Thomas Jefferson Quotes
If we cannot secure all our rights, let us secure what we can.
Jefferson, Thomas. "To James Madison from Thomas Jefferson, 15 March 1789." The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 14, 8 October 1788 to 26 March 1789, edited by Julian P. Boyd. Princeton University Press, 1958, pp. 659-663.
Many New Yorkers and others felt that since the attack on the World Trade Center was made in the name of Islam, the mosque and commuity center should be built in another location further from Ground Zero. Ellison was debating someone who argued that the Mosque should not be built so that sensitivity can be shown for those New Yorkers who lost relatives and friends in the attack of September 11. Rather than insist on their Constitutional rights, the Muslim leadership of the project, moved the location somewhat further away from Ground Zero.
This is probably the first known use of the Bill of Rights phrase in the English language. For the earliest American use, see Edward Rutledge.
See George Mason for the contrary view. {606646}
He had been a Congressman before assuming the Presidency.
See {587703} for a similar statement by a Supreme Court Justice.
Thomas Jefferson was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He had previously served as the second vice president of the United States under John Adams between 1797 and 1801. The principal author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was a proponent of democracy, republicanism, and individual rights, motivating American colonists to break from the Kingdom of Great Britain and form a new nation; he produced formative documents and decisions at both the state and national levels.
