

If you hear me out, I believe you'll discover that what motivates me more than any other issue is the defense of everyone's rights.

Today, we stand as a united country and are much closer to the ideals set forth in our Constitution that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

So what we're talking about here is human rights. The right to live like a human. The right to live, period. And what we're facing in Africa is an unprecedented threat to human dignity and equality.

Human rights is a universal standard. It is a component of every religion and every civilization.

Human rights are not a privilege granted by the few, they are a liberty entitled to all, and human rights, by definition, include the rights of all humans, those in the dawn of life, the dusk of life, or the shadows of life.

Create power for the powerless.

One man’s right is every man’s right.

I recognize no rights but human rights—I know nothing of men's rights and women's rights.

Proclaiming slaves free does not make them free.

Equality and emancipation are required by the laws of humanity. These laws are not dependant on Judaism of Christianity because those laws and our claim are prior to both.