Thomas Jefferson Quotes

It is an axiom in my mind that our liberty can never be safe but in the hands of the people themselves, and that too of the people with a certain degree of instruction. This it is the business of the state to effect, and on a general plan.

Educate and inform the whole mass of the people.

You cannot have a democracy without an informed people.

Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.

A popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy; or perhaps both ... And a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power that knowledge gives.

Only an armed people can be the real bulwark of popular liberty.

The people of every country are the only safe guardians of their own rights.

Only a knowledgeable, empowered and vocal citizenry can perform well in democracy.

Let the people decide whom to vote for, who has more authority. And only people, only our citizens, are able to place the final emphasis, voting for this or that person or political force, or rejecting it. That's democracy.

The people will save their government, if the government itself will allow them.

Without an educated populace, democracy cannot sustain itself.

A well-instructed people alone can be permanently a free people.

Reading builds the educated and informed electorate so vital to our democracy.

[A] government can be expected to be enjoyed no longer than while its Citizens continue virtuous and while the majority of the People, through the advantage of a proper, early education possess sufficient knowledge to enable them to understand and pursue their best interests.

For America to work, Americans have to participate. If they don’t pay attention, they’re going to get screwed.

Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among people.

Young people today know little of our history—of freedom and democracy. You cannot support and defend what you do not understand.

It is universally admitted that a well-instructed people alone can be permanently a free people

Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.

Let our countrymen know that the people alone can protect us against these evils of misgovernment.

In free governments the rulers are the servants, and the people their superiors and sovereigns.

I think it's very important for everyone in America to realize right now the state of our country, not just on this issue but on a lot of issues, that it is time to get active again. People have just sat back and just sort of said, oh, let somebody else do it for a long time, and we're seeing what's happening to the country, even freedom of speech. It's not going well. So I think this is a real opportunity for people to see, yes, if you do get out and you do get active, there are other people there. You just have to seek them out.

An educated, enlightened & informed population is one of the surest ways of promoting the health of a democracy

The devotion of democracy to education is a familiar fact. . . . [A] government resting upon popular suffrage cannot be successful unless those who elect . . . their governors are educated.

I am not among those who fear the people. They, and not the rich, are our dependence for continued freedom.