Thomas Jefferson Quotes
Our peculiar security is in the possession of a written Constitution. Let us not make it a blank paper by construction.
Jefferson, Thomas. "To Wilson Cary Nicholas." 7 Sep. 1803. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 41, Princeton University Press, 2014, p. 345.
The Presidential election of 1800 produced a crisis even greater than that of 2000. There was an Electoral College tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr—both of the same party, Democratic Republicans. The Federalist Party led by President John Adams had been totally rejected by the voters and Adams was in third place. However, the Federalists saw an opportunity of maintaining the Presidency anyway. The Constitution threw the election into the House of Representatives with each State delegation having a single vote. In the House, the Federalists had parity with Jefferson’s party which resulted in 35 tie votes. Finally, Congressman Bayard, the sole Congressman from Delaware, withheld his vote on the 36th ballot, thereby electing Thomas Jefferson of the opposition party. His reason was:
Great crises like wars, frequently and great scientific and technical breakthroughs produce many situations that were never envisioned by the founding fathers when they drafted The Constitution. The Civil War had many of these.
The president was asked if he supported the Supreme court's school desegregation decision:
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.
